World English Bible · The united kingdom
Psalms 109
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. A Psalm by . of my , don't silent, for they have opened the of and the of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying . They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love, they are my ; but I am in . They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Set a man over him. Let an adversary stand at his . When he is judged, let him come out guilty. Let his be turned into . Let his days be few. Let another take his office. Let his children be , and his wife a . Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins. Let the creditor seize all that he has. Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor. Let there be no one to extend kindness to him, neither let there be anyone to have on his children. Let his posterity . In the generation following let their name be blotted out. Let the of his fathers be remembered by . Don't let the of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before continually, that he may their memory from the earth; because he didn't remember to show kindness, but persecuted and needy man, the broken in , to kill them. Yes, he loved , and it came to him. He didn't delight in , and it was far from him. He clothed himself also with as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, like oil into his bones. Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself, for the belt that is always around him. This is the reward of my from , of those who speak evil against . But deal with me, , for your name's sake, because your is good, me; for I am and needy. is wounded within me. I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a . My knees are weak through . My body is thin and lacks fat. I have also become a to them. When they see me, they shake their head. Help me, , my . me according to your ; that they may know that this is your hand; that you, , have done it. They may , but you . When they arise, they will be shamed, but shall rejoice. Let my be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own as with a robe. I will give great thanks to with my . Yes, I will him among . For he will stand at of , to him from those who judge his .
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The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.
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