and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the forest, in the hill of Hachilah, which is south of the desert?

And Saul said, Blessed are you of Jehovah, for you have had compassion on me.

Therefore the rulers said to the king, Please let this man be put to death. For in this way he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.

He also swore to her, Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.

And immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, I want you to give me on a platter at once the head of John the Immerser.

Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some sign done by Him.

And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.

And the same day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

said to them, You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him;

I will therefore chastise Him and release Him

And they all cried out at once, saying, Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas;

Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.

Then he said to them the third time, Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.

So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.

And when it was day, some of the Jews made a pact and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they should kill Paul.

And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul.

Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to kill him.

Jehovah will not abandon him in his hand, nor allow him to be found guilty when he is judged.

Hide me from the counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity,

so that they may shoot at the perfect one from a hiding place; suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

They devise injustice; they have finished searching out a plot. Yea, the inward part of man and the heart are unfathomable.

i1 [To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.] i0 par Rescue me, O Jehovah, from evil men; guard me against violent men,

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; the poison of vipers is under their lips. Selah

The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have laid the bait for me. Selah

Then they said, Come and let us devise schemes against Jeremiah. For the Law shall not perish from the priest, nor wisdom from the wise, nor the Word from the prophet. Come and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.

And these things they will do to you because they do not know the Father nor Me.

And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say), Let us do evil that good may come? Their condemnation is just.