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David sings to praise God[a]
22 David wrote this song when the Lord saved him from the power of his enemies when Saul was king.
2 This is what he sang:
‘The Lord keeps me safe.
He is my great rock and my strong place.
3 My God is my high rock.
I run to him to hide and be safe.
He keeps me safe like a soldier's shield.
He is the strong place where I can hide safely.
God, you have saved me from men who want to attack me.
4 I praise the Lord because he deserves it!
When I called to him for help,
he saved me from my enemies.
5 Death was near enough to catch me!
Danger was like a river that wanted to drown me.
6 Death was tying me up with ropes,
to pull me into the deep hole of the grave.
7 In my trouble I prayed to the Lord.
I called to my God to help me.
He heard my voice from his home in heaven.
My prayer reached his ears.
8 Then the earth moved and it shook.
Even the sky shook,
because God was angry.
9 He breathed out smoke from his nose.
Fire and hot coals came out from his mouth,
to destroy his enemies.
10 God caused the sky to bend as he came down.
Dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He sat on a cherub and he flew.
He flew like the wind.
12 God put darkness all round him.
He hid himself under dark clouds that held rain.
13 Bright light went in front of him.
There was lightning like hot coals!
14 The Lord sent thunder from the sky.
People everywhere heard the voice of the Most High God.
15 The Lord shot arrows of lightning.
He caused his enemies to run away.
16 When the Lord shouted against his enemies,
even the bottom of the deep sea appeared.
People could see the deepest places of the earth,
when he breathed out in anger.
17 The Lord reached down to me from above.
He took hold of me and he pulled me up out of the deep water.
18 Yes, he saved me from my powerful enemies.
The people who hated me were too strong for me,
but the Lord saved me from their power.
19 They attacked me when I was in trouble,
but the Lord helped me.
20 He led me out to an open place where I would be safe.
He saved me because I made him happy.
21 The Lord was kind to me
because I do things that please him.
He blesses me
because I am not guilty of bad things.
22 I have obeyed the Lord's commands.
I have not turned against my God.
23 I understand all his rules,
and I do not refuse to obey them.
24 He knows that I have done nothing that is wrong.
I kept away from any sin.
25 The Lord was kind to me,
because I did good things.
He sees that I am not guilty.
26 Lord, if people are faithful to you,
then you are faithful to them.
If people do nothing that is bad,
they can trust you to do nothing bad to them.
27 If people keep themselves pure,
they can trust you to do only good things.
But if people are wicked,
you turn against them.
28 You save people who are humble.
But if people are proud, you cause them to fall.
29 Lord, you make my lamp burn brightly.
You are my light in the dark.
30 You make me strong,
so that I can chase a whole army!
With the help of my God,
I can climb over any high wall.
31 God's way is perfect.
The Lord's promises are always true.
He keeps safe everyone who goes to him for help,
like a shield that keeps a soldier safe.
32 We know that the Lord is God,
and no one else.
Only our God can keep us safe,
like a strong rock!
33 It is God who makes me strong.
He shows me the safe way through my life.
34 He makes my feet stand strongly on the ground.
Like a deer,
I can stand on high hills and not fall.
35 He teaches me how to fight in war.
He makes my arms strong
to shoot arrows from a metal bow.
36 You keep me safe in the battle,
like a shield.
Your kind help has made me great.
37 You have helped me to move safely,
so that my feet do not slip.
38 I ran after my enemies and I destroyed them.
I did not turn back until I had killed them.
39 I destroyed them completely.
I knocked them down to the ground.
They could not get up again.
They fell under my feet.
40 You have made me strong to fight battles
so that I win against my enemies.
41 You caused my enemies to turn their backs,
and they ran away from me.
I destroyed those who hate me.
42 They called out for help,
but nobody was there to save them.
They called to the Lord,
but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them until they became like dust.
I walked over them,
like dirt that lies on the streets.
44 You have saved me when my people were attacking me.
You have made me a ruler of other nations.
People that I did not know before
now serve me as their ruler.
45 Foreign people cannot stand against me,
because they are afraid.
When they hear about me,
they choose to obey me.
46 They are not brave enough to fight me.
They shake with fear
as they leave their strong cities.
47 The Lord is alive! He is my strong Rock!
Everyone should praise him!
He rules as king!
He is the strong God who saves me.
48 He is the true God who punishes my enemies.
He makes the nations obey me.
49 He is the one who saves me from my enemies.
Yes, God, you give me power
to win against those who attack me.
You keep me safe from angry and cruel men.
50 Lord, I will thank you,
so that all the nations know about you.
I will sing to praise your name.
51 Yes, the Lord gives power to me, David, his king.
He gives me great strength to win against my enemies.
I am the special king that he has chosen.
He will continue to be kind to me
and to my descendants for ever.’
David's last words
23 These are David's last words. The God that Jacob worshipped made Jesse's son David great. God chose him to rule Israel as king. He also wrote beautiful songs for the Israelites. This is David's message:
2 ‘The Spirit of the Lord gives me his message.
I speak what he tells me to say.
3 Israel's God has spoken.
The one who keeps Israel safe said to me,
“A king should rule over people in a way that is right and fair.
He should show that he respects and obeys God.
4 A king who rules like that is like the light of the sun at dawn.
He is like the sky when it has no clouds in it in the morning.
He is like bright sun after rain,
that helps the grass to grow strongly.”
5 That is how God will bless my descendants.
He has made a promise to me that will continue for ever.
It is a strong promise that will never change.
I know that he will always help me.
He will do for me everything that I hope for.
6 But God will remove all wicked people.
He will throw them away like weeds.
They are like thorn bushes
that you cannot pull out with your hands.
7 You need an iron tool or a spear to remove them.
Then you burn them completely in a fire.’
David's brave soldiers
8 These are the names of David's bravest soldiers:
Josheb-Basshebeth was the leader of the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’. He belonged to Tahkemon's clan. He used his spear to fight against 800 men in one battle and he killed them all.
9 Another of the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’ was Dodai's son, Eleazar. He belonged to Ahoh's clan. He was with David at Pas-Dammim when they insulted the Philistine soldiers before a battle.[b] The Israelite soldiers ran away from the fight, 10 but Eleazar stood there. He knocked down the Philistine soldiers until his hand became tired. It became fixed to his sword. On that day, the Lord caused him to win a great battle. When the other Israelite soldiers returned to help him, they took things from the dead Philistines. That was the only thing left for them to do.
11 The third of the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’ was Shammah, the son of Agee, who belonged to Harar's clan. The Philistine soldiers had come together in a field of beans. The Israelite soldiers ran away from them. 12 But Shammah stood in the middle of the field to stop the Philistines taking it for themselves. He killed the Philistines. The Lord caused him to win a great battle.
13 At the time of the harvest, three of David's 30 bravest soldiers went to be with David near Adullam. He was hiding there in a cave. A group of Philistine soldiers had made their camp in Rephaim valley. 14 David was in his strong safe place. A group of Philistine soldiers had made their home in Bethlehem. 15 David was very thirsty. He said, ‘I want someone to bring water from the well near Bethlehem's gate for me to drink.’ 16 So the three brave soldiers fought through the Philistine camp and they reached Bethlehem's gate. They took some water from the well there and they carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it. He poured it on the ground as an offering to the Lord. 17 He said, ‘Lord, it is not right for me to drink this water. It would seem like the blood of the men who fetched it for me. The Philistines might have killed them on the way.’ So David refused to drink it.
Those were some of the great things that the three brave soldiers did.
18 Abishai was the leader of David's 30 great soldiers. He was the brother of Zeruiah's son Joab. One time, he used his spear to fight 300 men and he killed them all. So he became as famous as the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’. 19 He was not one of the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’ but he received more honour than the other 30 great soldiers. So he became their leader.
20 Jehoiada's son, Benaiah, was also one of David's brave soldiers. He came from Kabzeel and he did many great things. He killed two of Moab's best soldiers. He also went down into a deep hole to kill a lion when snow was on the ground. 21 Benaiah also killed a great Egyptian man who held a spear. Benaiah attacked him with a heavy stick. He took the spear from the Egyptian's hand and he used it to kill him. 22 Those were some things that Jehoiada's son Benaiah did. He became as famous as the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’. 23 He received more honour than the other 30 great soldiers, but he did not belong to the ‘Three Brave Soldiers’. David made him the leader of his own special soldiers who were his guards.
The Holy Spirit comes
2 Then the day of the Pentecost festival arrived. All the believers were meeting together in one place.[a] 2 Suddenly, as they were sitting together, they heard a noise. The noise came from the sky and it filled the whole house. It was like the sound of a strong wind. 3 Then they saw something that looked like many small fires. The separate fires moved and went to sit on each person there. 4 All the believers became full with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages that they had not learned. They spoke whatever language the Holy Spirit helped them to speak.
5 At that time, Jews who came from many different countries in the world were staying in Jerusalem. They were Jews who carefully obeyed God's Law. 6 When these Jews heard the noise, a large crowd of them came together in that place. As the believers spoke, each person in the crowd could hear the message in their own language. This confused them. 7 They were very surprised and they said to each other, ‘These men who are speaking our languages are all from Galilee. 8 But each of us can hear them speak in the language of our own home country. How can this happen? 9 Some of us are from Parthia, Media and Elam. Some of us live in Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia. Some of us are from Pontus and Asia. 10 Some of us are from Phrygia and Pamphylia. Some of us are from Egypt. Some of us are from the country of Libya, near the town of Cyrene. Some of us have come from Rome to visit Jerusalem. 11 Some of us were born as Jews. Others of us are Gentiles who now obey God as the Jews do. Some of us are from Crete and some of us are from Arabia. But we all hear these people speaking in our own languages. They are speaking about all the great things that God has done.’
12 All the people were very surprised. They did not understand what was happening. ‘What does all this mean?’ they asked each other. 13 But some other people laughed at the disciples. They said, ‘These people have drunk too much wine!’
Peter speaks to the crowd
14 Peter was there with the other 11 apostles and he stood up with them. He began to speak to the crowd with a loud voice. He said, ‘You people who are Jews like us, listen carefully to me. All of you who live here in Jerusalem, you also listen to me. I will explain to you everything that is happening. 15 Some of you think that my friends here are drunk. But they are not drunk, because it is only nine o'clock in the morning.[b] 16 No, something different is happening here. Long ago, the prophet Joel spoke God's message about all this. This is what he said:[c]
17 God says “This is what I will do in the last days.
I will give my Spirit to all people.
Your sons and daughters will speak my message to people.
Your young men will see visions in their minds.
And your old men will see things in their dreams.
18 At that time, I will give my Spirit to all my servants,
both men and women.
Then they will speak my message to people.
19 I will cause special things to appear in the sky.
I will cause special things to appear on the earth too.
Those things will show how great I am.
There will be blood, fire and thick dark smoke.
20 The sun will become dark to people.
The moon will become dark red like the colour of blood.
These things will happen before the great day of the Lord arrives.
That will be a wonderful day!
21 The Lord will save everyone who asks him to help them.” ’
22 Peter then said, ‘People of Israel, listen to what I am saying! Jesus, the man from Nazareth, came with God's authority to do his work. God did many powerful and special things through him. These miracles showed you clearly that God had sent him. You know about all this. These things happened here, and you saw them. 23 God knew that Jesus' enemies would give him to you. God had decided that this should happen. You let people who do not obey God's Law fix him to the cross. In that way you killed him. 24 But after his death, God caused him to become alive again. God saved Jesus from the power of death. It was impossible for death to keep hold of him. 25 A long time ago, King David spoke about the Messiah in this way:
“I saw the Lord near me all the time.
He is next to me, on my right side,
so nothing will cause me trouble.
26 Because of this, I am very happy,
and I will praise you, God.
I am human and one day I will die,
but I know that you will help me while I live.
27 When I die, you will not leave me in Hades, the place for dead people.
You will not let anything destroy the body of your Holy One.
28 You have shown me the paths that lead to life with you.
I will be completely happy because you will be with me for ever.” ’[d]
29 Peter then said, ‘Friends, people of Israel, I must speak clearly to you about our ancestor, King David. He died and people buried his body in the ground. You can still see the place where people buried him. 30 He was a prophet. He knew what God had promised to do for him. He knew that one of his descendants would be king of God's people one day. 31 David understood what God would do in a future time. He did not speak about himself, but he spoke about the Messiah. He said that God would cause this man to become alive again after his death. God would not let him remain in Hades, the place for dead people. Nothing would destroy his body. 32 This man that David talked about is Jesus. After his death, God caused him to become alive again. We ourselves saw this happen. All of us saw it. 33 God took Jesus back up to heaven. He caused Jesus to sit at his right side, the place of great honour. Jesus received the Holy Spirit from his Father God, so that he could give the Spirit to us. This is what God had promised to do. God has poured his Holy Spirit on us. Now you are seeing and hearing the result of this. 34 King David himself did not go up into heaven like Jesus did. But David said:
“The Lord God said to my Lord:
Sit at my right side until I beat your enemies completely.
35 Then you will be able to put your feet on them.”[e]
36 So all you people of Israel must be sure to know this: It is this same Jesus that God has chosen to be the Messiah. God has made him to be our Lord. But you fixed him to a cross and you killed him.’
37 The people heard what Peter said to them. They were very upset. So they said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Friends, tell us what we should do.’
38 Peter said to them, ‘Each of you must stop doing wrong things. You must change how you live. If you believe in Jesus Christ, then we will baptize you. God will forgive you for the wrong things that you have done. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to you. 39 God has promised to do all this for you and your children. He has also promised this to people who live far away in other places. The Lord our God will do it for all the people that he has called to come to him.’
40 Peter also told them many other things. He continued to speak strongly to them. He told them to be careful and he said, ‘People who are alive today do not do what is right. Save yourselves from the punishment that God will send on them.’
41 Many of the people who listened to Peter believed his message. So the apostles baptized those people. About three thousand people who now believed in Jesus joined the group that same day.
How the believers lived
42 These new believers listened carefully to what the apostles taught them. They joined with everyone else in the group. They prayed together and they ate meals together.[f]
43 The apostles did many miracles which showed that the power of God was with them. As a result, all the people were very surprised and afraid. 44 All the believers continued to meet together often. They shared all their things with each other. 45 They sold some of their own things. Then they gave that money to any believers who needed it. 46 The whole group of believers met together every day in the yard of the temple. They shared their food and they ate meals together in each other's homes. They were very happy and they were honest with each other. 47 All the time, they praised God. All the other people thought that the believers were good people. Every day, the Lord saved more people so that the group of believers grew bigger.
A song to sing as we climb.
David wrote this song.
122 It made me very happy when people said to me,
‘We will go to the house of the Lord.’[a]
2 Now we have arrived!
We are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is a strong city where many people can meet together.
4 Israel's tribes who belong to the Lord go up there.[b]
They go there to thank the Lord,
as he has commanded them.
5 Israel's leaders sit there to judge the people.
They sit on the thrones of King David's descendants.
6 Pray that there will be peace in Jerusalem.
Pray that people who love Jerusalem will be safe.
7 Yes, I pray that there will be peace inside the city's walls.
I pray people will be safe in their strong houses.
8 Because of my family and my friends I will pray,
‘Please let there be peace in Jerusalem.’
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will pray for good things to happen in Jerusalem.
19 You may be humble and have poor people as your friends.
But that is better than if you have proud friends
who give you things that they have robbed from others.
20 If you listen carefully to good teaching, you will do well.
If you trust in the Lord, you are in a happy place.
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