World English Bible · The united kingdom
Psalms 77
Touch any underlined name to see who or where it is. Tap a verse number to see where it is taken up elsewhere.
. To . A Psalm by . My cry goes to ! Indeed, I cry to for help, and for him to listen to me. In the day of my trouble I sought . My hand was stretched out in the night, and didn't get tired. refused to be comforted. I remember , and I groan. I complain, and is overwhelmed. . You hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I can't speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I remember my song in the night. I consider in my own ; diligently inquires: "Will reject us ? Will he be favorable no more? Has his vanished ? Does his promise fail for generations? Has forgotten to be ? Has he, in , withheld his ?" . Then I thought, "I will appeal to this: the years of of ." I will remember deeds; for I will remember your wonders of old. I will also on all your work, and consider your doings. Your way, , is in . What is great like ? You are the who does wonders. You have made your strength known among the peoples. You have your people with your arm, the sons of and . . The waters saw you, . The waters saw you, and they writhed. The depths also convulsed. The clouds poured out water. The skies resounded with thunder. Your arrows also flashed around. The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your through the great waters. Your footsteps were not known. You led your people like a flock, by the hand of and .
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