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Psalm 28

1  To you I call, O Lord my rock;
      be not deaf to my cry, ♦︎
   lest, if you do not hear me,
      I become like those who go down to the Pit.
2  Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you, ♦︎
   when I lift up my hands to your holy of holies.
3  Do not snatch me away with the wicked,
      with the evildoers, ♦︎
   who speak peaceably with their neighbours,
      while malice is in their hearts.
4  Repay them according to their deeds ♦︎
   and according to the wickedness of their devices.
5  Reward them according to the work of their hands ♦︎
   and pay them their just deserts.
6  They take no heed of the Lord’s doings,
      nor of the works of his hands; ♦︎
   therefore shall he break them down
      and not build them up.
7  Blessed be the Lord, ♦︎
   for he has heard the voice of my prayer.
8  The Lord is my strength and my shield; ♦︎
   my heart has trusted in him and I am helped;
9  Therefore my heart dances for joy ♦︎
   and in my song will I praise him.
10  The Lord is the strength of his people, ♦︎
   a safe refuge for his anointed.
11  Save your people and bless your inheritance; ♦︎
   shepherd them and carry them for ever.

Psalm 29

1  Ascribe to the Lord, you powers of heaven, ♦︎
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2  Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to his name; ♦︎
   worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3  The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
      the God of glory thunders; ♦︎
   the Lord is upon the mighty waters.
4  The voice of the Lord is mighty in operation; ♦︎
   the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.
5  The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; ♦︎
   the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
6  He makes Lebanon skip like a calf ♦︎
   and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7  The voice of the Lord splits the flash of lightning;
      the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; ♦︎
   the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
8  The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe
      and strips the forests bare; ♦︎
   in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’
9  The Lord sits enthroned above the water flood; ♦︎
   the Lord sits enthroned as king for evermore.
10  The Lord shall give strength to his people; ♦︎
   the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

⁷ A trader, in whose hands are false balances,
   he loves to oppress.
⁸ Ephraim has said, ‘Ah, I am rich,
   I have gained wealth for myself;
in all of my gain
   no offence has been found in me
   that would be sin.’^*
9 I am the Lord your God
   from the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
   as on the days of the appointed festival.

¹⁰ I spoke to the prophets;
   it was I who multiplied visions,
   and through the prophets I will bring destruction.
¹¹ In Gilead^* there is iniquity,
   they shall surely come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
   so their altars shall be like stone heaps
   on the furrows of the field.
¹² Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
   there Israel served for a wife,
   and for a wife he guarded sheep.^*
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
   and by a prophet he was guarded.
¹⁴ Ephraim has given bitter offence,
   so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him
   and pay him back for his insults.

Relentless Judgement on Israel

13When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
   he was exalted in Israel;
   but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.
² And now they keep on sinning
   and make a cast image for themselves,
idols of silver made according to their understanding,
   all of them the work of artisans.
‘Sacrifice to these’, they say.^*
   People are kissing calves!
³ Therefore they shall be like the morning mist
   or like the dew that goes away early,
like chaff that swirls from the threshing-floor
   or like smoke from a window.

Festus Consults King Agrippa

13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to welcome Festus. ¹⁴Since they were staying there for several days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, ‘There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. ¹⁵When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him and asked for a sentence against him. ¹⁶I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met the accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defence against the charge. ¹⁷So when they met here, I lost no time, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. ¹⁸When the accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the crimes^* that I was expecting. ¹⁹Instead they had certain points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. ²⁰Since I was at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.^{* 21}But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of his Imperial Majesty, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to the emperor.’ ²²Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear the man myself.’ ‘Tomorrow’, he said, ‘you will hear him.’

Paul Brought before Agrippa

23 So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then Festus gave the order and Paul was brought in. ²⁴And Festus said, ‘King Agrippa and all here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish community petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵But I found that he had done nothing deserving death; and when he appealed to his Imperial Majesty, I decided to send him. ²⁶But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write— ²⁷for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.’