The Living Bible (196 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
Long ago when the Israelis escaped from Egypt, from that land of foreign tongue,
2
then the lands of Judah and of Israel became God’s new home and kingdom.
3
The Red Sea saw them coming and quickly broke apart before them. The Jordan River opened up a path for them to cross.
4
The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs!
5
What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you cut yourself in two? What happened, Jordan River, to your waters? Why were they held back?
6
Why, mountains, did you skip like rams? Why, little hills, like lambs?
7
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Jacob.
8
For he caused gushing streams to burst from flinty rock.
Glorify your name, not ours, O Lord! Cause everyone to praise your loving-kindness and your truth.
2
Why let the nations say, “Their God is dead!”
*
3
For he is in the heavens and does as he wishes.
4
Their gods are merely man-made things of silver and of gold.
5
They can’t talk or see, despite their eyes and mouths!
6
Nor can they hear, nor smell,
7
nor use their hands or feet, nor speak!
8
And those who make and worship them are just as foolish as their idols are.
9
O Israel, trust the Lord! He is your helper. He is your shield.
10
O priests of Aaron, trust the Lord! He is your helper; he is your shield.
11
All of you, his people, trust in him. He is your helper; he is your shield.
12
Jehovah is constantly thinking about us, and he will surely bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and the priests of Aaron,
13
and all, both great and small, who reverence him.
14
May the Lord richly bless both you and your children.
15
Yes, Jehovah who made heaven and earth will personally bless you!
16
The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to all mankind.
17
The dead cannot sing praises to Jehovah here on earth,
*
18
but we can! We praise him forever! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
I love the Lord because he hears my prayers and answers them.
2
Because he bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I breathe!
3
Death stared me in the face—I was frightened and sad.
4
Then I cried, “Lord, save me!”
5
How kind he is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!
6
The Lord protects the simple and the childlike; I was facing death, and then he saved me.
7
Now I can relax. For the Lord has done this wonderful miracle for me.
8
He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
9
I shall live! Yes, in his presence—here on earth!
10-11
In my discouragement I thought, “They are lying when they say I will recover.”
*
12
But now what can I offer Jehovah for all he has done for me?
13
I will bring him an offering of wine
*
and praise his name for saving me.
14
I will publicly bring him the sacrifice I vowed I would.
15
His loved ones are very precious to him, and he does not lightly let them die.
*
16
O Lord, you have freed me from my bonds, and I will serve you forever.
17
I will worship you and offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
18-19
Here in the courts of the Temple in Jerusalem, before all the people, I will pay everything I vowed to the Lord. Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, all nations everywhere. Praise him, all the peoples of the earth.
2
For he loves us very dearly, and his truth endures. Praise the Lord.
Oh, thank the Lord, for he’s so good! His loving-kindness is forever.
2
Let the congregation of Israel praise him with these same words: “His loving-kindness is forever.”
3
And let the priests of Aaron chant, “His loving-kindness is forever.”
4
Let the Gentile converts chant, “His loving-kindness is forever.”
5
In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me.
6
He is for me! How can I be afraid? What can mere man do to me?
7
The Lord is on my side; he will help me. Let those who hate me beware.
8
It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in men.
9
It is better to take refuge in him than in the mightiest king!
10
Though all the nations of the world attack me, I will march out behind his banner and destroy them.
11
Yes, they surround and attack me; but with his flag flying above me I will cut them off.
12
They swarm around me like bees; they blaze against me like a roaring flame. Yet beneath his flag I shall destroy them.
13
You did your best to kill me, O my enemy, but the Lord helped me.
14
He is my strength and song in the heat of battle, and now he has given me the victory.
15-16
Songs of joy at the news of our rescue are sung in the homes of the godly. The strong arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
17
I shall not die but live to tell of all his deeds.
18
The Lord has punished me but not handed me over to death.
19
Open the gates of the Temple
*
—I will go in and give him my thanks.
20
Those gates are the way into the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.
21
O Lord, thank you so much for answering my prayer and saving me.
22
The stone rejected by the builders has now become the capstone of the arch!
*
23
This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous to see!
24
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25
O Lord, please help us. Save us. Give us success.
26
Blessed is the one who is coming, the one sent by the Lord.
*
We bless you from the Temple.
27-28
Jehovah God is our light. I present to him my sacrifice upon the altar, for you are my God, and I shall give you this thanks and this praise.
29
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is so good! For his loving-kindness is forever.
