World English Bible · The united kingdom
Psalms 55
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. On stringed instruments. A contemplation by . Listen to my , . Don't hide yourself from my . Attend to me, and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and moan because of the voice of , because of the of . For they bring suffering on me. In they hold a grudge against me. is severely pained within me. The terrors of have fallen on me. Fearfulness and trembling have come on me. Horror has overwhelmed me. I said, "Oh that I had like a ! Then I would fly away, and be at rest. Behold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in ." . "I would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind and storm." Confuse them, , and confound their language, for I have seen and strife in the city. Day and night they prowl around on its walls. Malice and abuse are also within her. Destructive forces are within her. Threats and lies don't depart from her streets. For it was not an enemy who insulted me, then I could have it. Neither was it he who hated me who himself up against me, then I would have hidden myself from him. But it was you, a man like me, my companion, and my familiar friend. We took sweet fellowship together. We walked in house with company. Let come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into . For wickedness is among them, in their dwelling. As for me, I will call on . will me. Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress. He will . He has in peace from the battle that was against me, although there are many who oppose me. , who is enthroned , will hear and answer them. . They never change and don't . He raises his hands against his friends. He has violated his . His was smooth as butter, but was war. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn . Cast your burden on and he will sustain you. He will never allow to be moved. But you, , will bring them down into of . Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will in you.
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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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