World English Bible · The united kingdom

Psalms 7

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A by , which he sang to , concerning the words of , the . , my , I take refuge in you. me from all those who pursue me, and me, lest they tear apart like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to . , my , if I have done this, if there is in my hands, if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me (yes, I have plundered him who without cause was my adversary), let pursue , and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my in . . Arise, , in your . Lift up yourself against the rage of my . Awake for me. You have commanded . Let of the peoples surround you. them on high. administers to the peoples. Judge me, , according to my , and to my integrity that is in me. Oh let the wickedness of come to an end, but establish ; their and are searched by . My shield is with , who saves the upright in . is a judge, yes, a who has every day. If a man doesn't , he will sharpen his ; he has bent and strung his bow. He has also prepared for himself the instruments of . He makes ready his flaming arrows. Behold, he travails with . Yes, he has conceived mischief, and brought out falsehood. He has dug a hole, and has fallen into which he made. The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His shall come down on the of his own head. I will to according to his , and will sing to the name of .

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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Psalms 7 | Read the Bible | EKLI