Book One
The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
1 Blessed is the man1
who awalks not in bthe counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in cthe way of sinners,
nor dsits in ethe seat of fscoffers;
2 but his gdelight is in the law2 of the Lord,
and on his hlaw he meditates day and night.
3 He is like ia tree
planted by jstreams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its kleaf does not wither.
lIn all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like mchaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked nwill not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in othe congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord pknows qthe way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Lead Me in Your Righteousness
To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my ugroaning.
2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my vKing and my God,
for wto you do I pray.
3 O Lord, in xthe morning you hear my voice;
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
5 The zboastful shall not astand before your eyes;
you bhate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak clies;
the Lord abhors dthe bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will ebow down ftoward your gholy temple
in the fear of you.
8 hLead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
imake your way straight before me.
9 For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is jdestruction;
ktheir throat is lan open grave;
they mflatter with their tongue.
10 nMake them bear their guilt, O God;
let them ofall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who ptake refuge in you qrejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rexult in you.
12 For you sbless the righteous, O Lord;
5 eAt Gibeon fthe Lord appeared to Solomon gin a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because hhe walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and ihave given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, jyou have made your servant king in place of David my father, kalthough I am but a little child. I do not know lhow to go out or come in. 8 mAnd your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, ntoo many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 oGive your servant therefore an understanding mind pto govern your people, that I may qdiscern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, rI now do according to your word. Behold, sI give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 tI give you also what you have not asked, uboth riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, vas your father David walked, then wI will lengthen your days.”
The Conversion of Saul
1 But Saul, bstill cbreathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to dthe high priest 2 and asked him for letters eto the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to fthe Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 gNow as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting hme?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, hwhom you are persecuting. 6 But irise and enter the city, and you will be told jwhat you are to do.” 7 kThe men who were traveling with him stood speechless, lhearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, mhe saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named nAnanias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, o“Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man pof Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and qlay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, rhow much evil he has done to syour tsaints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from uthe chief priests to bind all who vcall on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for whe is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name xbefore the Gentiles and ykings and the children of Israel. 16 For zI will show him how much ahe must suffer bfor the sake of my name.” 17 So cAnanias departed and entered the house. And dlaying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and ebe filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and fhe regained his sight. Then ghe rose and was baptized; 19 and htaking food, he was strengthened.
Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues
For isome days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, j“He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who kmade havoc lin Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul mincreased all the more in strength, and nconfounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving othat Jesus was the Christ.
Saul Escapes from Damascus
23 pWhen many days had passed, the Jews1 plotted to kill him, 24 but their qplot became known to Saul. rThey were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and slet him down through an opening in the wall,2 lowering him in a basket.
Saul in Jerusalem
26 And twhen he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But uBarnabas took him and vbrought him to the apostles and declared to them whow on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and xhow at Damascus he had ypreached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went zin and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against athe Hellenists.3 But bthey were seeking to kill him. 30 And when cthe brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off dto Tarsus.
31 So ethe church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And fwalking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, git multiplied.
