“Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.”

8 Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises.
9 Our lives are in his hands,
and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 You have tested us, O God;
you have purified us like silver.
11 You captured us in your net
and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
12 Then you put a leader over us.
We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.
13 Now I come to your temple with burnt offerings
to fulfill the vows I made to you—
14 yes, the sacred vows that I made
when I was in deep trouble.
15 That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—
the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma, and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats.
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

8 萬民哪，要頌讚我們的上帝； 
願頌讚他的聲音傳遍四方。 
9 他保守我們的生命， 
使我們不至於跌倒。 
10 上帝啊，你磨煉我們； 
你考驗我們，像銀子經歷火的熬煉。 
11 你使我們掉進羅網， 
把重擔放在我們背上。 
12 你讓仇敵踐踏我們； 
你使我們經歷洪水與烈火， 
但現在把我們安置在穩妥地方。 
13 我要帶燒化祭進入你的殿宇； 
我要向你還我所許的願。 
14 我在患難中許下的願， 
我要償還。 
15 我要獻上燒化的公羊； 
我要獻上公牛山羊； 
燒祭牲的香氣將上達雲霄。 
16 敬畏上帝的人哪，都來聽吧； 
我要述說他為我所做的奇事。 
17 我向他求援； 
我也向他唱頌讚的歌。 
18 我如果忽視自己的罪， 
主一定不垂聽我。 
19 但上帝垂聽了我； 
他垂聽了我的禱告。 
20 我要讚美上帝， 
因為他沒有拒絕我的禱告， 
也沒有收回他永恆的愛。

22 So Paul, standing in the middle of Areopagus council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. 24 He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one blood he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him ‘we live and move and exist.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. 30 God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

22 保羅站立在亞略‧巴古議會上，說：「雅典的居民們！我知道你們在各方面都表現出濃厚的宗教熱情。 23 我在城裏到處走動，觀看你們崇拜的場所，竟發現有一座祭壇，上面刻著『獻給不認識的神』。我現在要告訴你們的就是這位你們不認識、卻在敬拜著的神。 24 這位創造天、地，和其中萬物的上帝乃是天地的主。他不住人所建造的殿宇， 25 也不需要人的任何供奉；因為他自己把生命、氣息，和萬物賜給人類。 26 他從一人造出萬族，使他們散居在整個地面上，而且為他們預先定下了年限和居住的疆界。 27 他這樣做是要他們尋求上帝，或者能夠在摸索中找到他。其實，上帝與我們每一個人相距不遠。 28 有人說：『我們的生活、行動、存在都在於他。』又如你們當中某詩人說的：『我們也是他的兒女。』 29 既然我們是他的兒女，我們就不應該幻想上帝的本性是可以用人的技巧，用金銀或石頭所雕製的偶像來比擬的。 30 當人類處在蒙昧無知的時候，上帝不加深究，但現在他命令全人類要離棄邪惡的道路。 31 因為他已經定下日子，要藉著他所揀選的一個人，用公義來審判全世界；由於使這一個人從死裏復活，他已經把憑據給了全人類。」 32 他們一聽見保羅說起死人復活的事，有人就譏笑他；另有些人說：「我們希望再聽你講講這件事。」 33 於是保羅離開了議會。 34 有些人成為他的同道，作了信徒；其中有亞略‧巴古的議員杜尼修，又有一個名叫大馬哩的婦人，和另外一些人。