World English Bible · The united kingdom
Psalms 31
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 . In you, , I take refuge. Let me never be disappointed. me in your . your ear to me. me speedily. Be to me a strong , a house of defense to me. For you are and my , therefore for your name's sake lead me and guide me. Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for you are my . Into your hand I commend . You me, , of truth. I hate those who regard lying , but I in . I will be glad and rejoice in your , for you have seen my affliction. You have known in adversities. You have not shut me up into the hand of . You have set my feet in a large place. Have mercy on me, , for I am in distress. My eye, , and my body waste away with grief. For my life is spent with sorrow, my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my . My bones are wasted away. Because of all my I have become utterly contemptible to my neighbors, a horror to my acquaintances. Those who saw me on the street fled from me. I am forgotten from their like a man. I am like broken pottery. For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, while they conspire together against me, they plot to take away my life. But I in you, . I said, "You are my ." My times are in your hand. me from the hand of , and from those who persecute me. Make your to shine on . me in your . Let me not be disappointed, , for I have called on you. Let be disappointed. Let them be silent in . Let the be mute, which speak against insolently, with pride and contempt. Oh how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have worked for those who take refuge in you, before the sons of men! In the shelter of your you will hide them from the plotting of man. You will keep them secretly in a dwelling away from the strife of . be to , for he has shown me his marvelous in a strong city. As for me, I said in my haste, "I am before your eyes." Nevertheless you heard the voice of my petitions when I cried to you. Oh love , all you his ! preserves the , and fully recompenses him who behaves arrogantly. Be strong, and let take courage, all you who in .
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