Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The 144th Psalm

Psalms 144
New International Version


Psalm 144

Of David.

1Praise be to the Lord my Rock,

who trains my hands for war,

my fingers for battle.

2He is my loving God and my fortress,

my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield, in whom I take refuge,

who subdues peoplesa under me.

3O Lord, what is man that you care for him,

the son of man that you think of him?

4Man is like a breath;

his days are like a fleeting shadow.

5Part your heavens, O Lord, and come down;

touch the mountains, so that they smoke.

6Send forth lightning and scatter [the enemies];

shoot your arrows and rout them.

7Reach down your hand from on high;

deliver me and rescue me

from the mighty waters,

from the hands of foreigners

8whose mouths are full of lies,

whose right hands are deceitful.

9I will sing a new song to you, O God;

on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,

10to the One who gives victory to kings,

who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword.

11Deliver me and rescue me

from the hands of foreigners

whose mouths are full of lies,

whose right hands are deceitful.

12Then our sons in their youth

will be like well-nurtured plants,

and our daughters will be like pillars

carved to adorn a palace.

13Our barns will be filled

with every kind of provision.

Our sheep will increase by thousands,

by tens of thousands in our fields;

14our oxen will draw heavy loads.b

There will be no breaching of walls,

no going into captivity,

no cry of distress in our streets.

15Blessed are the people of whom this is true;

blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.


Footnotes:
a 2 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Jerome and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text subdues my people
b 14 Or our chieftains will be firmly established

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