The Living Bible (199 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
O God enthroned in heaven, I lift my eyes to you.
2
We look to Jehovah our God for his mercy and kindness just as a servant keeps his eyes upon his master or a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
3-4
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. For we have had our fill of contempt and of the scoffing of the rich and proud.
If the Lord had not been on our side (let all Israel admit it), if the Lord had not been on our side,
2-3
we would have been swallowed alive by our enemies, destroyed by their anger.
4-5
We would have drowned beneath the flood of these men’s fury and pride.
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Blessed be Jehovah who has not let them devour us.
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We have escaped with our lives as a bird from a hunter’s snare. The snare is broken and we are free!
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Our help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Those who trust in the Lord are steady as Mount Zion, unmoved by any circumstance.
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Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects his people.
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For the wicked shall not rule the godly, lest the godly be forced to do wrong.
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O Lord, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are right with the Lord;
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but lead evil men to execution. And let Israel have quietness and peace.
When Jehovah brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!
2
How we laughed and sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”
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Yes, glorious things! What wonder! What joy!
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May we be refreshed
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as by streams in the desert.
5
Those who sow tears shall reap joy.
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Yes, they go out weeping, carrying seed for sowing, and return singing, carrying their sheaves.
Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders’ work is useless. Unless the Lord protects a city, sentries do no good.
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It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest.
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Children are a gift from God; they are his reward.
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Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows to defend him.
5
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. That man shall have the help he needs when arguing with his enemies.
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Blessings on all who reverence and trust the Lord—on all who obey him!
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Their reward shall be prosperity and happiness.
3
Your wife shall be contented in your home. And look at all those children! There they sit around the dinner table as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees.
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That is God’s reward to those who reverence and trust him.
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May the Lord continually bless you with heaven’s blessings
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as well as with human joys.
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May you live to enjoy your grandchildren! And may God bless Israel!
Persecuted from my earliest youth (Israel is speaking),
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and faced with never-ending discrimination—but not destroyed! My enemies have never been able to finish me off!
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Though my back is cut to ribbons with their whips, the Lord is good. For he has snapped the chains that evil men had bound me with.
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May all who hate the Jews be brought to ignominious defeat.
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May they be as grass in shallow soil, turning sere and yellow when half grown, ignored by the reaper, despised by the binder.
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And may those passing by refuse to bless them by saying, “Jehovah’s blessings be upon you; we bless you in Jehovah’s name.”
O Lord, from the depths of despair I cry for your help:
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“Hear me! Answer! Help me!”
3-4
Lord, if you keep in mind our sins, then who can ever get an answer to his prayers? But you forgive! What an awesome thing this is!
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That is why I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised.
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I long for him more than sentinels long for the dawn.
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O Israel, hope in the Lord; for he is loving and kind and comes to us with armloads of salvation.
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He himself shall ransom Israel from her slavery to sin.