Bible Readings for April 26, 2017

Today our passages are Judges 6:1-40; Luke 22:54–23:12; Psalm 95:1–96:13; and Proverbs 14:5-6. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

 

 

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Judges 6:1-40 (Contemporary English Version)

Judges 6

Midian Steals Everything from Israel

 ¹Then once again the Israelites started disobeying the LORD, so he let the nation of Midian control Israel for seven years.     ²The Midianites were so cruel that many Israelites ran to the mountains and hid in caves.
    ³Every time the Israelites would plant crops, the Midianites invaded Israel together with the Amalekites and other eastern nations.
    ^4-5They rode in on their camels, set up their tents, and then let their livestock eat the crops as far as the town of Gaza. The Midianites stole food, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. Like a swarm of locusts, ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} they could not be counted, and they ruined the land wherever they went.
    ^6-7The Midianites took almost everything that belonged to the Israelites, and the Israelites begged the LORD for help.
    ^8-9Then the LORD sent a prophet to them with this message:
   I am the LORD God of Israel, so listen to what I say. You were slaves in Egypt, but I set you free and led you out of Egypt into this land. And when nations here made life miserable for you, I rescued you and helped you get rid of them and take their land.
    ¹⁰I am your God, and I told you not to worship Amorite gods, even though you are living in the land of the Amorites. But you refused to listen.
   

The LORD Chooses Gideon

 ¹¹One day an angel from the LORD went to the town of Ophrah and sat down under the big tree that belonged to Joash, a member of the Abiezer clan. Joash's son Gideon was nearby, threshing grain in a shallow pit, where he could not be seen by the Midianites.     ¹²The angel appeared and spoke to Gideon, " The LORD is helping you, and you are a strong warrior."
    ¹³Gideon answered, " Please don't take this wrong, but if the LORD is helping us, then why have all of these awful things happened? We've heard how the LORD performed miracles and rescued our ancestors from Egypt. But those things happened long ago. Now the LORD has abandoned us to the Midianites."
    ¹⁴Then the LORD himself said, " Gideon, you will be strong, because I am giving you the power to rescue Israel from the Midianites."
    ¹⁵Gideon replied, " But how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest one in Manasseh, and everyone else in my family is more important than I am."
    ¹⁶" Gideon," the LORD answered, " you can rescue Israel because I am going to help you! Defeating the Midianites will be as easy as beating up one man."
    ¹⁷Gideon said, " It's hard to believe that I'm actually talking to the LORD. Please do something so I'll know that you really are the LORD.
    ¹⁸And wait here until I bring you an offering."
   " All right, I'll wait," the LORD answered.
    ¹⁹Gideon went home and killed a young goat, then started boiling the meat. Next, he opened a big sack of flour and made it into thin bread. ^[b<="">] When the meat was done, he put it in a basket and poured the broth into a clay cooking pot. He took the meat, the broth, and the bread and placed them under the big tree.
    ²⁰God's angel said, " Gideon, put the meat and the bread on this rock, and pour the broth over them." Gideon did as he was told.
    ²¹The angel was holding a walking stick, and he touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick. Flames jumped from the rock and burned up the meat and the bread.
   When Gideon looked, the angel was gone.
    ²²Gideon realized that he had seen one of the LORD's angels. " Oh!" he moaned. " Now I'm going to die." ^{[c<="">]
    23}" Calm down!" the LORD told Gideon. " There's nothing to be afraid of. You're not going to die."
    ²⁴Gideon built an altar for worshiping the LORD and called it " The LORD Calms Our Fears." It still stands there in Ophrah, a town in the territory of the Abiezer clan.
   

Gideon Tears Down Baal's Altar

 ²⁵That night the LORD spoke to Gideon again:    Get your father's second-best bull, the one that's seven years old. Use it to pull down the altar where your father worships Baal and cut down the sacred pole ^[d<="">] next to the altar.
    ²⁶Then build an altar for worshiping me on the highest part of the hill where your town is built. Use layers of stones for my altar, not just a pile of rocks. Cut up the wood from the pole, make a fire, kill the bull, and burn it as a sacrifice to me.
    ²⁷Gideon chose ten of his servants to help him, and they did everything God had said. But since Gideon was afraid of his family and the other people in town, he did it all at night.
    ²⁸When the people of the town got up the next morning, they saw that Baal's altar had been knocked over, and the sacred pole next to it had been cut down. Then they noticed the new altar covered with the remains of the sacrificed bull.
    ²⁹" Who could have done such a thing?" they asked. And they kept on asking, until finally someone told them, " Gideon the son of Joash did it."
    ³⁰The men of the town went to Joash and said, " Your son Gideon knocked over Baal's altar and cut down the sacred pole next to it. Hand him over, so we can kill him!"
    ³¹The crowd pushed closer and closer, but Joash replied, " Are you trying to take revenge for Baal? Are you trying to rescue Baal? If you are, you will be the ones who are put to death, and it will happen before another day dawns. If Baal really is a god, let him take his own revenge on someone who tears down his altar."
    ³²That same day, Joash changed Gideon's name to Jerubbaal, explaining, " He tore down Baal's altar, so let Baal take revenge himself." ^[e<="">]
   

Gideon Defeats the Midianites

 ³³All the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern nations got together and crossed the Jordan River. Then they invaded the land of Israel and set up camp in Jezreel Valley.     ³⁴The LORD's Spirit took control of Gideon, and Gideon blew a signal on a trumpet to tell the men in the Abiezer clan to follow him.
    ³⁵He also sent messengers to the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, telling the men of these tribes to come and join his army. Then they set out toward the enemy camp.
    ^36-37Gideon prayed to God, " I know that you promised to help me rescue Israel, but I need proof. Tonight I'll put some wool on the stone floor of that threshing-place over there. If you really will help me rescue Israel, then tomorrow morning let there be dew on the wool, but let the stone floor be dry."
    ³⁸And that's just what happened. Early the next morning, Gideon got up and checked the wool. He squeezed out enough water to fill a bowl.
    ³⁹But Gideon prayed to God again. " Don't be angry at me," Gideon said. " Let me try this just one more time, so I'll really be sure you'll help me. Only this time, let the wool be dry and the stone floor be wet with dew."
    ⁴⁰That night, God made the stone floor wet with dew, but he kept the wool dry.
   

Footnotes:

1. Judges 6:4 locusts: Insects like grasshoppers that travel in swarms and cause great damage to crops.
2. Judges 6:19 thin bread: Bread made without yeast, since there was no time for the dough to rise.
3. Judges 6:22 Now I'm going to die: The Hebrew text has " I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face." Some people believed that if they saw one of the LORD's angels, they would die (see 13.22).
4. Judges 6:25 sacred pole: Or " sacred tree," used as a symbol of Asherah, the Canaanite goddess of fertility.
5. Judges 6:32 Jerubbaal. . . take revenge himself: In Hebrew, " Jerubbaal" means " Let Baal take revenge."

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Luke 22:54-23:12 (Contemporary English Version)

Peter Says He Doesn't Know Jesus

(Matthew 26.57,58,67-75; Mark 14.53,54,66-72; John 18.12-18, 25-27)

 ⁵⁴Jesus was arrested and led away to the house of the high priest, while Peter followed at a distance. ⁵⁵Some people built a fire in the middle of the courtyard and were sitting around it. Peter sat there with them, ⁵⁶and a servant girl saw him. Then after she had looked at him carefully, she said, "This man was with Jesus!"     ⁵⁷Peter said, "Woman, I don't even know that man!"
    ⁵⁸A little later someone else saw Peter and said, "You are one of them!"
   "No, I'm not!" Peter replied.
    ⁵⁹About an hour later another man insisted, "This man must have been with Jesus. They both come from Galilee."
    ⁶⁰Peter replied, "I don't know what you are talking about!" Right then, while Peter was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
    ⁶¹The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered that the Lord had said, "Before a rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will say three times that you don't know me." ⁶²Then Peter went out and cried hard.
    ⁶³The men who were guarding Jesus made fun of him and beat him. ⁶⁴They put a blindfold on him and said, "Tell us who struck you!" ⁶⁵They kept on insulting Jesus in many other ways.
   

Jesus Is Questioned by the Council

(Matthew 26.59-66; Mark 14.55-64; John 18.19-24)

 ⁶⁶At daybreak the nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses got together and brought Jesus before their council. ⁶⁷They said, "Tell us! Are you the Messiah?"    Jesus replied, "If I said so, you wouldn't believe me. ⁶⁸And if I asked you a question, you wouldn't answer. ⁶⁹But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right side of God All-Powerful."
    ⁷⁰Then they asked, "Are you the Son of God?" ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} Jesus answered, "You say I am!" ^{[b<="">] 71}They replied, "Why do we need more witnesses? He said it himself!"
   

Luke 23

Pilate Questions Jesus

(Matthew 27.1,2,11-14; Mark 15.1-5; John 18.28-38)

 ¹Everyone in the council got up and led Jesus off to Pilate. ²They started accusing him and said, "We caught this man trying to get our people to riot and to stop paying taxes to the Emperor. He also claims that he is the Messiah, our king."     ³Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
   "Those are your words," Jesus answered.
    ⁴Pilate told the chief priests and the crowd, "I don't find him guilty of anything."
    ⁵But they all kept on saying, "He has been teaching and causing trouble all over Judea. He started in Galilee and has now come all the way here."
   

Jesus Is Brought before Herod

 ⁶When Pilate heard this, he asked, "Is this man from Galilee?" ⁷After Pilate learned that Jesus came from the region ruled by Herod, ^[c<="">] he sent him to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸For a long time Herod had wanted to see Jesus and was very happy because he finally had this chance. He had heard many things about Jesus and hoped to see him work a miracle.     ⁹Herod asked him a lot of questions, but Jesus did not answer. ¹⁰Then the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses stood up and accused him of all kinds of bad things.
    ¹¹Herod and his soldiers made fun of Jesus and insulted him. They put a fine robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. ¹²That same day Herod and Pilate became friends, even though they had been enemies before this.
   

Footnotes:

1. Luke 22:70 Son of God: This was one of the titles used for the kings of Israel.
2. Luke 22:70 You say I am: Or " That's what you say."
3. Luke 23:7 Herod: Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great.

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Psalm 95-96:13 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 95

Worship and Obey the LORD

 ¹Sing joyful songs to the LORD!    Praise the mighty rock
   where we are safe.
    ²Come to worship him
   with thankful hearts
   and songs of praise.
    ³The LORD is the greatest God,
   king over all other gods.
    ⁴He holds the deepest part
   of the earth in his hands,
   and the mountain peaks
   belong to him.
    ⁵The ocean is the Lord's
   because he made it,
   and with his own hands
   he formed the dry land.
    ⁶Bow down and worship
   the LORD our Creator!
    ⁷The LORD is our God,
   and we are his people,
   the sheep he takes care of
   in his own pasture.
   Listen to God's voice today!
    ⁸Don't be stubborn and rebel
   as your ancestors did
   at Meribah and Massah ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} out in the desert.
    ⁹For forty years
   they tested God
   and saw
   the things he did.
    ¹⁰Then God got tired of them
   and said,
   "You never show good sense,
   and you don't understand
   what I want you to do."
    ¹¹In his anger, God told them,
   "You people will never enter
   my place of rest."
   

Psalm 96

Sing a New Song to the LORD

 ¹Sing a new song to the LORD!    Everyone on this earth,
   sing praises to the LORD,
    ²sing and praise his name.
   Day after day announce,
   "The LORD has saved us!"
    ³Tell every nation on earth,
   "The LORD is wonderful
   and does marvelous things!
    ⁴The LORD is great and deserves
   our greatest praise!
   He is the only God
   worthy of our worship.
    ⁵Other nations worship idols,
   but the LORD created
   the heavens.
    ⁶Give honor and praise
   to the LORD,
   whose power and beauty
   fill his holy temple."
    ⁷Tell everyone of every nation,
   "Praise the glorious power
   of the LORD.
    ⁸He is wonderful! Praise him
   and bring an offering
   into his temple.
    ⁹Everyone on earth, now tremble
   and worship the LORD,
   majestic and holy."
    ¹⁰Announce to the nations,
   "The LORD is King!
   The world stands firm,
   never to be shaken,
   and he will judge its people
   with fairness."
    ¹¹Tell the heavens and the earth
   to be glad and celebrate!
   Command the ocean to roar
   with all of its creatures
    ¹²and the fields to rejoice
   with all of their crops.
   Then every tree in the forest
   will sing joyful songs
    ¹³to the LORD.
   He is coming to judge
   all people on earth
   with fairness and truth.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 95:8 Meribah and Massah: See the note at 81.7.

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Proverbs 14:5-6 (Contemporary English Version)

⁵An honest witness
   tells the truth;
   a dishonest witness
   tells nothing but lies.
    ⁶Make fun of wisdom,
   and you will never find it.
   But if you have understanding,
   knowledge comes easily.

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Verse of the Day

“He is forever able to save the people he leads to God, because he always lives to speak to God for them.” - Hebrews 7:25

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art, Andy Warhol wrote, “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

Bible Readings for July 5, 2013

Today our passages are 1 Chronicles 1:1–2:17; Acts 23:11-35; Psalm 3:1-8; and Proverbs 18:14-15. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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1 Chronicles 1-2:17 (Contemporary English Version)

1 Chronicles 1

The Descendants of Adam

(Genesis 5.1-32; 10.1-32; 11.10-32)

 ^1-4Adam was the father of Seth, and his descendants were Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah, who had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.     ⁵Japheth was the father of Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras, and they were the ancestors of the kingdoms named after them. ⁶Gomer was the ancestor of Ashkenaz, Riphath, ^[a] and Togarmah. ⁷Javan was the ancestor of Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. ^[b] ⁸Ham was the father of Ethiopia, ^[c] Egypt, Put, and Canaan, and they were the ancestors of the kingdoms named after them. ⁹Ethiopia was the ancestor of Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah was the ancestor of Sheba and Dedan. ¹⁰Ethiopia was also the father of Nimrod, the world's first mighty warrior. ¹¹Egypt was the ancestor of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, ¹²Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim, the ancestor of the Philistines. ^[d] ¹³Canaan's oldest son was Sidon; his other son was Heth. ^14-16Canaan was also the ancestor of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. ¹⁷Shem was the ancestor of Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech; ^[e] they were the ancestors of the kingdoms named after them. ¹⁸Arpachshad was Shelah's father and Eber's grandfather. ¹⁹Eber named his first son Peleg, ^[f] because in his time the earth was divided into tribal regions. Eber's second son was Joktan, ^20-23the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Ebal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. ^24-27Shem's descendants included Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, and Abram, later renamed Abraham.
   

Abraham's Family

(Genesis 25.1-4,12-16)

 ²⁸Abraham was the father of Isaac and Ishmael.     ^29-31Ishmael had twelve sons, who were born in the following order: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
    ³²Abraham and his slave woman Keturah had six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. ³³Midian was the father of Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.
   

Esau's Family

(Genesis 36.1-14)

 ³⁴Abraham's son Isaac was the father of Esau and Jacob. ^[g] ³⁵Esau was the father of Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. ³⁶Eliphaz was the father of Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek. ³⁷Reuel was the father of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

The First Edomites and Their Kings

(Genesis 36.20-43)

 ³⁸Seir was the father of Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. ³⁹Lotan was the father of Hori and Homam; Lotan's sister was Timna. ⁴⁰Shobal was the father of Alvan, ^[h] Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. Zibeon was the father of Aiah and Anah. ⁴¹Anah was the father of Dishon and the grandfather of Hemdan, ^[i] Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ⁴²Ezer was the father of Bilhan, Zaavan, and Jaakan. ^[j] Dishan ^[k] was the father of Uz and Aran. ⁴³Before kings ruled in Israel, Bela son of Beor ruled the country of Edom from its capital of Dinhabah. ⁴⁴After Bela's death, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became king. ⁴⁵After Jobab's death, Husham from the land of Teman became king. ⁴⁶After Husham's death, Hadad son of Bedad became king and ruled from Avith. Earlier, Bedad had defeated the Midianites in the territory of Moab. ⁴⁷After Hadad's death, Samlah from Masrekah became king; ⁴⁸after Samlah's death, Shaul from the town of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king; ⁴⁹and after Shaul's death, Baal Hanan son of Achbor became king. ⁵⁰After Baal Hanan's death, Hadad ruled from Pai. His wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Mezahab.     ⁵¹The Edomite clans ^[l] were Timna, Alvah, ^[m] Jetheth, ⁵²Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁵³Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁵⁴Magdiel, and Iram.

1 Chronicles 2

The Descendants of Judah

 ^1-2Jacob ^[n] was the father of twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ³Judah and his Canaanite wife Bathshua had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. But the LORD had Er put to death, because he disobeyed and did what the LORD hated. ⁴Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar also had two sons: Perez and Zerah.     ⁵Perez was the father of Hezron and Hamul. ⁶Zerah was the father of Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. ^[o] ⁷Achan, ^[p] who was a descendant of Zerah and the son of Carmi, caused trouble for Israel, because he kept for himself things that belonged only to the LORD. ^[q] ⁸Ethan's son was Azariah.

The Ancestors of King David

 ⁹Hezron was the father of Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb. ^[r] ¹⁰Ram was the father of Amminadab and the grandfather of Nahshon, a tribal leader of Judah. ¹¹Nahshon's descendants included Salma, Boaz, ¹²Obed, and Jesse. ^13-15Jesse had seven sons, who were born in the following order: Eliab, Abinadab, Shimea, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem, and David. ¹⁶Jesse also had two daughters: Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah was the mother of Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. ¹⁷Abigail's husband was Jether, who was a descendant of Ishmael, and their son was Amasa.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Chronicles 1:6 Riphath: Most Hebrew manuscripts and two ancient translations (see also Genesis 10.2-5); some Hebrew manuscripts "Diphath." In Hebrew the letters "d" and "r" look almost exactly the same.
2. 1 Chronicles 1:7 Dodanim: Most Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation (see also Genesis 10.2-5); some Hebrew manuscripts "Rodanim." In Hebrew the letters "d" and "r" look almost exactly the same.
3. 1 Chronicles 1:8 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has "Cush," which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
4. 1 Chronicles 1:12 Casluhim, and Caphtorim, the ancestor of the Philistines: The Hebrew text has "Casluhim, the ancestor of the Philistines, and Caphtorim"; but see Jeremiah 47.4 and Amos 9.7.
5. 1 Chronicles 1:17 Meshech: Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts and some manuscripts of one ancient translation "Mash" (see also Genesis 10.21-31).
6. 1 Chronicles 1:19 Peleg: In Hebrew "Peleg" means "divided."
7. 1 Chronicles 1:34 Jacob: The Hebrew text has "Israel," which was Jacob's name after God renamed him.
8. 1 Chronicles 1:40 Alvan: Or "Alian."
9. 1 Chronicles 1:41 Hemdan: Most Hebrew manuscripts and some manuscripts of one ancient translation (see also Genesis 36.26); other Hebrew manuscripts "Hamran."
10. 1 Chronicles 1:42 Jaakan: Or "Akan" (see Genesis 36.27).
11. 1 Chronicles 1:42 Dishan: The Hebrew text has "Dishon," another spelling of the name (see Genesis 36.28).
12. 1 Chronicles 1:51 The Edomite clans: Or "The leaders of the Edomite clans."
13. 1 Chronicles 1:51 Alvah: Or "Aliah."
14. 1 Chronicles 2:1 Jacob: See the note at 1.34.
15. 1 Chronicles 2:6 Darda: Most Hebrew manuscripts and two ancient translations (see also 1 Kings 4.30,31); some Hebrew manuscripts "Dara."
16. 1 Chronicles 2:7 Achan: The Hebrew text has "Achar," which means "trouble."
17. 1 Chronicles 2:7 Achan. . . the LORD: See Joshua 7.1-26.
18. 1 Chronicles 2:9 Caleb: The Hebrew text has "Chelubai," another form of the name.

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Acts 23:11-35 (Contemporary English Version)

¹¹That night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, "Don't worry! Just as you have told others about me in Jerusalem, you must also tell about me in Rome."
   

A Plot To Kill Paul

 ^12-13The next morning more than forty Jewish men got together and vowed that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. ¹⁴Then some of them went to the chief priests and the nation's leaders and said, "We have promised God that we would not eat a thing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵You and everyone in the council must go to the commander and pretend that you want to find out more about the charges against Paul. Ask for him to be brought before your court. Meanwhile, we will be waiting to kill him before he gets there."     ¹⁶When Paul's nephew heard about the plot, he went to the fortress and told Paul about it. ¹⁷So Paul said to one of the army officers, "Take this young man to the commander. He has something to tell him."
    ¹⁸The officer took him to the commander and said, "The prisoner named Paul asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you."
    ¹⁹The commander took the young man aside and asked him in private, "What do you want to tell me?"
    ²⁰He answered, "Some men are planning to ask you to bring Paul down to the Jewish council tomorrow. They will claim that they want to find out more about him. ²¹But please don't do what they say. More than forty men are going to attack Paul. They have made a vow not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. Even now they are waiting to hear what you decide."
    ²²The commander sent the young man away after saying to him, "Don't let anyone know that you told me this."
   

Paul Is Sent to Felix the Governor

 ²³The commander called in two of his officers and told them, "By nine o'clock tonight have two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea. Take along seventy men on horseback and two hundred foot soldiers with spears. ²⁴Get a horse ready for Paul and make sure that he gets safely through to Felix the governor."     ²⁵The commander wrote a letter that said:
    ²⁶Greetings from Claudius Lysias to the Honorable Governor Felix:
    ²⁷Some Jews grabbed this man and were about to kill him. But when I found out that he was a Roman citizen, I took some soldiers and rescued him.
    ²⁸I wanted to find out what they had against him. So I brought him before their council ²⁹and learned that the charges concern only their religious laws. This man isn't guilty of anything for which he should die or even be put in jail.
    ³⁰As soon as I learned that there was a plot against him, I sent him to you and told their leaders to bring charges against him in your court.
    ³¹The soldiers obeyed the commander's orders, and that same night they took Paul to the city of Antipatris. ³²The next day the foot soldiers returned to the fortress and let the soldiers on horseback take him the rest of the way. ³³When they came to Caesarea, they gave the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.
    ³⁴The governor read the letter. Then he asked Paul and found out that he was from Cilicia. ³⁵The governor said, "I will listen to your case as soon as the people come to bring their charges against you." After saying this, he gave orders for Paul to be kept as a prisoner in Herod's palace. ^[a]

Footnotes:

1. Acts 23:35 Herod's palace: The palace built by Herod the Great and used by the Roman governors of Palestine.

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Psalm 3:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 3

(Written by David when he was running from his son Absalom.)

An Early Morning Prayer

 ¹I have a lot of enemies, LORD.    Many fight against ²me and say,
   "God won't rescue you!"
    ³But you are my shield,
   and you give me victory
   and great honor.
    ⁴I pray to you, and you answer
   from your sacred hill.
    ⁵I sleep and wake up refreshed
   because you, LORD,
   protect me.
    ⁶Ten thousand enemies attack
   from every side,
   but I am not afraid.
    ⁷Come and save me, LORD God!
   Break my enemies' jaws
   and shatter their teeth,
    ⁸because you protect
   and bless your people.

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Proverbs 18:14-15 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁴Being cheerful helps
   when we are sick,
   but nothing helps
   when we give up.
    ¹⁵Everyone with good sense
   wants to learn.

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Verse of the Day

“At that time you will say, 'Our LORD, we are thankful, and we worship only you. We will tell the nations how glorious you are and what you have done.'” - Isaiah 12:4

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American artist Andy Warhol wrote, “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”