The Living Bible (200 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
Lord, I am not proud and haughty. I don’t think myself better than others. I don’t pretend to “know it all.”
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I am quiet now before the Lord, just as a child who is weaned from the breast. Yes, my begging has been stilled.
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O Israel, you too should quietly trust in the Lord—now, and always.
Lord, do you remember that time when my heart
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was so filled with turmoil?
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I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t sleep, thinking how I ought to build a permanent home for the Ark of the Lord,
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a Temple for the Mighty One of Israel. Then I vowed that I would do it; I made a solemn promise to the Lord.
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First the Ark was in Ephrathah,
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then in the distant countryside of Jaar.
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But now it will be settled in the Temple, in God’s permanent home here on earth. That is where we will go to worship him.
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Arise, O Lord, and enter your Temple with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
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We will clothe the priests in white, the symbol of all purity. May our nation shout for joy.
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Do not reject your servant David—the king you chose for your people.
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For you promised me that my son would sit on my throne and succeed me. And surely you will never go back on a promise!
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You also promised that if my descendants will obey the terms of your contract with me, then the dynasty of David shall never end.
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O Lord, you have chosen Jerusalem
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as your home:
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“This is my permanent home where I shall live,” you said, “for I have always wanted it this way.
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I will make this city prosperous and satisfy her poor with food.
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I will clothe her priests with salvation; her saints shall shout for joy.
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David’s power shall grow, for I have decreed for him a mighty Son.
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I’ll clothe his enemies with shame, but he shall be a glorious King.”
How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live in harmony!
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For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head and ran down onto his beard and onto the border of his robe.
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Harmony is as refreshing as the dew on Mount Hermon, on the mountains of Israel. And God has pronounced this eternal blessing on Jerusalem,
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even life forevermore.
Oh, bless the Lord, you who serve him as watchmen in the Temple every night.
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Lift your hands in holiness and bless the Lord.
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The Lord bless you from Zion—the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Hallelujah!
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Yes, let his people praise him as they stand in his Temple courts.
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Praise the Lord because he is so good; sing to his wonderful name.
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For the Lord has chosen Israel as his personal possession.
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I know the greatness of the Lord—that he is greater far than any other god.
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He does whatever pleases him throughout all of heaven and earth and in the deepest seas.
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He makes mists rise throughout the earth; he sends the lightning to bring down the rain and sends the winds from his treasuries.
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He destroyed the eldest child in each Egyptian home, along with the firstborn of the flocks.
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He did great miracles in Egypt before Pharaoh and all his people.
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He smote great nations, slaying mighty kings—
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Sihon, king of Amorites; and Og, the king of Bashan; and the kings of Canaan—
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and gave their land as an eternal gift to his people Israel.
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O Jehovah, your name endures forever; your fame is known to every generation.
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For Jehovah will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
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The heathen worship idols of gold and silver made by men—
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idols with speechless mouths, sightless eyes,
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and ears that cannot hear; they cannot even breathe.
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Those who make them become like them! And so do all who trust in them!
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O Israel, bless Jehovah! High Priests of Aaron, bless his name.
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O Levite priests, bless the Lord Jehovah! Oh, bless his name, all of you who trust and reverence him.
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All people of Jerusalem, praise the Lord,
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for he lives here in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his loving-kindness continues forever.
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Give thanks to the God of gods, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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Praise him who alone does mighty miracles, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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Praise him who made the heavens, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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Praise him who planted the water within the earth,
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for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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Praise him who made the heavenly lights, for his loving-kindness continues forever:
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the sun to rule the day, for his loving-kindness continues forever;
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and the moon and stars at night, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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Praise the God who smote the firstborn of Egypt, for his loving-kindness to Israel
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continues forever.
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He brought them out with mighty power and upraised fist to strike their enemies, for his loving-kindness to Israel
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continues forever.
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Praise the Lord who opened the Red Sea to make a path before them, for his loving-kindness continues forever,
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and led them safely through, for his loving-kindness continues forever—
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but drowned Pharaoh’s army in the sea, for his loving-kindness to Israel
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continues forever.
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Praise him who led his people through the wilderness, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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Praise him who saved his people from the power of mighty kings, for his loving-kindness continues forever,
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and killed famous kings who were their enemies, for his loving-kindness to Israel
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continues forever:
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Sihon, king of Amorites—for God’s loving-kindness to Israel
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continues forever—
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and Og, king of Bashan—for his loving-kindness to Israel
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continues forever.
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God gave the land of these kings to Israel as a gift forever, for his loving-kindness to Israel
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continues forever;
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yes, a permanent gift to his servant Israel, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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He remembered our utter weakness, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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And saved us from our foes, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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He gives food to every living thing, for his loving-kindness continues forever.
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Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven, for his loving-kindness continues forever.