Psalms 144 Cross References - LEB

¹ Of David.*
Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, the one who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war— ² my loyal love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, and one in whom I take refuge, the one who subdues peoples* under me. ³ O Yahweh, what is humankind that you take knowledge of him, or the son of man that you take thought of him? ⁴ Humankind is like a breath, his days like a passing shadow. ⁵ O Yahweh, bow the heavens and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke. ⁶ Flash forth lightning and scatter them; dispatch your arrows and rout them. ⁷ Stretch out your hands from on high; Rescue me and deliver me from many waters, from the hand of foreigners, ⁸ whose mouth speaks falsely, and their right hand is a false right hand. ⁹ O God, I will sing a new song to you. With a lyre of ten strings I will sing praise to you, ¹⁰ who gives victory to kings, who rescues David his servant from the evil sword. ¹¹ Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouth speaks falsely, and whose right hand is a false right hand, ¹² that our sons may be like plants, full grown in their youth, our daughters like corner pillars, carved in the style of a palace, ¹³ that our granaries may be full, providing produce of all kinds,* that our sheep may produce by the thousands, by the tens of thousands in our open fields, ¹⁴ that our cattle may be pregnant; that there be no breach in our walls, and no going out in exile, and no outcry in our plazas. ¹⁵ Blessed are the people who have it thus. Blessed are the people whose God is Yahweh.

³⁰ How could one chase a thousand and two could cause a myriad to flee, if their Rock had not sold them, and Yahweh had not given them up? ³¹ For the fact of the matter is, their rock is not like our Rock, and our enemies recognize* this.

³⁵ He trains my hands for the war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

² Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I have taken refuge, my shield and the horn of my deliverance, my stronghold.

³¹ For who is God apart from Yahweh, and who is a rock except our God?

³⁴ He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³ For not with their sword did they possess the land, and their arm did not give them victory. Rather it was your right hand and your arm and the light of your presence, because you delighted in them. ⁴ You are my king, O God. Command* victories for Jacob.

¹² Through God we will do _⌊valiantly_⌋,* and it is he who will tread down our enemies.

³ Be for me a rock of refuge to resort to always; you have ordained* to save me, because you are my rock and my fortress.

¹ Come, let us sing for joy to Yahweh; let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

⁴ Trust in Yahweh forever, for in Yah, Yahweh you have an everlasting rock.

²⁴ 'Only in Yahweh,' one shall say to me, 'are righteousness and strength.' He shall come to him, and all those who were angry with him shall be ashamed.

⁴ for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but powerful to God for the tearing down of fortresses, tearing down arguments

¹⁰ Finally, become strong in the Lord and in the might of his strength. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil,

² And he said: "Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. ³ I take refuge in God, my rock,* my shield, and the _⌊strength_⌋* of my salvation. My stronghold and my refuge, O my savior, you will save me from violence!

⁴⁰ You have girded me with physical strength for the battle; you caused those who rose up against me to kneel under me. ⁴¹ _⌊My enemies you cause to retreat from me_⌋;* I destroy those who hate me. ⁴² They looked out, but there was no deliverer, even to Yahweh, but he did not answer them. ⁴³ I beat them fine, like the dust of the earth; like the mire of the streets, I crushed them, I stamped them down. ⁴⁴ You delivered me from the strife of my people; you preserved me as the head of the nations. A people I had not known served me. ⁴⁵ Children of a foreign land came cringing to me; _⌊when they heard of me_⌋,* they became obedient to me. ⁴⁶ Children of a foreign land lost heart and came trembling from their strongholds. ⁴⁷ Yahweh lives! Blessed be my rock! May God, the rock of my salvation, be exalted! ⁴⁸ God does vengeance for me, bringing down peoples under me.

⁴⁷ the God who executed vengeance for me, and subdued peoples under me,

⁹ O my strength,* I will watch for you, because you, O God, are my (high) stronghold.

⁹ Look at our shield, O God, and have regard for the face of your anointed one.

² I will say to Yahweh, "You are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust."

³ Your people _⌊will volunteer_⌋* in the day of your power.* In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, you will have the dew of your youth.*

¹⁹ O Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth, and they will say, "Our ancestors* have inherited only lies,* vanity, and there is no profit in them.

¹⁷ "What is a human being that you make him great and that _⌊you fix your mind on him_⌋,*

¹⁴ "What is a human being, that he can be clean, or* that one born of a woman can be righteous?

⁴ what is a human being that you think of him? and a child of humankind that you care for him?

³ Do not place trust in princes, in a son of humankind with whom there is no deliverance. ⁴ His breath departs; he returns to his plot;* on that day his plans perish.

⁶ But someone testified somewhere, saying,
"What is man, that you remember him, or the son of man, that you care for him?

¹⁴ For _⌊we must certainly die_⌋,* and we are as the waters spilled to the ground which cannot be gathered. God will not take a life but devises plans for a banished person not to be cast out from him.

¹⁵ For we are strangers before you and sojourners like all our ancestors.* Our days are like the shadow upon earth, and there is no hope of abiding.

¹⁹ How much more dwellers in clay houses, whose foundation is in the dust? They are crushed like a moth.

⁹ for we are of yesterday, and we do not know, for our days on earth are a shadow.

¹ "A human being born of a woman is short of days and full of troubles.* ² Like a flower he comes up, and he withers away; and he flees like a* shadow, but* he does not last. ³ Even on such a one you fix your eyes, and you bring me into judgment with you.

⁵ Look, you have made my days mere handbreadths, and my lifespan as nothing next to you. Surely every person standing firm is complete vanity. Selah ⁶ Surely a man walks about as a mere _⌊shadow_⌋;* surely in vain they bustle about. He heaps up possessions but does not know who will gather them in.

¹¹ When with rebukes you chastise a man for sin, you* _⌊consume_⌋* like a moth his delightful things. Surely everyone is a mere vapor.* Selah

⁹ Only a vapor* are men of low degree, a deception are men of high degree. _⌊Weighed_⌋* in a balance, together they are lighter than a vapor.

⁴⁷ Remember what my lifespan is. Remember for what vanity you have created all the children of humankind.

¹¹ My days are like a lengthened shadow, and I wither like grass.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like the grass. As the flower of the field, so he blossoms. ¹⁶ When the wind passes over it, it is no more, and its place knows it no longer.

²³ Like a lengthening shadow I am passing away; I am shaken off like a locust.

² "Vanity of vanities!" says the Teacher,* "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!"

¹⁴ I saw all the works that are done under the sun. Look! Everything is vanity and chasing wind.

¹³ But it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not prolong their days, like the shadow; because there is no fearing _⌊God's presence_⌋.*

⁸ "Vanity of vanity!" says the Teacher.* "Everything is vanity!"

¹⁸ And Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke because Yahweh went down on it in the fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a smelting furnace, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

⁹ So he bowed the heavens and came down with a thick cloud under his feet.

³² the one who looks at the earth and it quakes, and touches the mountains and they smoke.

¹ * Would that you would tear the heavens and come down; the mountains would quake before you, ² * as fire kindles brushwood, the fire causes water to boil, to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations might tremble from your _⌊presence_⌋.*

³ Yahweh is slow to anger but great in power; he will certainly not allow the guilty to go unpunished. _⌊He marches_⌋* in storm wind and in gale; storm clouds are the dust of his feet. ⁴ He rebukes the sea and he dries up the rivers; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither;* the blossom of Lebanon languishes. ⁵ Mountains quake before him; the hills shake apart.* The earth heaves before him— the world and all her inhabitants. ⁶ His indignation—who can stand before it? Who can endure _⌊his fierce anger_⌋?* His wrath is poured out like fire; rocks are shattered before* him.

³ God came from Teman; the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covers the heavens, and his praise fills the earth. ⁴ And his brightness was like the light; flashing rays came from his hand for him; And there is the covering of his strength. ⁵ Before him went Disease,* and Pestilence* went out at his feet. ⁶ He stood and measured the earth; he looked and made the nations tremble. Then the mountains of old were shattered; the hills of old collapsed. The ways of old belong to him.

¹⁸ For you have not come to something that can be touched, and to a burning fire, and to darkness, and to gloom, and to a whirlwind,

²³ I will heap disasters upon them; my arrows I will spend on them.

⁴² I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh with the blood of the slain, and captives* from the heads* of the leaders of the enemy.'

¹² He put darkness as a canopy all around him, a collection of _⌊thick rain clouds_⌋.* ¹³ From the brightness before him flamed burning coals of fire. ¹⁴ Yahweh thundered from heaven, and the Most High _⌊uttered his voice_⌋.* ¹⁵ He sent arrows and he scattered them, lightning, and he directed them.

¹² If he* does not repent, he* will sharpen his sword. He has bent his bow and he has _⌊strung_⌋* it. ¹³ And he has prepared for him weapons of death. He has made his arrows fiery shafts.

¹³ And Yahweh thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice with hail and coals of fire. ¹⁴ And he shot his arrows and scattered them,* and many lightning bolts and routed them.

¹² For you will _⌊turn them to flight_⌋;* you will aim arrows on your bowstrings at their faces.

⁵ Your arrows are sharp; peoples fall under you in the midst of the king's enemies.

¹⁷ The clouds poured out water. The skies _⌊thundered_⌋.* Your arrows also _⌊flew about_⌋.* ¹⁸ The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;* lightnings lit the world; the earth shook and quaked.

¹⁷ He sent from a high position and took me; he drew me from mighty waters.

² Those of the seed of Israel separated themselves from all of the foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.*

¹⁶ He reached* from on high; he seized me. He drew me from many waters.

⁴⁴ as soon as _⌊they heard_⌋,* they obeyed me. The children of a foreign land feigned obedience before me.

³ For foreigners have risen against me, and ruthless men seek my life. They have not set God before them. Selah

¹ For the music director, according to The Lilies. Of David.*
Save me, O God, because waters have come up to my neck.* ² I sink in the mud of the deep, and there is no foothold. I have come to watery depths, and the torrent floods over me.

¹⁴ Deliver me from the mud and do not let me sink. Let me be delivered from those who hate me and from the watery depths. ¹⁵ Do not let the torrent of waters flood over me, or the deep swallow me, or the pit close its mouth over me.

³ The rivers have lifted up, O Yahweh; the rivers have lifted up their _⌊rumbling_⌋;* the rivers have lifted up their pounding. ⁴ Mightier than the rumblings of many waters, mightier than the mighty breakers of the sea, Yahweh on high is mighty.

¹¹ Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouth speaks falsely, and whose right hand is a false right hand,

¹¹ Judah has been faithless, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the sanctuary of Yahweh which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign* god.

⁴³ He trusts in God; let him deliver him now if he wants to,* because he said, 'I am the Son of God'!"

¹⁵ And from his mouth the serpent spouted water like a river after the woman, in order that he could make her swept away by a river. ¹⁶ And the earth came to the aid of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spouted out of his mouth.

¹⁵ And he said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and crowds and nations and languages.

²² And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth,

⁴⁰ For indeed I lift up my hand to heaven, And I promise _⌊as I live forever_⌋,*

⁷ His mouth is filled with cursing, with deceits and oppression; under his tongue are trouble and evil.

² They speak falseness _⌊to each other_⌋.* With flattering lips, with _⌊a double heart_⌋* they speak.

⁶ And when one comes to see me, he speaks falsely; his heart gathers disaster for itself. He goes out to the street; he speaks.

³ The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray from the belly, speaking lies.

⁴ They only* plan to thrust him down from his high position; they are pleased with deception. With their mouths* they bless, but _⌊inwardly_⌋* they curse. Selah

²⁶ So _⌊he made an oath_⌋* against them, to make them drop in the wilderness,

² for _⌊wicked and deceitful mouths_⌋* have opened against me. They speak to me with a lying tongue. ³ They also surround me with words of hate, and fight me without cause.

²⁰ He feeds on ashes; a _⌊deceived mind_⌋* misleads him. And he cannot save _⌊himself_⌋,* and he cannot say, "Is this not an illusion in my right hand?"

⁵ they hatch viper eggs, and they weave a spider web. One who eats their eggs dies, and that which is pressed is hatched as a serpent. ⁶ Their webs cannot become clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds* of violence are in their hands. ⁷ Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; devastation and destruction are in their highways.

³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.

¹⁶ And he causes all people, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, that they give them a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, ¹⁷ and that no one was able to buy or to sell except the one who had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of his name.

¹ And David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with stringed instruments, with harps, and with cymbals. And their inventory of the men of the work and for their duty was: ² for the sons of Asaph: Zakkur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph, under the hand* of Asaph, who prophesied under the hands* of the king. ³ Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah,* Heshabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands* of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the stringed instrument with thanksgiving and praise to Yahweh. ⁴ Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. ⁵ All these were sons to Heman, the seer of the king, according to the words of God to raise a horn.* And God had given to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶ All these were under the _⌊direction_⌋* of their father in the music of the house of Yahweh, with cymbals, harps, and stringed instruments for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the _⌊direction_⌋* of the king.

² Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre; with a harp of ten strings play to him. ³ Sing to him a new song; play skillfully with jubilant shout.

³ Then he put a new song in my mouth, a praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and will trust Yahweh.

¹ For the music director; on the Gittith. Of Asaph.*
Shout out to God our strength; shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. ² Lift up a song and strike* the tambourine, the pleasant lyre, together with the harp. ³ Blow the horn at new moon, at full moon, for our feast day,

¹ A psalm.*
Sing to* Yahweh a new song, for he has done wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have secured his victory.

² Awake, harp and lyre. I will awake the dawn.* ³ I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Yahweh; I will give you praise among the nations,

¹ Praise Yah.* Sing to Yahweh a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

³ Praise him with blast of horn; praise him with harp and lyre. ⁴ Praise him with tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flute. ⁵ Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with clashing cymbals.

⁹ And they were singing a new song, saying,
"You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and bought people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation, ¹⁰ and made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth."

³ And they were singing something like a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one was able to learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who had been bought from the earth.

⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, "You are coming to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I am coming to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have defied! ⁴⁶ This day Yahweh will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down _⌊and cut off your head_⌋!* Then I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of heaven and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God who is for Israel.

¹⁹ And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go up to the Philistines? Will you give them into my hands?" Yahweh said to David, "Go up, for _⌊I will certainly give_⌋* the Philistines into your hand." ²⁰ So David came to Baal Perazim and defeated them there; and David said, "Yahweh has burst through my enemies before me like the bursting of water." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.* ²¹ They had left their idols there, so David and his men carried them away. ²² _⌊Once again_⌋* the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. ²³ So David inquired of Yahweh, but he said, "You shall not go up. Rather, go around to their rear and come to them from opposite the balsam trees. ²⁴ _⌊And it shall be_⌋* that when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then pay attention, for then Yahweh has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines." ²⁵ So David did thus, just as Yahweh had commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines from Geba _⌊all the way_⌋* to Gezer.

⁶ David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, so Aram became servants of David, bringing tribute. Yahweh protected David everywhere he went. ⁷ David took the small round gold shields which had _⌊belonged_⌋* to the servants of Hadadezer, and he brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ From Betah and from Berothai, the towns of Hadadezer, King David took very many bronze items. ⁹ When Toi, the king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, ¹⁰ Toi sent Joram his son to King David _⌊to greet him_⌋* and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; _⌊for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi_⌋.* _⌊He brought with him_⌋* objects of silver and objects of gold and objects of bronze. ¹¹ King David dedicated them also to Yahweh along with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated from all of the nations which he had subdued; ¹² from Aram and from Moab and from the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* and from the Philistines and from Amalek and from the plunder of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah. ¹³ So David made a name for himself when he returned from defeating Aram in the Valley of Salt, eighteen thousand. ¹⁴ He put garrisons in Edom; all over Edom he put garrisons, and all of Edom became servants of David. Yahweh protected David wherever he went.

¹⁶ Now Yishbi in Nob, who was among the descendents of Raphah* (now the weight of his spearhead was three hundredweight of bronze, and he was newly armed), said that he would kill David. ¹⁷ But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and he attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall not go out with us any longer to the battle, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel."

¹ Now Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man before his master and _⌊highly regarded_⌋,* for by him Yahweh had given victory to Aram. Now the man was a mighty warrior, but he was afflicted with a skin disease.

⁵⁰ the one who makes great victories for his king, and who shows loyal love for his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever.

¹⁶ The king is not saved by the greatness of an army. The warrior is not delivered by the greatness of strength. ¹⁷ The horse is a false hope for victory, nor can it save by the greatness of its power. ¹⁸ Behold, the eye of Yahweh is on those who fear him, on those who hope* for his loyal love

⁷ O Yahweh, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.

¹ Thus says Yahweh to his anointed one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subjugate nations before him, and I uncover* the loins of kings to open doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: ² "I myself will go before you, and I will level the _⌊mountains_⌋.* I will break the doors of bronze and cut throughthe bars of iron. ³ And I will give you the treasures of darkness and treasures of secret places so that you may know that I am Yahweh, the one who calls you by your name, the God of Israel, ⁴ for the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one. And I call you by your name; I give you a name of honor, though* you do not know me. ⁵ I am Yahweh, and there is none besides me; besides me there is no god. I gird you though* you do not know me, ⁶ so that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none besides me; I am Yahweh and there is none besides me.

⁶ And now I myself have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and also the animals* of the field I have given to him to serve him. ⁷ And all the nations will serve him, and his son, and _⌊his grandson_⌋,* until the coming of the time of _⌊his own_⌋* land. Then many nations and great kings will let him work. ⁸ "But it will be that the nation or kingdom that will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, and with the famine, and with the plague," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "until I have destroyed it with my hand.

⁶ When the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* saw that they had become odious to David, the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* sent word and hired Aram Beth-Rehob and Aram-Zobah, twenty thousand infantry; and they also hired the king of Maacah, a thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men. ⁷ When David heard, he sent Joab and all the army of mighty warriors. ⁸ The _⌊Ammonites_⌋* came out and _⌊drew up a battle formation_⌋* at the entrance of the gate, but Aram-Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were alone in the open field. ⁹ When Joab saw that _⌊the battle was to be fought on two fronts_⌋,* he chose from all the members of the elite troops of Israel and _⌊lined them up for battle_⌋* to meet Aram. ¹⁰ The rest of the army he placed into the hand of his brother Abishai, who _⌊arranged them in battle lines_⌋* to meet the _⌊Ammonites_⌋.* ¹¹ Then he said, "If Aram is stronger than I am, you must become my deliverer; but if the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. ¹² Be strong, and let us strengthen ourselves for the sake of the people and for the sake of the cities of our God. May Yahweh do what is good in his eyes. ¹³ Joab and all the people who were with him moved forward into the battle against Aram, and they fled from before him. ¹⁴ When the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* saw that Aram had fled, they fled from before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* and came to Jerusalem. ¹⁵ When the Arameans saw that they were defeated before Israel, they gathered themselves together. ¹⁶ Then Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam. Now Shobach, the commander of the army of Hadadezer, _⌊was at their head_⌋.* ¹⁷ David was told, so he gathered all Israel and crossed over the Jordan and came to Helam. Aram _⌊arranged themselves in battle lines_⌋* to meet David, and they fought with him. ¹⁸ And Aram fled before Israel, and David killed from the Arameans seven hundred chariot teams and forty thousand horsemen. He struck down Shobach, the commander of his army, and he died there. ¹⁹ When all the kings, the servants of Hadadezer, saw that he had been defeated before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them, and Aram was afraid to help the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* any longer.

⁵ King David came up to Bahurim and suddenly a man from there was coming out from the family of the house of Saul, and his name was Shimei the son of Gera. _⌊He was cursing as he came out_⌋.* ⁶ And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David and at all the people and at all the mighty warriors on his right and on his left. ⁷ Shimei said while cursing him, "Go out, go out, you _⌊man of bloodshed_⌋,* you _⌊man of wickedness_⌋.* ⁸ Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of the household of Saul _⌊whom you have supplanted as king_⌋,* and Yahweh has given the kingship into the hand of Absalom your son. Look, you are in disaster for you are a man of blood." ⁹ Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please let me go over and take off his head." ¹⁰ The king said, "_⌊What do we have in common_⌋,* sons of Zeruiah? If* he curses because Yahweh has said to him 'Curse David,' who can say, "Why have you done this?" ¹¹ David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Look, my son who came out of my loins* is seeking my life. Now _⌊as far as_⌋* this Benjaminite, leave him alone and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him. ¹² Perhaps Yahweh will look _⌊in my eye_⌋* and repay good for me in place of his curse this day. ¹³ Then David and his men went on the road, with Shimei going on the side of the hill beside him, _⌊cursing as he went_⌋.* He threw stones beside him and threw* dust in the air. ¹⁴ When the king and all of the people who were with him arrived, he was weary, so he recovered there.

¹ Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Please let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out and pursue after David _⌊tonight_⌋.* ² I will come upon him while he is weary and _⌊weak_⌋.* I will startle him, and all of the people who are with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king while he is alone. ³ Then I will return all the people to you; when all have returned, the man whom you are seeking will be dead,* but all the people will be safe." ⁴ The word was right in the eyes of Absalom and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel. ⁵ Then Absalom said, "Please call also for Hushai the Arkite, and let us hear _⌊what he has to say_⌋* also." ⁶ So Hushai came to Absalom, who said to him, "Shall we do according to this word that Ahithophel has spoken? If not, then you tell us." ⁷ Then Hushai said to Absalom, "The counsel that Ahithophel gave is not good _⌊at this time_⌋."* ⁸ Hushai continued, "You know your father and his men, that they are mighty warriors and they _⌊are enraged_⌋* as a bear robbed of her offspring in the field. Your father is a man of war, so he will not spend the night with the troops. ⁹ Now he has hidden himself in one of the caves or in one of the places. At the moment he falls on them* the first time, _⌊whoever hears_⌋* the report will say, 'There has been a defeat among the people who follow after Absalom.' ¹⁰ And he is also a _⌊valiant warrior_⌋,* whose heart is like the heart of the lion. He* will _⌊certainly melt_⌋* with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty warrior and those who are with him are _⌊valiant warriors_⌋.* ¹¹ I give the advice that all of Israel from Dan to Beersheba should be completely gathered to you, as the sand which is on the seashore for abundance, with _⌊you personally_⌋* going into the battle. ¹² Then we will come to him in one of the places where he may be found, and we shall come upon him as the dew falls on the ground. He and all the men who are with him will not survive, not even one! ¹³ Even if he withdraws to a city, all Israel will bring up ropes to that city, and they will drag him away to the valley until there is not even a pebble to be found." ¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than the advice of Ahithophel." (Now Yahweh had ordained to frustrate the good counsel of Ahithophel in order for Yahweh to bring misery upon Absalom).

⁷ Stretch out your hands from on high; Rescue me and deliver me from many waters, from the hand of foreigners, ⁸ whose mouth speaks falsely, and their right hand is a false right hand.

¹⁵ And beautiful women were not found in all the land like Job's daughters, and their father gave to them an inheritance in the midst of their brothers.

¹⁴ May Yahweh give you increase, you and your children. ¹⁵ May you be blessed by Yahweh, who made heaven and earth.

⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children* of one's youth. ⁵ Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.* They shall not be put to shame when they speak with enemies at the gate.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine _⌊within_⌋* your house. Your children* will be like olive shoots about your table.

¹⁰ A woman* of excellence,* who will find? For her worth is far more than precious jewels. ¹¹ The heart of her husband* trusts in her, and gain he will not lack. ¹² She does him good, but not harm all the days of her life. ¹³ She seeks wool and flax, and she works with the diligence of _⌊her hands_⌋.* ¹⁴ She is like the ships of a merchant; from far off she brings her food;* ¹⁵ And she arises while it is still night, and gives food to her household, and tasks to her servant girls. ¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it, from the fruit of _⌊her hand_⌋* she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She girds her waist in strength, and makes her arms strong. ¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is good; her lamp does not go out in the night. ¹⁹ Her hands she puts onto the distaff,* and her palms hold a spindle. ²⁰ Her palm she opens to the poor, and her hand she reaches out to the needy. ²¹ She does not fear for her house when it snows, for _⌊her entire household_⌋* is clothed in crimson. ²² She makes for herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple. ²³ Her husband* is known at the gates, in his seat among the elders of the land. ²⁴ Linen garments she makes and sells, and she supplies sashes for the merchants. ²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs _⌊at the future_⌋.* ²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom, and instruction of kindness is upon her tongue. ²⁷ She looks after the ways of her household, and the bread of idleness she will not eat.

⁸ _⌊We have a little sister_⌋,* _⌊and she does not yet have any breasts_⌋.* What should we do for our sister _⌊on the day when she is betrothed_⌋?** ⁹ If she is a wall, _⌊we will adorn her with a turret of silver_⌋;** but if she is a door, we will barricade her with boards of cedar.*

¹⁶ And Yahweh said: "Because* the daughters of Zion are haughty, and they walk with outstretched neck, and they give flirting glances with their eyes, _⌊mincing along as they go_⌋,* and _⌊with their feet they rattle their bangles_⌋,* ¹⁷ the Lord will make the heads* of the daughters of Zion scabby, and Yahweh will lay their foreheads bare." ¹⁸ In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets and the headbands and the crescent necklaces, ¹⁹ the pendants and the bracelets and the veils, ²⁰ the headdresses and the armlets and the sashes, and the _⌊perfume boxes_⌋* and the amulets, ²¹ the signet rings and the nose rings, ²² the festal robes and the mantles, and the cloaks and the handbags, ²³ and the mirrors and the linen garments, and the turbans and the wraps. ²⁴ And this shall happen: There will be a stench instead of perfume, and a rope instead of a sash, and baldness instead of a well-set hairdo, and a clothing wrap of sackcloth instead of a rich robe, branding instead of beauty.

³ For I will pour out water on a thirsty land and streams on dry ground. I will pour my spirit out on your descendants* and my blessing on your offspring. ⁴ And they shall sprout _⌊among_⌋* the grass like willows by a watercourse of water. ⁵ This one will say, 'I belong to Yahweh!' And that one will be called by the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand 'Yahweh's' and _⌊take the name_⌋* of Israel."

² The precious sons of Zion weighed against fine gold, how they are thought of as earthen vessels of clay, the work of the potter's hands.

³ Let your* adornment not be the external kind, braiding hair and putting on gold jewelry or putting on fine clothing, ⁴ but the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is highly valuable in the sight of God. ⁵ For in the same way formerly the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves by* being subject to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you have become when you* do good and are not frightened with respect to any terror.

²⁹ Then he said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have been with me.* ³⁰ For you had little before me, and it has increased abundantly. And Yahweh has blessed you _⌊wherever I turned_⌋.* So then, when shall I provide for my own family also?" ³¹ And he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "Do not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flocks and keep them.

⁵ And for you the threshing season shall overtake the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall overtake the sowing, and you shall eat your food _⌊to your fill_⌋* and you shall live _⌊securely_⌋* in your land.

¹⁰ And you shall eat _⌊old grain_⌋,* and _⌊you shall clear away the old before the new_⌋.*

¹³ And he will love you, and he will bless you, and he will multiply you, and he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your grain, your wine, and your olive oil, and newborn calves of your cattle, and the newborn lambs* of your flocks in the land that he swore to your ancestors* to give you. ¹⁴ You shall be blessed more than all of the peoples; among you there shall not be sterility and bareness, even* among domestic animals.*

³ And he humbled you and let you go hungry, and then he fed you with that which you did not know nor did your ancestors* know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone but by all that goes out* of the mouth of Yahweh humankind shall live.

⁴ "Blessed will be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your livestock, _⌊the calf of your cattle and the lambs of your flock_⌋.*

⁸ Yahweh will command _⌊concerning you_⌋* the blessing to be in your barns and _⌊in all your endeavors_⌋;* and he will bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you.

³⁷ and sow fields and plant vineyards, _⌊that they may yield fruit at harvest_⌋.* ³⁸ And he blesses them and they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle become few.

¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe to _⌊the storehouse_⌋,* so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this," says Yahweh of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you _⌊an overflowing blessing_⌋.*

¹⁶ And he told a parable to them, saying, "The land of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ And he reasoned to himself, saying, 'What should I do? For I do not have anywhere I can gather in my crops.' ¹⁸ And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather in there all my grain and possessions. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!" ' ²⁰ But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your life* is demanded from you, and the things which you have prepared—whose will they be?'

⁷ "Yahweh will cause your enemies _⌊who rise up against you to be defeated before you_⌋;* on one road* they shall come out against you, but on seven roads* they shall flee _⌊before you_⌋.*

²⁵ "Yahweh shall cause you to be defeated _⌊before_⌋* your enemies; on one road you shall go _⌊against_⌋* them,* but you will flee on seven roads _⌊before_⌋* them,* and you shall become a thing of horror to all of the kingdoms of the earth.

⁸ God chose new leaders,* then war was at the gates; a small shield or a spear was not seen among forty thousand in Israel.

³ And whenever Israel sowed seed, the Midianites,* Amalekites,* and the people of the east would come up against them.

⁶ Israel was very poor because of the presence of the Midianites,* and the _⌊Israelites_⌋* cried out to Yahweh.

¹⁷ The _⌊raiders_⌋* went out from the camp of the Philistines in three divisions. One division turned on the road* to Ophrah toward the land of Shual. ¹⁸ One division turned on the road* to Beth Horon, and one turned on the road* toward the border overlooking the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. ¹⁹ Now no skilled craftsman could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, "So that the Hebrews cannot make swords or spears for themselves." ²⁰ So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to have his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his iron plowshare* sharpened. ²¹ The charge* was _⌊two-thirds of a shekel_⌋* for the plowshare and for the mattock, and _⌊a third of a shekel for the pick_⌋* and for the axe, and to set the goading sticks. ²² _⌊So_⌋* on the day of battle, there was not a sword or a spear found in the hands of all the army that was with Saul and Jonathan, but _⌊Saul and his son Jonathan had them_⌋.* ²³ Now the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Micmash.

⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those who were beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the towns and fled. Thus the Philistines came and lived in them.

¹¹ there is an outcry over the wine in the streets. All joy turns into _⌊darkness_⌋;* the joy of the earth disappears.

¹⁷ But if you will not listen to it, my inner self* will weep in secret places, because of _⌊the presence of_⌋* your pride. And my eyes* will weep bitterly, and they will melt in tears, because the flock of Yahweh has been taken captive. ¹⁸ "Say to the king and to the queen mother, '_⌊Take a lower seat_⌋,* for _⌊your beautiful crown_⌋* has come down from your head.'* ¹⁹ The towns of the Negev are shut up, and there is no one who opens them.* All of Judah is deported; it is deported in completeness.

² "Judah mourns, and her gates languish, they are in mourning on the ground, and the cry of lament of Jerusalem goes up.

¹⁸ If I go out into the field, then look, those slain by the sword. And if I enter the city, then look, the sickness of the famine. For both prophet and priest wander around through the land, _⌊they do not know what is going on_⌋.'"*

⁴ The roads of Zion are mourning because no one comes to the festival. All her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young women are worried, and she herself suffers bitterly. ⁵ Her foes have become her _⌊master_⌋,* her enemies are at ease; Yahweh has made her suffer because of the greatness of her transgressions. Her children have gone away, captive before the foe. ⁶ All her majesty has gone away from the daughter of Zion; her princes have become like young stags that have not found pasture; they have gone away without strength, before the pursuer.

³ Thus says Yahweh: 'I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem will be called the faithful city,* and the mountain of Yahweh of hosts will be called the holy mountain.' ⁴ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Old men and old women shall again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand* _⌊because of great age_⌋.* ⁵ And the public squares of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its public squares.'

²⁹ Blessed are you, O Israel. Who is like you, a people who is saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, and who is the sword of your triumph, and your enemies, they shall fawn before you,* and you shall tread on their backs."

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh, the people he has chosen for his inheritance.

⁴ Blessed is one whom you choose and bring near, that he may abide in your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.

¹⁵ Blessed are the people who know the joyful shout; O Yahweh, they walk about in the light of your countenance.

⁵ Blessed is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is on Yahweh as his God,

³ Blessed is* the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,