The Insecurity of the Wicked

371 Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, and be not envious of them that work unrighteousness; 2 for they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and fade as the green herb. 3 Confide in Jehovah, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on faithfulness; 4 and delight thyself in Jehovah, and he will give thee the desires of thy heart. 5 Commit thy way unto Jehovah, and rely upon him: he will bring [it] to pass; 6 and he will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7 Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him that prospereth in his way, because of the man that bringeth mischievous devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself: it [would be] only to do evil. 9 For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait on Jehovah, they shall possess the land. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked is not; and thou considerest his place, but he is not. 11 But the meek shall possess the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of prosperity. 12 The wicked plotteth against the righteous, and gnasheth his teeth against him. 13 The Lord laugheth at him; for he seeth that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the afflicted and needy, to slay those that are upright in [the] way: 15 their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16 The little that the righteous hath is better than the abundance of many wicked; 17 for the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Jehovah upholdeth the righteous. 18 Jehovah knoweth the days of the perfect; and their inheritance shall be for ever: 19 they shall not be ashamed in the time of evil, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 For the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of Jehovah shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume, like smoke shall they consume away.

21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again; but the righteous is gracious and giveth: 22 for those blessed of him shall possess the land, and they that are cursed of him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a man are established by Jehovah, and he delighteth in his way: 24 though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for Jehovah upholdeth his hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread: 26 all the day he is gracious and lendeth, and his seed shall be a blessing. 27 Depart from evil, and do good, and dwell for evermore; 28 for Jehovah loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints: They are preserved for ever; but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29 The righteous shall possess the land, and dwell therein for ever. 30 The mouth of the righteous proffereth wisdom, and his tongue speaketh judgment; 31 the law of his God is in his heart; his goings shall not slide. 32 The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him: 33 Jehovah will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

34 Wait for Jehovah, and keep his way, and he will exalt thee to possess the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see [it]. 35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading like a green tree in its native soil: 36 but he passed away, and behold, he was not; and I sought him, but he was not found. 37 Mark the perfect, and behold the upright, for the end of [that] man is peace; 38 but the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is of Jehovah: he is their strength in the time of trouble. 40 And Jehovah will help them and deliver them: he will deliver them from the wicked, and save them; for they trust in him.

The Prayer of a Suffering Penitent

381 A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. Jehovah, rebuke me not in thy wrath; neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand cometh down upon me. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine indignation; no peace in my bones, because of my sin. 4 For mine iniquities are gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink, they are corrupt, because of my foolishness. 6 I am depressed; I am bowed down beyond measure; I go mourning all the day. 7 For my loins are full of burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am faint and broken beyond measure; I roar by reason of the agitation of my heart. 9 Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my sighing is not hid from thee. 10 My heart throbbeth, my strength hath left me; and the light of mine eyes, it also is no more with me. 11 My lovers and mine associates stand aloof from my stroke; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

12 And they that seek after my life lay snares [for me]; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all the day long. 13 But I, as a deaf [man], hear not; and am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. 14 Yea, I am as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. 15 For in thee, Jehovah, do I hope: thou wilt answer, O Lord my God. 16 For I said, Let them not rejoice over me! When my foot slipped, they magnified [themselves] against me. 17 For I am ready to halt, and my pain is continually before me. 18 For I will declare mine iniquity, I am grieved for my sin. 19 But mine enemies are lively, they are strong; and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied: 20 And they that render evil for good are adversaries unto me; because I pursue what is good. 21 Forsake me not, Jehovah; O my God, be not far from me. 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.

Hope in the LORD

391 To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked is before me. 2 I was dumb with silence, I held my peace from good; and my sorrow was stirred. 3 My heart burned within me; the fire was kindled in my musing: I spoke with my tongue, 4 Make me to know, Jehovah, mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: I shall know how frail I am. 5 Behold, thou hast made my days [as] hand-breadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before thee; verily, every man, [even] the high placed, is altogether vanity. Selah. 6 Verily, man walketh in a vain show; verily they are disquieted in vain; he heapeth up [riches], and knoweth not who shall gather them.

7 And now, what wait I for, Lord? my hope is in thee. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the foolish. 9 I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; for thou hast done [it]. 10 Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thy hand. 11 When thou with rebukes dost correct a man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely, every man is vanity. Selah. 12 Hear my prayer, Jehovah, and give ear unto my cry; be not silent at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, a sojourner, like all my fathers. 13 Look away from me, and let me recover strength, before I go hence and be no more.

Paul's Defense before Agrippa

261 And Agrippa said to Paul, It is permitted thee to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretching out his hand answered in his defence: 2 I count myself happy, king Agrippa, in having to answer to-day before thee concerning all of which I am accused by the Jews, 3 especially because thou art acquainted with all the customs and questions which are among the Jews; wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. 4 My manner of life then from my youth, which from its commencement was passed among my nation in Jerusalem, know all the Jews, 5 who knew me before from the outset [of my life], if they would bear witness, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand to be judged because of the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 to which our whole twelve tribes serving incessantly day and night hope to arrive; about which hope, O king, I am accused of [the] Jews. 8 Why should it be judged a thing incredible in your sight if God raises the dead? 9 I indeed myself thought that I ought to do much against the name of Jesus the Nazaraean. 10 Which also I did in Jerusalem, and myself shut up in prisons many of the saints, having received the authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death I gave my vote. 11 And often punishing them in all the synagogues, I compelled them to blaspheme. And, being exceedingly furious against them, I persecuted them even to cities out [of our own land].

Paul Tells of His Conversion

12 And when, [engaged] in this, I was journeying to Damascus, with authority and power from the chief priests, 13 at mid-day, on the way, I saw, O king, a light above the brightness of the sun, shining from heaven round about me and those who were journeying with me. 14 And, when we were all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? [it is] hard for thee to kick against goads. 15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: 16 but rise up and stand on thy feet; for, for this purpose have I appeared to thee, to appoint thee to be a servant and a witness both of what thou hast seen, and of what I shall appear to thee in, 17 taking thee out from among the people, and the nations, to whom I send thee, 18 to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.

Paul's Witness to Jews and Gentiles

19 Whereupon, king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; 20 but have, first to those both in Damascus and Jerusalem, and to all the region of Judaea, and to the nations, announced that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance. 21 On account of these things the Jews, having seized me in the temple, attempted to lay hands on and destroy me. 22 Having therefore met with [the] help which is from God, I have stood firm unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying nothing else than those things which both the prophets and Moses have said should happen, 23 [namely,] whether Christ should suffer; whether he first, through resurrection of [the] dead, should announce light both to the people and to the nations.

Paul Appeals to Agrippa to Believe

24 And as he answered for his defence with these things, Festus says with a loud voice, Thou art mad, Paul; much learning turns thee to madness. 25 But Paul said, I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but utter words of truth and soberness; 26 for the king is informed about these things, to whom also I speak with all freedom. For I am persuaded that of these things nothing is hidden from him; for this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. 28 And Agrippa [said] to Paul, In a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian. 29 And Paul [said], I would to God, both in little and in much, that not only thou, but all who have heard me this day, should become such as I also am, except these bonds. 30 And the king stood up, and the governor and Bernice, and those who sat with them, 31 and having gone apart, they spoke to one another saying, This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds. 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, This man might have been let go if he had not appealed to Caesar.