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Psalm 49

1  Hear this, all you peoples; ♦︎
   listen, all you that dwell in the world,
2  You of low or high degree, ♦︎
   both rich and poor together.
3  My mouth shall speak of wisdom ♦︎
   and my heart shall meditate on understanding.
4  I will incline my ear to a parable; ♦︎
   I will unfold my riddle with the lyre.
5  Why should I fear in evil days, ♦︎
   when the malice of my foes surrounds me,
6  Such as trust in their goods ♦︎
   and glory in the abundance of their riches?
7  For no one can indeed ransom another ♦︎
   or pay to God the price of deliverance.
8  To ransom a soul is too costly; ♦︎
   there is no price one could pay for it,
9  So that they might live for ever, ♦︎
   and never see the grave.
10  For we see that the wise die also;
      with the foolish and ignorant they perish ♦︎
   and leave their riches to others.
11  Their tomb is their home for ever,
      their dwelling through all generations, ♦︎
   though they call their lands after their own names.
12  Those who have honour, but lack understanding, ♦︎
   are like the beasts that perish.
13  Such is the way of those who boast in themselves, ♦︎
   the end of those who delight in their own words.
14  Like a flock of sheep they are destined to die;
      death is their shepherd; ♦︎
   they go down straight to the Pit.
15  Their beauty shall waste away, ♦︎
   and the land of the dead shall be their dwelling.
16  But God shall ransom my soul; ♦︎
   from the grasp of death will he take me.
17  Be not afraid if some grow rich ♦︎
   and the glory of their house increases,
18  For they will carry nothing away when they die, ♦︎
   nor will their glory follow after them.
19  Though they count themselves happy while they live ♦︎
   and praise you for your success,
20  They shall enter the company of their ancestors ♦︎
   who will nevermore see the light.
21  Those who have honour, but lack understanding, ♦︎
   are like the beasts that perish.

Humility

¹⁷ My child, perform your tasks with humility;^*
   then you will be loved by those whom God accepts.
¹⁸ The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself;
   so you will find favour in the sight of the Lord.^*
20 For great is the might of the Lord;
   but by the humble he is glorified.
²¹ Neither seek what is too difficult for you,
   nor investigate what is beyond your power.
²² Reflect upon what you have been commanded,
   for what is hidden is not your concern.
²³ Do not meddle in matters that are beyond you,
   for more than you can understand has been shown to you.
²⁴ For their conceit has led many astray,
   and wrong opinion has impaired their judgement.

²⁵ Without eyes there is no light;
   without knowledge there is no wisdom.^*
26 A stubborn mind will fare badly at the end,
   and whoever loves danger will perish in it.
²⁷ A stubborn mind will be burdened by troubles,
   and the sinner adds sin to sins.
²⁸ When calamity befalls the proud, there is no healing,
   for an evil plant has taken root in him.
²⁹ The mind of the intelligent appreciates proverbs,
   and an attentive ear is the desire of the wise.

Alms for the Poor

³⁰ As water extinguishes a blazing fire,
   so almsgiving atones for sin.
³¹ Those who repay favours give thought to the future;
   when they fall they will find support.

Social Evils Denounced

2Alas for those who devise wickedness
   and evil deeds^* on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
   because it is in their power.
² They covet fields, and seize them;
   houses, and take them away;
they oppress householder and house,
   people and their inheritance.
³ Therefore, thus says the Lord:
Now, I am devising against this family an evil
   from which you cannot remove your necks;
and you shall not walk haughtily,
   for it will be an evil time.
⁴ On that day they shall take up a taunt-song against you,
   and wail with bitter lamentation,
and say, ‘We are utterly ruined;
   the Lord ^* alters the inheritance of my people;
how he removes it from me!
   Among our captors^* he parcels out our fields.’
⁵ Therefore you will have no one to cast the line by lot
   in the assembly of the Lord.

⁶ ‘Do not preach’—thus they preach—
   ‘one should not preach of such things;
   disgrace will not overtake us.’
⁷ Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
   Is the Lord’s patience exhausted?
   Are these his doings?
Do not my words do good
   to one who walks uprightly?
⁸ But you rise up against my people^* as an enemy;
   you strip the robe from the peaceful,^*
from those who pass by trustingly
   with no thought of war.
⁹ The women of my people you drive out
   from their pleasant houses;
from their young children you take away
   my glory for ever.
¹⁰ Arise and go;
   for this is no place to rest,
because of uncleanness that destroys
   with a grievous destruction.^*
11 If someone were to go about uttering empty falsehoods,
   saying, ‘I will preach to you of wine and strong drink’,
   such a one would be the preacher for this people!

A Promise for the Remnant of Israel

¹² I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob,
   I will gather the survivors of Israel;
I will set them together
   like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture;
   it will resound with people.
¹³ The one who breaks out will go up before them;
   they will break through and pass the gate,
   going out by it.
Their king will pass on before them,
   the Lord at their head.

Paul and Jewish Leaders in Rome

17 Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, ‘Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸When they had examined me, the Romans^* wanted to release me, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. ¹⁹But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to the emperor—even though I had no charge to bring against my nation. ²⁰For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you,^* since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.’ ²¹They replied, ‘We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you. ²²But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.’

Paul Preaches in Rome

23 After they had fixed a day to meet him, they came to him at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. ²⁴Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. ²⁵So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: ‘The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah,
²⁶ “Go to this people and say,
You will indeed listen, but never understand,
   and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown dull,
   and their ears are hard of hearing,
     and they have shut their eyes;
     so that they might not look with their eyes,
   and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
   and I would heal them.”
²⁸Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.’^*

30 He lived there for two whole years at his own expense^* and welcomed all who came to him, ³¹proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.