Psalm 36-37

New International Version

Psalm 36^[a]

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord.

¹I have a message from God in my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:^[b]^(A)
There is no fear^(B) of God
before their eyes.^(C)

²In their own eyes they flatter themselves
    too much to detect or hate their sin.^(D)
³The words of their mouths^(E) are wicked and deceitful;^(F)
    they fail to act wisely^(G) or do good.^(H)
⁴Even on their beds they plot evil;^(I)
    they commit themselves to a sinful course^(J)
    and do not reject what is wrong.^(K)

⁵Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
    your faithfulness^(L) to the skies.^(M)
⁶Your righteousness^(N) is like the highest mountains,^(O)
    your justice like the great deep.^(P)
    You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.^(Q)
⁷How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!^(R)
    People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.^(S)
⁸They feast on the abundance of your house;^(T)
    you give them drink from your river^(U) of delights.^(V)
⁹For with you is the fountain of life;^(W)
    in your light^(X) we see light.

¹⁰Continue your love^(Y) to those who know you,^(Z)
    your righteousness to the upright in heart.^(AA)
¹¹May the foot of the proud not come against me,
    nor the hand of the wicked^(AB) drive me away.
¹²See how the evildoers lie fallen—
    thrown down, not able to rise!^(AC)

Psalm 37^[c]

Of David.

¹Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious^(AD) of those who do wrong;^(AE)
²for like the grass they will soon wither,^(AF)
like green plants they will soon die away.^(AG)

³Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land^(AH) and enjoy safe pasture.^(AI)
⁴Take delight^(AJ) in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.^(AK)

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him^(AL) and he will do this:
⁶He will make your righteous reward^(AM) shine like the dawn,^(AN)
your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷Be still^(AO) before the Lord
and wait patiently^(AP) for him;
do not fret^(AQ) when people succeed in their ways,^(AR)
when they carry out their wicked schemes.^(AS)

⁸Refrain from anger^(AT) and turn from wrath;
do not fret^(AU)—it leads only to evil.
⁹For those who are evil will be destroyed,^(AV)
but those who hope^(AW) in the Lord will inherit the land.^(AX)

¹⁰A little while, and the wicked will be no more;^(AY)
though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹But the meek will inherit the land^(AZ)
and enjoy peace and prosperity.^(BA)

¹²The wicked plot^(BB) against the righteous
and gnash their teeth^(BC) at them;
¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.^(BD)

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword^(BE)
    and bend the bow^(BF)
to bring down the poor and needy,^(BG)
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵But their swords will pierce their own hearts,^(BH)
    and their bows will be broken.^(BI)

¹⁶Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth^(BJ) of many wicked;
¹⁷for the power of the wicked will be broken,^(BK)
but the Lord upholds^(BL) the righteous.

¹⁸The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,^(BM)
and their inheritance will endure forever.^(BN)
¹⁹In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰But the wicked will perish:^(BO)
Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.^(BP)

²¹The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;^(BQ)
²²those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses^(BR) will be destroyed.^(BS)

²³The Lord makes firm the steps^(BT)
of the one who delights^(BU) in him;
²⁴though he may stumble, he will not fall,^(BV)
for the Lord upholds^(BW) him with his hand.

²⁵I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken^(BX)
    or their children begging^(BY) bread.
²⁶They are always generous and lend freely;^(BZ)
    their children will be a blessing.^[d]^(CA)

²⁷Turn from evil and do good;^(CB)
then you will dwell in the land forever.^(CC)
²⁸For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.^(CD)

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed^[e];
the offspring of the wicked will perish.^(CE)
²⁹The righteous will inherit the land^(CF)
and dwell in it forever.^(CG)

³⁰The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,^(CH)
and their tongues speak what is just.
³¹The law of their God is in their hearts;^(CI)
their feet do not slip.^(CJ)

³²The wicked lie in wait^(CK) for the righteous,^(CL)
intent on putting them to death;
³³but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned^(CM) when brought to trial.^(CN)

³⁴Hope in the Lord^(CO)
and keep his way.^(CP)
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed,^(CQ) you will see^(CR) it.

³⁵I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing^(CS) like a luxuriant native tree,
³⁶but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.^(CT)

³⁷Consider the blameless,^(CU) observe the upright;^(CV)
a future awaits those who seek peace.^[f]^(CW)
³⁸But all sinners^(CX) will be destroyed;^(CY)
there will be no future^[g] for the wicked.^(CZ)

³⁹The salvation^(DA) of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.^(DB)
⁴⁰The Lord helps^(DC) them and delivers^(DD) them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves^(DE) them,
    because they take refuge^(DF) in him.

Footnotes

Psalm 36:1 In Hebrew texts 36:1-12 is numbered 36:2-13.
Psalm 36:1 Or A message from God: The transgression of the wicked / resides in their hearts.
Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalm 37:26 Or freely; / the names of their children will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or freely; / others will see that their children are blessed
Psalm 37:28 See Septuagint; Hebrew They will be protected forever
Psalm 37:37 Or upright; / those who seek peace will have posterity
Psalm 37:38 Or posterity

Acts 23:1-11

New International Version

23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin^(A) and said, “My brothers,^(B) I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience^(C) to this day.” ²At this the high priest Ananias^(D) ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.^(E) ³Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!^(F) You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”^(G)

⁴Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”

⁵Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’^[a]”^(H)

⁶Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees^(I) and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers,^(J) I am a Pharisee,^(K) descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”^(L) ⁷When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,^(M) and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

⁹There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees^(N) stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,”^(O) they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”^(P) ¹⁰The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.^(Q)

¹¹The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage!^(R) As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”^(S)

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