World English Bible · The united kingdom

Psalms 116

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I love , because he listens to my voice, and my cries for mercy. Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of surrounded me, the pains of got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called on name: ", I beg you, ." is and . Yes, our is merciful. preserves the simple. I was brought low, and he me. Return to your rest, , for has dealt bountifully with you. For you have from , my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before in the land of the living. I , therefore I said, "I was greatly afflicted." I said in my haste, "All people are liars." What will I give to for all his benefits toward me? I will take of , and call on name. I will pay my to , yes, in the of all his people. Precious in sight is the of his . , truly I am . I am , the son of girl. You have freed me from my chains. I will offer to you the of , and will call on name. I will pay my to , yes, in the of all his people, in the courts of house, in the middle of you, . !

A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.

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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Psalms 116 | Read the Bible | EKLI