Psalm 20-22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 20
Prayer for Victory
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
The name of the God of Jacob protect you!(A)
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion.(B)
3 May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah(C)
4 May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans.(D)
5 May we shout for joy over your victory
and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.(E)
6 Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories by his right hand.(F)
7 Some take pride in chariots and some in horses,
but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.(G)
8 They will collapse and fall,
but we shall rise and stand upright.(H)
9 Give victory to the king, O Lord;
answer us when we call.[a]
Psalm 21
Thanksgiving for Victory
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord,
and in your help how greatly he exults!(I)
2 You have given him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah(J)
3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold on his head.(K)
4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.(L)
5 His glory is great through your help;
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.(M)
6 You bestow on him blessings forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.(N)
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.(O)
9 You will make them like a fiery furnace
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
and fire will consume them.(P)
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth
and their children from among humankind.(Q)
11 If they plan evil against you,
if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.(R)
12 For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.(S)
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.(T)
Psalm 22
Plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility
To the leader: according to The Deer of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?(U)
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night but find no rest.(V)
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.(W)
4 In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.(X)
6 But I am a worm and not human,
scorned by others and despised by the people.(Y)
7 All who see me mock me;
they sneer at me; they shake their heads;(Z)
8 “Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”(AA)
9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.(AB)
10 On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.(AC)
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls encircle me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me;(AD)
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.(AE)
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;(AF)
15 my mouth[b] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.(AG)
16 For dogs are all around me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they bound my hands and feet.[c](AH)
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.(AI)
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far away!
O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life[d] from the power of the dog!(AJ)
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued[e] me.(AK)
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;[f]
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:(AL)
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!(AM)
24 For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me[g]
but heard when I[h] cried to him.(AN)
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.(AO)
26 The poor[i] shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!(AP)
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.[j](AQ)
28 For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.(AR)
29 To him,[k] indeed, shall all who sleep in[l] the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.[m](AS)
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord(AT)
31 and[n] proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.(AU)
Footnotes
- 20.9 Gk: Heb give victory, O Lord; let the King answer us when we call
- 22.15 Cn: Heb strength
- 22.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 22.20 Heb my only one
- 22.21 Heb answered
- 22.22 Or kindred
- 22.24 Heb him
- 22.24 Heb he
- 22.26 Or afflicted
- 22.27 Gk Syr Jerome: Heb you
- 22.29 Cn: Heb They have eaten and
- 22.29 Cn: Heb all the fat ones
- 22.29 Compare Gk Syr Vg: Heb and he who cannot keep himself alive
- 22.31 Compare Gk: Heb it will be told about the Lord to the generation,
they will come and
Acts 21:1-17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem
21 When we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.[a] 2 When we found a ship bound for Phoenicia, we went on board and set sail.(A) 3 We came in sight of Cyprus, and leaving it on our left, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. 4 We looked up the disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.(B) 5 When our days there were ended, we left and proceeded on our journey, and all of them, with wives and children, escorted us outside the city. There we knelt down on the beach and prayed(C) 6 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
7 When we had finished[b] the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for one day.(D) 8 The next day we left and came to Caesarea, and we went into the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him.(E) 9 He had four unmarried daughters[c] who had the gift of prophecy.(F) 10 While we were staying there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 He came to us and took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the gentiles.’ ”(G) 12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”(H) 14 Since he would not be persuaded, we remained silent except to say, “The Lord’s will be done.”(I)
15 After these days we got ready and started to go up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also came along and brought us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.(J)
Paul Visits James at Jerusalem
17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly.(K)
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.