Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (105 page)
May 10In his old age, Samuel retired and appointed his sons as judges in his place.
2
Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba;
3
but they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and were very corrupt in the administration of justice.
4
Finally the leaders of Israel met in Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel.
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They told him that since his retirement things hadn’t been the same, for his sons were not good men.
“Give us a king like all the other nations have,” they pleaded.
6
Samuel was terribly upset and went to the Lord for advice.
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“Do as they say,” the Lord replied, “for I am the one they are rejecting, not you—they don’t want me to be their king any longer.
8
Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually forsaken me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.
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Do as they ask, but warn them about what it will be like to have a king!”
10
So Samuel told the people what the Lord had said:
11
“If you insist on having a king, he will conscript your sons and make them run before his chariots;
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some will be made to lead his troops into battle, while others will be slave laborers; they will be forced to plow in the royal fields and harvest his crops without pay, and make his weapons and chariot equipment.
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He will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him.
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He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his friends.
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He will take a tenth of your harvest and distribute it to his favorites.
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He will demand your slaves and the finest of your youth and will use your animals for his personal gain.
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He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
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You will shed bitter tears because of this king you are demanding, but the Lord will not help you.”
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But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning.
“Even so, we still want a king,” they said,
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“for we want to be like the nations around us. He will govern us and lead us to battle.”
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So Samuel told the Lord what the people had said,
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and the Lord replied again, “Then do as they say and give them a king.”
So Samuel agreed and sent the men home again.
9:
1
Kish was a rich, influential man from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, great-grandson of Becorath, and great-great-grandson of Aphiah.
2
His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel. And he was head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land!
3
One day Kish’s donkeys strayed away, so he sent Saul and a servant to look for them.
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They traveled all through the hill country of Ephraim, the land of Shalisha, the Shaalim area, and the entire land of Benjamin, but couldn’t find them anywhere.
5
Finally, after searching in the land of Zuph, Saul said to the servant, “Let’s go home; by now my father will be more worried about us than about the donkeys!”
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But the servant said, “I’ve just thought of something! There is a prophet who lives here in this city; he is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true; let’s go and find him, and perhaps he can tell us where the donkeys are.”
7
“But we don’t have anything to pay him with,” Saul replied. “Even our food is gone, and we don’t have a thing to give him.”
8
“Well,” the servant said, “I have a dollar! We can at least offer it to him and see what happens!”
9-11
“All right,” Saul agreed, “let’s try it!”
So they started into the city where the prophet lived. As they were climbing a hill toward the city, they saw some young girls going out to draw water and asked them if they knew whether the seer was in town. (In those days prophets were called seers. “Let’s go and ask the seer,” people would say, rather than, “Let’s go and ask the prophet,” as we would say now.)
12-13
“Yes,” they replied, “stay right on this road. He lives just inside the city gates. He has just arrived back from a trip to take part in a public sacrifice up on the hill. So hurry, because he’ll probably be leaving about the time you get there; the guests can’t eat until he arrives and blesses the food.”
14
So they went into the city, and as they were entering the gates they saw Samuel coming out toward them to go up the hill.
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The Lord had told Samuel the previous day,
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“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. You are to anoint him as the leader of my people. He will save them from the Philistines, for I have looked down on them in mercy and have heard their cry.”
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When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, “That’s the man I told you about! He will rule my people.”
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Just then Saul approached Samuel and asked, “Can you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”
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“I am the seer!” Samuel replied. “Go on up the hill ahead of me and we’ll eat together; in the morning I will tell you what you want to know and send you on your way.
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And don’t worry about those donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have been found. And anyway, you own all the wealth of Israel now!”
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“Pardon me, sir,” Saul replied. “I’m from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of the tribe! You must have the wrong man!”
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Then Samuel took Saul and his servant into the great hall and placed them at the head of the table, honoring them above the thirty special guests.
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Samuel then instructed the chef to bring Saul the choicest cut of meat, the piece that had been set aside for the guest of honor.
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So the chef brought it in and placed it before Saul.
“Go ahead and eat it,” Samuel said, “for I was saving it for you, even before I invited these others!”
So Saul ate with Samuel.
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After the feast, when they had returned to the city, Samuel took Saul up to the porch on the roof and talked with him there.
26-27
At daybreak the next morning, Samuel called up to him, “Get up; it’s time you were on your way!”
So Saul got up, and Samuel accompanied him to the edge of the city. When they reached the city walls, Samuel told Saul to send the servant on ahead. Then he told him, “I have received a special message for you from the Lord.”
The next morning, back across the lake, crowds began gathering on the shore waiting to see Jesus.
*
For they knew that he and his disciples had come over together and that the disciples had gone off in their boat, leaving him behind. Several small boats from Tiberias were nearby,
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so when the people saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him.
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When they arrived and found him, they said, “Sir, how did you get here?”
26
Jesus replied,
“The truth of the matter is that you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you believe in me.
27
But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. No, spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Messiah,
*
can give you. For God the Father has sent me for this very purpose.”
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They replied, “What should we do to satisfy God?”
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Jesus told them,
“This is the will of God, that you believe in the one he has sent.”
30-31
They replied, “You must show us more miracles if you want us to believe you are the Messiah. Give us free bread every day, like our fathers had while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven.’”
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Jesus said,
“Moses didn’t give it to them. My Father did.
*
And now he offers you true Bread from heaven.
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The true Bread is a Person—the one sent by God from heaven, and he gives life to the world.”
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“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day of our lives!”
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Jesus replied,
“I am the Bread of Life. No one coming to me will ever be hungry again. Those believing in me will never thirst.
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But the trouble is, as I have told you before, you haven’t believed even though you have seen me.
37
But some will come to me—those the Father has given me—and I will never, never reject them.
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For I have come here from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to have my own way.
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And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the Last Day.
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For it is my Father’s will that everyone who sees his Son and believes on him should have eternal life—that I should raise him at the Last Day.”
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Then the Jews began to murmur against him because he claimed to be the Bread from heaven.
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“What?” they exclaimed. “Why, he is merely Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know. What is this he is saying, that he came down from heaven?”
At Meribah, too, Israel angered God, causing Moses serious trouble,
33
for he became angry and spoke foolishly.
34
Nor did Israel destroy the nations in the land as God had told them to,
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but mingled in among the heathen and learned their evil ways,
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sacrificing to their idols, and were led away from God.
37-38
They even sacrificed their little children to the demons—the idols of Canaan—shedding innocent blood and polluting the land with murder.
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Their evil deeds defiled them, for their love of idols was adultery in the sight of God.
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That is why Jehovah’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred them.
41-42
That is why he let the heathen nations crush them. They were ruled by those who hated them and oppressed by their enemies.
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Again and again he delivered them from their slavery, but they continued to rebel against him and were finally destroyed by their sin.
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Yet, even so, he listened to their cries and heeded their distress;
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he remembered his promises to them and relented because of his great love,
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and caused even their enemies who captured them to pity them.
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O Lord God, save us! Regather us from the nations so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.
48
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!
Godliness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
35
A king rejoices in servants who know what they are doing; he is angry with those who cause trouble.
May 11Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head, and kissed him on the cheek and said,
“I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the king of his people, Israel!
2
When you leave me, you will see two men beside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, in the land of Benjamin; they will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father is worried about you and is asking, ‘How am I to find my son?’
3
And when you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at the altar at Bethel; one will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will have a bottle of wine.
4
They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept.
5
After that you will come to Gibeath-elohim, also known as “God’s Hill,” where the garrison of the Philistines is. As you arrive there you will meet a band of prophets coming down the hill playing a psaltery, a timbrel, a flute, and a harp, and prophesying as they come.
6
“At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you and you will prophesy with them, and you will feel and act like a different person.
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From that time on your decisions should be based on whatever seems best under the circumstances, for the Lord will guide you.
8
Go to Gilgal and wait there seven days for me, for I will be coming to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. I will give you further instructions when I arrive.”
9
As Saul said good-bye and started to go, God gave him a new attitude, and all of Samuel’s prophecies came true that day.
10
When Saul and the servant arrived at the Hill of God, they saw the prophets coming toward them, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he too began to prophesy.
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When his friends heard about it, they exclaimed, “What? Saul a prophet?”
12
And one of the neighbors added, “With a father like his?” So that is the origin of the proverb, “Is Saul a prophet too?”
*
13
When Saul had finished prophesying he climbed the hill to the altar.
14
“Where in the world did you go?” Saul’s uncle asked him.
And Saul replied, “We went to look for the donkeys, but we couldn’t find them; so we went to the prophet Samuel to ask him where they were.”
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“Oh? And what did he say?” his uncle asked.
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“He said the donkeys had been found!” Saul replied. (But he didn’t tell him that he had been anointed as king!)
17
Samuel now called a convocation of all Israel at Mizpah
18-19
and gave them this message from the Lord God: “I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were torturing you. But although I have done so much for you, you have rejected me and have said, ‘We want a king instead!’ All right, then, present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and clans.”
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So Samuel called the tribal leaders together before the Lord, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by sacred lot.
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Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally the sacred lot selected Saul, the son of Kish. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared!
22
So they asked the Lord, “Where is he? Is he here among us?”
And the Lord replied, “He is hiding in the baggage.”
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So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.
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Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king. There isn’t his equal in all of Israel!”
And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
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Then Samuel told the people again what the rights and duties of a king were; he wrote them in a book and put it in a special place before the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people home again.
26
When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a band of men whose hearts the Lord had touched became his constant companions.
27
There were, however, some bums and loafers who exclaimed, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and refused to bring him presents, but he took no notice.
11:
1
At this time Nahash led the army of the Ammonites against the Israeli city of Jabesh-gilead. But the citizens of Jabesh asked for peace. “Leave us alone and we will be your servants,” they pleaded.
2
“All right,” Nahash said, “but only on one condition: I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace upon all Israel!”
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“Give us seven days to see if we can get some help!” replied the elders of Jabesh. “If none of our brothers will come and save us, we will agree to your terms.”
4
When a messenger came to Gibeah, Saul’s hometown, and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears.
5
Saul was plowing in the field, and when he returned to town he asked, “What’s the matter? Why is everyone crying?”
So they told him about the message from Jabesh.
6
Then the Spirit of God came strongly upon Saul and he became very angry.
7
He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent messengers to carry them throughout all Israel.
“This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel to battle!” he announced. And God caused the people to be afraid of Saul’s anger, and they came to him as one man.
8
He counted them in Bezek and found that there were three hundred thousand of them in addition to thirty thousand from Judah.
9
So he sent the messengers back to Jabesh-gilead to say, “We will rescue you before tomorrow noon!” What joy there was throughout the city when that message arrived!
10
The men of Jabesh then told their enemies, “We surrender. Tomorrow we will come out to you and you can do to us as you wish.”
11
But early the next morning Saul arrived, having divided his army into three detachments, and launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and slaughtered them all morning. The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two of them were left together.
12
Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, “Where are those men who said that Saul shouldn’t be our king? Bring them here and we will kill them!”
13
But Saul replied, “No one will be executed today; for today the Lord has rescued Israel!”
14
Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us all go to Gilgal and reconfirm Saul as our king.”
15
So they went to Gilgal and in a solemn ceremony before the Lord they crowned him king. Then they offered peace offerings to the Lord, and Saul and all Israel were very happy.
But Jesus replied,
“Don’t murmur among yourselves about my saying that.
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For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him to me, and at the Last Day I will cause all such to rise again from the dead.
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As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They shall all be taught of God.’ Those the Father speaks to, who learn the truth from him, will be attracted to me.
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(Not that anyone actually sees the Father, for only I have seen him.)
47
“How earnestly I tell you this—anyone who believes in me already has eternal life!
48-51
Yes, I am the Bread of Life! When your fathers in the wilderness ate bread from the skies, they all died. But the Bread from heaven gives eternal life to everyone who eats it. I am that Living Bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone eating this Bread shall live forever; this Bread is my flesh given to redeem humanity.”
52
Then the Jews began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
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So Jesus said it again,
“With all the earnestness I possess I tell you this: Unless you eat the flesh of the Messiah
*
and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.
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But anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him at the Last Day.
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For my flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink.
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Everyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood is in me, and I in him.
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I live by the power of the living Father who sent me, and in the same way those who partake of me shall live because of me!
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I am the true Bread from heaven; and anyone who eats this Bread shall live forever, and not die as your fathers did—though they ate bread from heaven.”
59
(He preached this sermon in the synagogue in Capernaum.)
60
Even his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. Who can tell what he means?”
61
Jesus knew within himself that his disciples were complaining and said to them,
“Does
this
offend you?
62
Then what will you think if you see me, the Messiah, return to heaven again?
63
Only the Holy Spirit gives eternal life.
*
Those born only once, with physical birth, will never receive this gift. But now I have told you how to get this true spiritual life.
64
But some of you don’t believe me.”
(For Jesus knew from the beginning who didn’t believe and knew the one who would betray him.)
65
And he remarked,
“That is what I meant when I said that no one can come to me unless the Father attracts him to me.”
66
At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.
67
Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked,
“Are you going too?”
68
Simon Peter replied, “Master, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life,
69
and we believe them and know you are the holy Son of God.”
70
Then Jesus said,
“I chose the twelve of you, and one is a devil.”
71
He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would betray him.
Say thank you to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind.
2
Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies.
3
He brought the exiles back from the farthest corners of the earth.
4
They were wandering homeless in the desert,
5
hungry and thirsty and faint.
6
“Lord, help!” they cried, and he did!
7
He led them straight to safety and a place to live.
8
Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness, and for all of his wonderful deeds!
9
For he satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry soul with good.
10
Who are these who sit in darkness, in the shadow of death, crushed by misery and slavery?
11
They rebelled against the Lord, scorning him who is the God above all gods.
12
That is why he broke them with hard labor; they fell and none could help them rise again.
13
Then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he rescued them!
14
He led them from the darkness and shadow of death and snapped their chains.
15
Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds!
16
For he broke down their prison gates of brass and cut apart their iron bars.
17
Others, the fools, were ill because of their sinful ways.
18
Their appetites were gone, and death was near.
19
Then they cried to the Lord in their troubles, and he helped them and delivered them.
20
He spoke, and they were healed—snatched from the door of death.
21
Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds!
22
Let them tell him thank you as their sacrifice and sing about his glorious deeds.
23
And then there are the sailors sailing the seven seas, plying the trade routes of the world.
24
They, too, observe the power of God in action.
25
He calls to the storm winds; the waves rise high.
26
Their ships are tossed to the heavens and sink again to the depths; the sailors cringe in terror.
27
They reel and stagger like drunkards and are at their wit’s end.
28
Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and he saves them.
29
He calms the storm and stills the waves.
30
What a blessing is that stillness as he brings them safely into harbor!
31
Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds!
32
Let them praise him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.
33
He dries up rivers
34
and turns the good land of the wicked into deserts of salt.
35
Again, he turns deserts into fertile, watered valleys.
36
He brings the hungry to settle there and build their cities,
37
to sow their fields and plant their vineyards, and reap their bumper crops!
38
How he blesses them! They raise big families there and many cattle.
39
But others become poor through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40
For God pours contempt upon the haughty and causes princes to wander among ruins;
41
but he rescues the poor who are godly and gives them many children and much prosperity.
42
Good men everywhere will see it and be glad, while evil men are stricken silent.
43
Listen, if you are wise, to what I am saying. Think about the loving-kindness of the Lord!