World English Bible · The united kingdom
Psalms 80
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. To the tune of "The Lilies of ." A Psalm by . Hear us, of Israel, you who lead like a flock, you who sit above the , shine out. Before , , and , stir up your might! Come to us! Turn us again, . Cause your to shine, and we will be . of Armies, how long will you be angry against the of your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure. You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our laugh among themselves. Turn us again, of Armies. Cause your to shine, and we will be . You brought a out of . You drove out the nations, and planted it. You cleared the ground for it. It took deep root, and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shadow. Its boughs were like cedars. It sent out its to the sea, its shoots to . Why have you broken down its walls, so that all those who pass by pluck it? The boar out of the wood ravages it. The wild animals of the field feed on it. Turn again, we beg you, of Armies. Look down from , and see, and visit this , the stock which your planted, the branch that you made strong for yourself. It's burned with . It's cut down. They at your rebuke. Let your hand be on the man of your , on whom you made strong for yourself. So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name. Turn us again, of Armies. Cause your to shine, and we will be .
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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