World English Bible · The united kingdom
Psalms 19
Touch any underlined name to see who or where it is. Tap a verse number to see where it is taken up elsewhere.
. A Psalm by . declare the of . The expanse shows his handiwork. Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which is as a coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course. His going out is from the end of , his circuit to its ends. There is nothing hidden from its heat. law is perfect, restoring the . is sure, making the simple. precepts are right, rejoicing . is pure, enlightening the eyes. The is clean, enduring . are true, and altogether. They are more to be than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb. Moreover is warned by them. In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors. Keep back also from presumptuous . Let them not over me. Then I will be upright. I will be blameless and innocent of great . Let the words of my and the of be acceptable in your sight, , , and my redeemer.
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.
All of Psalms
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150