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David Sings to the Lord
22 [a] David sang[b] to the Lord the words of this song when[c] the Lord rescued him from the power[d] of all his enemies, including Saul.[e] 2 He said:
“The Lord is my high ridge,[f] my stronghold,[g] my deliverer.
3 My God[h] is my rocky summit where I take shelter,[i]
my shield, the horn that saves me,[j] my stronghold,
my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence![k]
4 I called[l] to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,[m]
and I was delivered from my enemies.
5 The waves of death engulfed me;
the currents[n] of chaos[o] overwhelmed me.[p]
6 The ropes of Sheol[q] tightened around me;[r]
the snares of death trapped me.[s]
7 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I called to my God.[t]
From his heavenly temple[u] he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.[v]
8 The earth heaved and shook;[w]
the foundations of the sky[x] trembled.[y]
They heaved because he was angry.
9 Smoke ascended from[z] his nose;[aa]
fire devoured as it came from his mouth;[ab]
he hurled down fiery coals.[ac]
10 He made the sky sink[ad] as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
11 He mounted[ae] a winged angel[af] and flew;
he glided[ag] on the wings of the wind.[ah]
12 He shrouded himself in darkness,[ai]
in thick rain clouds.[aj]
13 From the brightness in front of him
came coals of fire.[ak]
14 The Lord thundered[al] from the sky;
the Most High[am] shouted loudly.[an]
15 He shot[ao] arrows and scattered them,[ap]
lightning and routed them.[aq]
16 The depths[ar] of the sea were exposed;
the inner regions[as] of the world were uncovered
by the Lord’s battle cry,[at]
by the powerful breath from his nose.[au]
17 He reached down from above and grabbed me;[av]
he pulled me from the surging water.[aw]
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy,[ax]
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
19 They confronted[ay] me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me.[az]
20 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me.[ba]
21 The Lord repaid[bb] me for my godly deeds;[bc]
he rewarded[bd] my blameless behavior.[be]
22 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;[bf]
I have not rebelled against my God.[bg]
23 For I am aware of all his regulations,[bh]
and I do not reject his rules.[bi]
24 I was blameless before him;
I kept myself from sinning.[bj]
25 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;[bk]
he took notice of my blameless behavior.[bl]
26 You prove to be loyal[bm] to one who is faithful;[bn]
you prove to be trustworthy[bo] to one who is innocent.[bp]
27 You prove to be reliable[bq] to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive[br] to one who is perverse.[bs]
28 You deliver oppressed[bt] people,
but you watch the proud and bring them down.[bu]
29 Indeed,[bv] you are my lamp,[bw] Lord.
The Lord illumines[bx] the darkness around me.[by]
30 Indeed,[bz] with your help[ca] I can charge[cb] against an army;[cc]
by my God’s power[cd] I can jump over a wall.[ce]
31 The one true God acts in a faithful manner;[cf]
the Lord’s promise is reliable;[cg]
he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.
32 Indeed,[ch] who is God besides the Lord?
Who is a protector[ci] besides our God?[cj]
33 The one true God[ck] is my mighty refuge;[cl]
he removes[cm] the obstacles in my way.[cn]
34 He gives me the agility of a deer;[co]
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.[cp]
35 He trains[cq] my hands for battle;[cr]
my arms can bend even the strongest bow.[cs]
36 You give me[ct] your protective shield;[cu]
your willingness to help enables me to prevail.[cv]
37 You widen my path;[cw]
my feet[cx] do not slip.
38 I chase my enemies and destroy them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
39 I wipe them out and beat them to death;
they cannot get up;
they fall at my feet.
40 You give me strength for battle;[cy]
you make my foes kneel before me.[cz]
41 You make my enemies retreat;[da]
I destroy those who hate me.
42 They cry out,[db] but there is no one to help them;[dc]
they cry out to the Lord,[dd] but he does not answer them.
43 I grind them as fine as the dust of the ground;
I crush them and stomp them like clay[de] in the streets.
44 You rescue me from a hostile army;[df]
you preserve me as a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.[dg]
45 Foreigners are powerless before me;[dh]
when they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.[di]
46 Foreigners lose their courage;[dj]
they shake with fear[dk] as they leave[dl] their strongholds.[dm]
47 The Lord is alive![dn]
My Protector[do] is praiseworthy![dp]
The God who delivers me[dq] is exalted as king![dr]
48 The one true God completely vindicates me;[ds]
he makes nations submit to me.[dt]
49 He delivers me from my enemies;[du]
you snatch me away[dv] from those who attack me;[dw]
you rescue me from violent men.
50 So I will give you thanks, O Lord, before the nations![dx]
I will sing praises to you.[dy]
51 He gives his king magnificent victories;[dz]
he is faithful to his chosen ruler,[ea]
to David and to his descendants forever!”
David’s Final Words
23 These are the final words of David:
“The oracle of David son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man raised up as
the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob,[eb]
Israel’s beloved[ec] singer of songs:
2 The Lord’s Spirit spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel spoke,
the Protector[ed] of Israel spoke to me.
The one who rules fairly among men,
the one who rules in the fear of God,
4 is like the light of morning when the sun comes up,
a morning in which there are no clouds.
He is like the brightness after rain
that produces grass from the earth.
5 My dynasty is approved by God,[ee]
for he has made a perpetual covenant with me,
arranged in all its particulars and secured.
He always delivers me,
and brings all I desire to fruition.[ef]
6 But evil people are like thorns—
all of them are tossed away,
for they cannot be held in the hand.
7 The one who touches them
must use an iron instrument
or the wooden shaft of a spear.
They are completely burned up right where they lie!”[eg]
David’s Warriors
8 These are the names of David’s warriors:
Josheb Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was head of the officers.[eh] He killed 800 men with his spear in one battle.[ei] 9 Next in command[ej] was Eleazar son of Dodo,[ek] the son of Ahohi. He was one of the three warriors who were with David when they defied the Philistines who were assembled there for battle. When the men of Israel retreated,[el] 10 he stood his ground[em] and fought the Philistines until his hand grew so tired that it[en] seemed stuck to his sword. The Lord gave a great victory on that day. When the army returned to him, the only thing left to do was to plunder the corpses.
11 Next in command[eo] was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines assembled at Lehi,[ep] where there happened to be an area of a field that was full of lentils, the army retreated before the Philistines. 12 But he made a stand in the middle of that area. He defended[eq] it and defeated the Philistines; the Lord gave them a great victory.
13 At the time of[er] the harvest three[es] of the thirty leaders went down to[et] David at the cave of Adullam. A band of Philistines was camped in the valley of Rephaim. 14 David was in the stronghold at the time, while a Philistine garrison was in Bethlehem. 15 David was thirsty and said, “How I wish someone would give me some water to drink from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate!” 16 So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord 17 and said, “O Lord, I will not do this![eu] It is equivalent to the blood of the men who risked their lives by going.”[ev] So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors.[ew]
18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three.[ex] He killed 300 men with his spear and gained fame among the three.[ey] 19 From[ez] the three he was given honor and he became their officer, even though he was not one of the three.
20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a brave warrior[fa] from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab.[fb] He also went down and killed a lion in a cistern on a snowy day. 21 He also killed an impressive-looking Egyptian.[fc] The Egyptian wielded a spear, while Benaiah attacked[fd] him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who gained fame among the three elite warriors. 23 He received honor from[fe] the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost
2 Now[a] when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly[b] a sound[c] like a violent wind blowing[d] came from heaven[e] and filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues spreading out like a fire[f] appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. 4 All[g] of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages[h] as the Spirit enabled them.[i]
5 Now there were devout Jews[j] from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem.[k] 6 When this sound[l] occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion,[m] because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Completely baffled, they said,[n] “Aren’t[o] all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that each one of us hears them[p] in our own native language?[q] 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia,[r] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene,[s] and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes,[t] Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!”[u] 12 All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others jeered at the speakers,[v] saying, “They are drunk on new wine!”[w]
Peter’s Address on the Day of Pentecost
14 But Peter stood up[x] with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: “You men of Judea[y] and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this[z] and listen carefully to what I say. 15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk,[aa] for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.[ab] 16 But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel:[ac]
17 ‘And in the last days[ad] it will be,’ God says,
‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people,[ae]
and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
and your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants,[af] both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.[ag]
19 And I will perform wonders in the sky[ah] above
and miraculous signs[ai] on the earth below,
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will be changed to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the great and glorious[aj] day of the Lord comes.
21 And then[ak] everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[al]
22 “Men of Israel,[am] listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds,[an] wonders, and miraculous signs[ao] that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know— 23 this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed[ap] by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles.[aq] 24 But God raised him up,[ar] having released[as] him from the pains[at] of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power.[au] 25 For David says about him,
‘I saw the Lord always in front of me,[av]
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;
my body[aw] also will live in hope,
27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades,[ax]
nor permit your Holy One to experience[ay] decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of joy with your presence.’[az]
29 “Brothers,[ba] I can speak confidently[bb] to you about our forefather[bc] David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 So then, because[bd] he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants[be] on his throne,[bf] 31 David by foreseeing this[bg] spoke about the resurrection of the Christ,[bh] that he was neither abandoned to Hades,[bi] nor did his body[bj] experience[bk] decay.[bl] 32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it.[bm] 33 So then, exalted[bn] to the right hand[bo] of God, and having received[bp] the promise of the Holy Spirit[bq] from the Father, he has poured out[br] what you both see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,
‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit[bs] at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies a footstool[bt] for your feet.”’[bu]
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt[bv] that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified[bw] both Lord[bx] and Christ.”[by]
The Response to Peter’s Address
37 Now when they heard this,[bz] they were acutely distressed[ca] and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized[cb] in the name of Jesus Christ[cc] for[cd] the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.[ce] 39 For the promise[cf] is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 40 With many other words he testified[cg] and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse[ch] generation!” 41 So those who accepted[ci] his message[cj] were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people[ck] were added.[cl]
The Fellowship of the Early Believers
42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,[cm] to the breaking of bread and to prayer.[cn] 43 Reverential awe[co] came over everyone,[cp] and many wonders and miraculous signs[cq] came about by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and held[cr] everything in common, 45 and they began selling[cs] their property[ct] and possessions and distributing the proceeds[cu] to everyone, as anyone had need. 46 Every day[cv] they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts,[cw] breaking bread from[cx] house to house, sharing their food with glad[cy] and humble hearts,[cz] 47 praising God and having the good will[da] of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day[db] those who were being saved.
Psalm 122[a]
A song of ascents;[b] by David.
122 I was glad because[c] they said to me,
“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”
2 Our feet are[d] standing
inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is a city designed
to accommodate an assembly.[e]
4 The tribes go up[f] there,[g]
the tribes of the Lord,
where it is required that Israel
give thanks to the name of the Lord.[h]
5 Indeed,[i] the leaders sit[j] there on thrones and make legal decisions,
on the thrones of the house of David.[k]
6 Pray[l] for the peace of Jerusalem.
May those who love her prosper.[m]
7 May there be peace inside your defenses,
and prosperity[n] inside your fortresses.[o]
8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors
I will say, “May there be peace in you.”
9 For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God
I will pray for you to prosper.[p]
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