World English Bible · The united kingdom
Psalms 144
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By . be , , who trains my hands to war, and my fingers to battle— my , my , my high tower, my deliverer, my shield, and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me. , what is man, that you care for him? Or , that you think of him? Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away. Part your , , and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke. Throw out lightning, and scatter them. Send out your arrows, and rout them. Stretch out your hand from above, rescue me, and me out of great waters, out of the hands of , whose mouths speak deceit, whose is a of falsehood. I will sing a new song to you, . On a ten-stringed lyre, I will sing to you. You are he who gives to kings, who rescues , his servant, from the deadly . Rescue me, and me out of the hands of , whose mouths speak deceit, whose is a of falsehood. Then our sons will be like well-nurtured plants, our daughters like pillars carved to adorn a palace. Our barns are full, filled with all kinds of provision. Our sheep produce thousands and ten thousands in our fields. Our oxen will pull heavy loads. There is no breaking in, and no going away, and no outcry in our streets. Happy are the people who are in such a situation. Happy are the people whose is .
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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