Psalms 144 Cross References - ISV

¹ Davidic
A Song for God’s Provision Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for battle and my fingers for warfare, ² he is my gracious love and my fortress, my strong tower and my deliverer, my shield and the one in whom I find refuge, who subdues peoples under me. ³ LORD, what are human beings, that you should care about them, or mortal man, that you should think about him? ⁴ The human person is a mere empty breath; his days are like a fading shadow. ⁵ Bow your heavens, LORD, and descend; touch the mountains, and they will smolder. ⁶ Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy, shoot your arrows and confuse them. ⁷ Reach down your hand from your high place; rescue me and deliver me from mighty waters, from the control of foreigners. ⁸ Their mouths speak lies, and their right hand deceives, ⁹ God, I will sing a new song to you. On a harp of ten strings I will play to you— ¹⁰ to you who gives victory to kings, rescuing his servant David from cruel swords. ¹¹ Rescue me and deliver me from the control of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hand deceives. ¹² May our sons in their youth be like full-grown plants, and our daughters like pillars destined to decorate a palace. ¹³ May our granaries be filled, storing produce in abundance; may our sheep bring forth thousands, even tens of thousands in our fields. ¹⁴ May our cattle grow heavy with young, with no damage or loss. May there be no cry of anguish in our streets! ¹⁵ Happy are the people to whom these things come; happy are the people whose God is the LORD.

³⁰ How can one person chase a thousand of them and two put a myriad to flight, unless their Rock delivers them and the LORD gives them up? ³¹ For their rock isn’t like our Rock, as even our enemies admit.

³⁵ He has trained my hands for battle readiness— I can bend a bow made out of bronze.

² The LORD is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my stronghold in whom I take refuge, my shield, the glory of my salvation, and my high tower.”

³¹ The Acts of God for the RighteousFor who is God but the LORD, and who is a Rock other than our God?—

³⁴ who teaches my hands to make war, and my arms to bend a bronze bow.

³ It was not with their sword that they inherited the land, nor did their own arm deliver them. But it was by your power, your strength, and by the light of your face; because you were pleased with them. ⁴ You are my king, God, command victories for Jacob.

¹² Through God we will fight valiantly; and it is he who will crush our enemies.

³ Be my sheltering refuge where I may go continuously; command my deliverance for you are my rock and fortress.

¹ Worship and Obedience Come! Let us sing joyfully to the LORD! Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.

⁴ “Trust in the LORD forever, for in the LORD GOD you have an everlasting rock.

²⁴ One will say of me, ‘Only in the LORD are victories and might.’ All who raged against him will come to him and will be put to shame.

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not those of the world. Instead, they have the power of God to demolish fortresses. We tear down arguments

¹⁰ Putting on the Whole Armor of GodFinally, be strong in the Lord, relying on his mighty strength. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the devil’s strategies.

² This is what he said: LORD, you are my stone stronghold and my fortified place; you are continuously delivering me. ³ He is my God, my strong stone— in him I will find my refuge— my shield, the strength of my salvation, my high tower, my way of escape, and the one who is saving me. You will save me from violence.

⁴⁰ You strengthened me with valor sufficient for the battle; you made those who rebelled against me fall beneath me. ⁴¹ You made my enemies turn and run— that is, those who hate me— and I destroyed them! ⁴² They looked around, but there was no one to save them— they looked to the LORD, but he paid no attention! ⁴³ I pulverized them to powder, like the dust of the earth; I crushed them, stomping on them like mud on a street. ⁴⁴ You delivered me from civil war among my own people. You preserved me as head of the nations. People whom I had never known served me! ⁴⁵ Foreigners came cringing to me; they obeyed as soon as they heard me. ⁴⁶ Foreigners lost their courage, coming trembling from their strongholds. ⁴⁷ The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock, and may my God be exalted, the Rock who is my salvation! ⁴⁸ The God who keeps on avenging me, subjugating people beneath me,

⁴⁷ He is the God who executes vengeance on my behalf; who destroys peoples under me;

⁹ My Strength, I will watch for you, for God is my fortress.

⁹ God, look at our shield, and show favor to your anointed,

² will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge, my fortress, and my God in whom I trust!”

³ Your soldiers are willing volunteers on your day of battle; in majestic holiness, from the womb, from the dawn, the dew of your youth belongs to you.

¹⁹ LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in a time of difficulty, to you the nations will come, and from the ends of the earth they’ll say, “Surely our ancestors inherited deception, things that are worthless, and in which there is no profit.”

¹⁷ Job Acknowledges Humankind’s Insignificance“What is a human being, that you make so much of him; that you set your affections on him,

¹⁴ “What is mankind, that he can be blameless? Or does being born of a woman mean he’ll be in the right?

⁴ what is man that you take notice of him, or the son of man that you pay attention to him?

³ Do not look to nobles, nor to mere human beings who cannot save. ⁴ When they stop breathing, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans evaporate!

⁶ Instead, someone has declared somewhere, “What is man that you should remember him, or the son of man that you should care for him?

¹⁴ After all, even though we all die, and we’re all like water being spilled on the ground that cannot be recovered, nevertheless God doesn’t take away life, but carries out his plans so as not to cast away permanently from him those who are presently estranged.

¹⁵ For we are aliens and vagrants in your presence, as were all of our ancestors. Our days on the earth pass away like shadows, and we have no hope.

¹⁹ how much less confidence does he have in those who dwell in houses of clay; who were formed from a foundation in dust and can perish like a moth?

⁹ Because we are of yesterday and we know nothing, for our time on earth is only a shadow.

¹ Human Beings Live and DieHuman beings born by women are short-lived and full of trouble. ² He springs up like a flower and then withers. Like a shadow, he disappears and doesn’t last. ³ Indeed, have you opened your eyes on one like this— to bring me into a legal fight with you?

⁵ Look, you have made my life span fit in your hand; It is nothing compared to yours. Surely every person at their best is a puff of wind. Interlude ⁶ In fact, people walk around as shadows. Surely, they busy themselves for nothing, heaping up possessions but not knowing who will get them.

¹¹ You rebuke by chastening a man with the consequence of iniquities; you destroy what is attractive to him, as one would treat a moth. Indeed, every person is a puff of wind. Interlude

⁹ Human beings are a mere vapor, while people in high positions are not what they appear. When they are placed on the scales, they weigh nothing; even when weighed together, they are less than nothing.

⁴⁷ Remember how short my lifetime is! How powerless have you created all human beings!

¹¹ My life is like a declining shadow, and I am withering like a plant.

¹⁵ A person’s life is like grass— it blossoms like wild flowers, ¹⁶ but when the wind blows through it, it withers away and no one remembers where it was.

²³ I am fading away like a shadow late in the day; I am shaken off like a locust.

² “Utterly pointless,” says the Teacher. “Absolutely pointless; everything is pointless.”

¹⁴ I observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless—like chasing after the wind.

¹³ But things will not go well for the wicked person: he will not lengthen his life like a shadow, since he has no fear before God.

⁸ “Utterly pointless,” says the Teacher. “Everything is pointless.”

¹⁸ Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke because the LORD had come down in fire on it. Smoke went up from it like smoke from a kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.

⁹ He bent the sky and descended, and darkness was under his feet.

³² He looks at the earth and it shakes; he touches the mountains and they smoke.

¹ A Prayer for God to Intervene If only you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— ² just as fire sets twigs ablaze and the fire causes water to boil— to make known your name to your enemies, yes, to your enemies before you, so that the nations might quake at your presence!

³ The LORD is slow to anger and powerful, and he will never let the guilty go unpunished. The LORD’s path is in the windstorm and hurricane; thunderclouds are dust beneath his feet. ⁴ He rebukes the sea, and it evaporates; he dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, while the flowers of Lebanon languish. ⁵ Mountains shake because of him, and the hills melt. The earth goes into upheaval at his presence, as does the world with all of its inhabitants. ⁶ Who can stand before his fury? And who can endure his fierce anger? His displeasure pours out like fire, and rocks are broken to pieces because of him.

³ God comes from Teman— the Holy One from Mount Paran. Interlude His glory spreads throughout the heavens, and praises about him fill the earth. ⁴ His radiance is like sunlight; beams of light shine from his hand, where his strength lays hidden. ⁵ Before him pestilence walks, and disease follows behind him. ⁶ He stood up and shook the land; with his stare he startled the nations. The age-old mountains were shattered, and the ancient hilltops bowed down. His ways are eternal.

¹⁸ You have not come to something that can be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, to gloom,

²³ I’ll bury them in misfortunes and bring them to an end with my arrows.

⁴² I’ll make my arrows drunk with blood. My sword will devour flesh, along with the blood of the slain, and I’ll take their enemy leaders captive.’

¹² The darkness around him was his canopies— amassed water was his overhanging clouds! ¹³ From the shining light that was his presence coals of fire blazed into flame! ¹⁴ The LORD roared from heaven! The Most High let his voice be heard! ¹⁵ He launched his arrows and scattered them— his lightning routed them.

¹² If the ungodly one doesn’t repent, God will sharpen his sword; he will string his bow and prepare it. ¹³ He prepares weapons of death for himself, he makes his arrows into fiery shafts.

¹³ Then the LORD thundered in the heavens, and the Most High sounded aloud, calling for hail stones and flashes of fire. ¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered them; with many lightning bolts he frightened them.

¹² Indeed, you will make them retreat, when you aim your bow at their faces.

⁵ Your arrows are sharpened to penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies. People will fall under you.

¹⁷ The clouds poured rain; the skies rumbled. Indeed, your lightning bolts flashed. ¹⁸ Your thunderous sound was in a whirlwind; your lightning lights up the world; the earth becomes agitated and quakes.

¹⁷ He sent for me from on high! He grabbed hold of me, drawing me out of deep water.

² The remnant of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners. Then they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.

¹⁶ He reached down and took me; he drew me from many waters.

⁴⁴ When they hear of me, they will obey me; foreigners will submit to me.

³ For the arrogant have arisen against me; oppressors have sought to take my life. They do not keep God in mind! Interlude

¹ To the Director: To the tune of “The Lilies”. Davidic.
When God Seems Distant Deliver me, God, because the waters are up to my neck. ² I am sinking in deep mire, and there is no solid ground. I have come into deep water, and the flood overwhelms me.

¹⁴ Rescue me from the mud and do not let me sink. Rescue me from those who hate me, and from the deep waters. ¹⁵ Let neither the floodwaters overwhelm me nor let the deep swallow me up, nor the mouth of the well close over me.

³ The rivers have flooded, LORD; the rivers have spoken aloud, the rivers have lifted up their crushing waves. ⁴ More than the sound of surging waters— the majestic waves of the sea— the LORD on high is majestic.

¹¹ Rescue me and deliver me from the control of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hand deceives.

¹¹ Judah has become unfaithful, and a detestable thing was committed in Israel and Jerusalem. Indeed, Judah profaned the Holy Place of the LORD, which he loves, and married a daughter of a foreign god.

⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him, if he wants to do so now. After all, he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

¹⁵ From its mouth the serpent spewed water like a river behind the woman in order to sweep her away with the flood. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed from its mouth.

¹⁵ The angel also told me, “The bodies of water you saw, on which the prostitute is sitting, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.

²² But Abram answered the king of Sodom, “I have made an oath to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,

⁴⁰ “I solemnly swear to heaven— I say ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living forever,

⁷ Their mouth is full of curses, lies, and oppression, their tongues spread trouble and iniquity.

² Everyone speaks lies to his neighbor; they speak with flattering lips and hidden motives.

⁶ The one who comes to visit me speaks lies; in his heart he thinks slanderous things about me and goes around spreading them.

³ The wicked go astray from the womb; they go astray, telling lies even from birth.

⁴ They plan to cast him down from his exalted position. They delight in lies; their mouth utters blessings, while their heart is cursing. Interlude

²⁶ So he swore an oath concerning them— that he would cause them to die in the wilderness,

² for the mouths of wicked and deceitful people are opened against me; they speak against me with lying tongues. ³ They surround me with hate-filled words, attacking me for no reason.

²⁰ He tends ashes. A deceived mind has lead him astray. It cannot be his life, nor can he say, “There’s a lie in my right hand.”

⁵ They hatch adders’ eggs and weave a spider’s web; whoever eats their eggs dies, and any crushed egg hatches out futility. ⁶ Their cobwebs cannot become clothing, they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are deeds of iniquity, and acts of violence fill their hands. ⁷ Their feet rush to evil, and they are quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; ruin, destruction, and violence are in their paths.

³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you. It is better for you to lose one of your body parts than to have your whole body go into hell.”

¹⁶ The second beast forces all people—important and unimportant, rich and poor, free and slaves—to be marked on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.

¹ The MusiciansAlong with officers in his army, David consecrated to assist in service to the descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun those who prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals.
The list of those who participated in this service included: ² from the descendants of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, sons of Asaph mentored by Asaph himself, who prophesied under the supervision of the king; ³ from Jeduthun, these six of his descendants: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, mentored by their father Jeduthun, who played a lyre and prophesied, giving thanks and praise to the LORD; ⁴ from Heman, these descendants: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ All of these were descendants of Heman the king’s seer, according to God’s promise to exalt him, since God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶ They were all under their father’s supervision regarding music in the Temple of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of the Temple of God.
Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under command of the king.

² With the lyre, give thanks to the LORD; with the ten stringed harp, play music to him; ³ with a new song, sing to him; with shouts of joy, play skillfully.

³ He put a new song in my mouth, praise to our God! Many will watch and be in awe, and they will place their trust in the LORD.

¹ For the Director: On the Gittith. By Asaph.
Celebrating and Remembering God Sing joyfully to God, our strength. Raise a shout to the God of Jacob. ² Sing a song and play the tambourine, the pleasant-sounding lyre along with the harp. ³ Blow the ram’s horn when there is a New Moon, when there is a full moon, on our festival day,

¹ A psalm
Sing Praise to the King Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done awesome deeds! His right hand and powerful arm have brought him victory.

² Awake, harp and lyre! I will wake up at dawn. ³ I will give thanks to you among the peoples, LORD! I will sing praise to you among the nations.

¹ A Song About Rejoicing in God Hallelujah! Sing a new song to the LORD, praising him where the godly gather together.

³ Praise him with trumpet sounding. Praise him with stringed instrument and harp. ⁴ Praise him with tambourine and dancing. Praise him with stringed and wind instruments. ⁵ Praise him with loud cymbals. Praise him with reverberating cymbals.

⁹ They sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because you were slaughtered. With your blood you purchased people for God from every tribe, language, people, and nation. ¹⁰ You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

³ They were singing a new song in front of the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

⁴⁵ Then David told the Philistine, “You come at me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I’ll strike you down and remove your head from you. And this very day I’ll give the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel,

¹⁹ so David asked the LORD, “Am I to go attack the Philistines? Will you give me victory over them?”
“Go get them,” the LORD replied to David, “because I’m going to put the Philistines right into your hand!”
²⁰ So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated them there. He called the place Baal-perazim, because he said, “Like a bursting flood, the LORD has jumped out in front of me to fight my enemies.” ²¹ The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his army carried them off.
²² Later, the Philistines once again marched out and encamped in the Rephaim Valley. ²³ When David asked the LORD about it, he said, “Don’t attack them directly. Instead, go around to the rear and attack them opposite those balsam trees. ²⁴ When you hear the sound of marching coming from the tops of the balsam trees, then be sure to act quickly, since the LORD will have gone out ahead of you to cut down the Philistine army.” ²⁵ So David did exactly what the LORD ordered him to do, and he struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

⁶ David erected garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, placing the Arameans under servitude to him, and they paid tribute to him. ⁷ David also confiscated the gold shields that belonged to Hadadezer’s officers and took them to Jerusalem. ⁸ He also confiscated a vast quantity of bronze from Betah and Berothai, cities under Hadadezer’s control.
⁹ When King Tou of Hamath learned that David had conquered the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, ¹⁰ Tou sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory over Hadadezer, because he had been at war with Tou. Joram brought articles of silver, gold, and bronze with him, ¹¹ and King David dedicated them to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that had been dedicated from all the nations that he had conquered, ¹² including from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and spoil from King Hadadezer, Rehob’s son from Zobah.
¹³ David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley. ¹⁴ He erected garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subservient to David, while the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.

¹⁶ and Ishbi-benob, who had been fathered by giants, said he intended to kill David. (His bronze spearhead weighed 300 shekels, and he carried state-of-the-art weaponry.) ¹⁷ But Zeruiah’s son Abishai came to David’s aid, attacked the Philistine, and killed him. After this, David’s army told him, “You’re not going out anymore with us to battle, so Israel’s beacon won’t be extinguished!”

¹ The Healing of NaamanNaaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in the opinion of his master. He was highly favored, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. Though he was a mighty and valiant man, he was suffering from leprosy.

⁵⁰ He is the one who gives victories to his king; who shows gracious love to his anointed, to David and his seed forever.

¹⁶ A king is not saved by a large army; a mighty soldier is not delivered by his great strength. ¹⁷ It is vain to trust in a horse for deliverance, even with its great strength, it cannot deliver. ¹⁸ Indeed, the LORD watches those who fear him; those who trust in his gracious love

⁷ LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer, you have protected my head in the time of battle.

¹ Cyrus: God’s Deliverer This is what the LORD says to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, as I strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him and gates that cannot keep closed: ² “I myself will go before you, and he will make the mountains level; I’ll shatter bronze doors and cut through iron bars. ³ I’ll give you concealed treasures and riches hidden in secret places, so that you’ll know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name. ⁴ For the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen, I’ve called you, and he has established you with a name, although you have not acknowledged me. ⁵ I am the LORD, and there is no other besides me: and there are no gods. I’m strengthening you, although you have not acknowledged me, ⁶ so that from the sun’s rising to the west people may know that there is none besides me. “I am the LORD, and there is no other.”

⁶ Now I’ve given all these lands to my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I’ve even given him the wild animals to serve him. ⁷ All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his country’s time also comes, and then many nations and great kings will use him as a slave. ⁸ If a nation and kingdom does not serve him—King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon—and does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I’ll judge that nation with the sword, with famine, and with plague,” declares the LORD, “until I’ve completely destroyed it by his hand.

⁶ When the Ammonites realized that they had created quite a stink with David, they hired 20,000 Aramean mercenaries from Beth-rehob and Zobah, along with the king of Maacah and 1,000 men, and 12,000 men from Tob. ⁷ In response, David sent out Joab and his entire army of elite soldiers. ⁸ The Ammonites went out in battle formation at the entrance to the city gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob, along with the army from Tob and Maacah, were out by themselves in the open fields.
⁹ When Joab observed that the battle lines were set up to oppose him both in front and behind, he appointed the best troops in Israel and arrayed them to oppose the Arameans, ¹⁰ putting the rest of his forces under the command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them to oppose the Ammonites. ¹¹ He said, “If the Arameans prove too strong for me, then you are to help me. If the Ammonites prove too strong for you, then I will come help you. ¹² Be strong, be courageous on behalf of our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what he thinks is best.”
¹³ So Joab and the soldiers who were with him attacked the Arameans in battle formation, and the Arameans retreated in front of him. ¹⁴ When the Ammonites saw the Arameans retreating, they also retreated from Abishai back to the city. Then Joab broke off his attack against the Ammonites and went back to Jerusalem. ¹⁵ After the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped. ¹⁶ Hadadezer sent for the Arameans who lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they set out for Helam, with Shobach leading them as commander of Hadadezer’s army.
¹⁷ When David learned this, he mustered all of Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and approached Helam. The Arameans assembled in battle array to attack David, and started their assault. ¹⁸ But the Arameans retreated from Israel, and David’s forces killed 700 of their charioteers, 40,000 soldiers, and mortally wounded Shobach, the commander of their army. As a result, Shobach died there. ¹⁹ When all the kings who were allied with Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sought terms of peace with the Israelis and became subservient to them. Furthermore, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

⁵ Shimei Curses DavidLater on, as King David approached Bahurim, Gera’s son Shimei, who was related to the family of Saul’s household, went out to meet David, cursing continually as he approached. ⁶ He threw rocks at David and all of David’s staff who were accompanying him, while all the rest of the entourage, including all of David’s security detail, were close by him. ⁷ “Get out of here! Get out!” Shimei yelled as he cursed. “You murderer! You who think you’re above the law! ⁸ The LORD has repaid you personally for murdering the entire dynasty of Saul, whose place you’ve taken to reign! And the LORD has given the kingdom into your son Absalom’s control. Now look! Your own evil has caught up with you, because you’re guilty of murder!”
⁹ At this point, Zeruiah’s son Abishai asked the king, “Why should this dead dog be cursing your majesty the king? May I have permission to go over and cut off his head?”
¹⁰ But the king responded, “What do I have in common with you sons of Zeruiah? If he continues to curse—and if the LORD has told him, ‘Curse David!’—then who are you to be demanding to know ‘Why have you done this?’”
¹¹ So David ordered Abishai and all of his staff: “Look! My own son wants to kill me! How much more now is this descendant of Benjamin? Leave him alone and let him go on cursing, because the LORD has ordered him to do this. ¹² Perhaps the LORD will take note of my troubles and return good to me instead of curses today!”
¹³ So David and his entourage went on their way, and Shimei walked along the hillside with him, cursing, throwing rocks, and tossing dirt at David as they went along. ¹⁴ Eventually, the king and his entourage arrived exhausted at their destination, and David refreshed himself there.

¹ “Give me 12,000 men! I’ll leave tonight and pursue David,” Ahithophel advised Absalom. ² “I’ll catch him while he is still tired and weak. I’ll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I’ll only kill the king. ³ Then I’ll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you’re looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly.”
⁴ Even though this plan seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all of the elders of Israel, ⁵ Absalom replied, “Call in Hushai the Archite so I can hear what he has to say, too!” ⁶ When Hushai approached Absalom, Absalom asked him, “Here’s what Ahithophel had to advise. Should we do what he says? Or if not, say so!”
⁷ Hushai Counters Ahithophel’s Advice“Ahithophel’s advice is not best at this time,” Hushai suggested to Absalom. ⁸ “You know how strong your father and his men are. They’re as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won’t stay with his army at night. ⁹ Look! He’s probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, ‘Absalom’s army is losing!’ ¹⁰ Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant! ¹¹ So here’s my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other! You’ll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you’ll go into battle! ¹² We’ll go find David wherever he’s hiding. We’ll fall on him like dew on the ground! We’ll kill him and all of his men, and we won’t leave even one man alive! ¹³ If he escapes into a city, we’ll bring ropes to that city and tear it down! We won’t leave a single stone left in the valley!”
¹⁴ Absalom and all of the Israelis replied, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel’s!”
Hushai Warns DavidBut the LORD had planned to circumvent the sound advice of Ahithophel so the LORD could bring Absalom to destruction.

⁷ Reach down your hand from your high place; rescue me and deliver me from mighty waters, from the control of foreigners. ⁸ Their mouths speak lies, and their right hand deceives,

¹⁵ No one could find more beautiful women in the whole land than Job’s daughters. Their father gave them their inheritance along with their brothers.

¹⁴ May the LORD add to your numbers— to you and to your descendants. ¹⁵ May you be blessed by the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth.

⁴ As arrows in the hand of a warrior, so also are children born during one’s youth. ⁵ How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be ashamed as they confront their enemies at the city gate.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children like olive shoots surrounding your table.

¹⁰ The Honorable WomanWho can find a capable wife? Her value far exceeds the finest jewels. ¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her; as a result, he lacks nothing of value. ¹² She will bring good to him—never evil— every day of her life. ¹³ She seeks out wool and flax, working with eager hands. ¹⁴ She is like a seagoing ship that brings her food from far away. ¹⁵ She rises while it is still night, preparing meals for her family and providing for her women servants. ¹⁶ She evaluates a field and purchases it; from the proceeds she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She clothes herself with fortitude, and fortifies her arms with strength. ¹⁸ She is confident that her profits are sufficient. Her lamp does not go out at night. ¹⁹ She works with her own hands on her clothes— her hands work the sewing spindle. ²⁰ She reaches out to the poor, opening her hands to those in need. ²¹ She is unafraid of winter’s effect on her household, because all of them are warmly clothed. ²² She creates her own bedding, using fine linen and violet cloth. ²³ Her husband is well known; he sits among the leaders of the land. ²⁴ She designs and sells linen garments, supplying accessories to clothiers. ²⁵ Strength and dignity are her garments; she smiles about the future. ²⁶ She speaks wisely, teaching with gracious love. ²⁷ She looks discretely to the affairs of her household, and she is never lazy.

⁸ The Loved One’s BrothersWe have a little sister, and she has not yet reached maturity. What will we do for our sister to prepare her for her engagement? ⁹ If she’s a wall, on her we will build a battlement of silver. If she’s a door, we will enclose her with planks of cedar.

¹⁶ Judgment of Jerusalem’s WomenThe LORD also says: “Because Zion’s women are so haughty, and walk with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, prancing along as they walk, and making tinkling noises with their ankle bracelets, ¹⁷ therefore the LORD will afflict sores on the heads of Zion’s women, and the LORD will expose their private parts.
¹⁸ “At that time, the LORD will take away the finery of the ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, ¹⁹ pendants, bracelets, veils, ²⁰ headdresses, armlets, sashes, perfume boxes, charms, ²¹ signet rings, nose rings, ²² fine robes, capes, purses, ²³ mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and veils. ²⁴ “And it will come about that instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well-set hair, baldness; instead of a fine robe, sackcloth; and instead of beauty, shame.

³ For I’ll pour water upon thirsty ground and streams on parched land. So will I pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing upon your descendants. ⁴ They’ll spring up as among the green grass, like willows by flowing streams. ⁵ One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ and another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will have written on his hand, ‘the LORD’s,’ and will adopt the name of Israel.”

² Though the precious people of Zion were like fine gold, how they are valued like clay vessels, the handiwork of a potter!

³ Your beauty should not be an external one, consisting of braided hair or the wearing of gold ornaments and dresses. ⁴ Instead, it should be the inner disposition of the heart, consisting in the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which God values greatly. ⁵ After all, this is how holy women who set their hope on God used to make themselves beautiful in the past. They submitted themselves to their husbands, ⁶ just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. You have become her daughters by doing good and by not letting anything terrify you.

²⁹ But Jacob replied to Laban, “You know how I’ve served you and how your cattle thrived under my care. ³⁰ What you had previously was only a few head, but the herd has now multiplied, because the LORD has blessed you through my efforts. But now, when am I going to be able to provide for my own household?”
³¹ “What do I have to give you?” Laban asked.
Jacob responded, “You don’t have to give me anything. Just do this for me: Let me tend your flock again and watch over it.

⁵ Threshing will extend to the time of vintage and the vintage will extend to the time of sowing, so that you’ll eat your bread to your satisfaction and live securely in your land.

¹⁰ When you have consumed what was stored of the old, then you’ll take out the old and replace it with what’s new.

¹³ He’ll love you and increase your numbers. He’ll bless the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your land (the grain, new wine, and oil), the offspring of your herds, and the lambs of your flock, in the land that the LORD promised your ancestors he would give you. ¹⁴ You’ll be blessed among all the nations. There’ll be no infertility among you, not even among your herds.

³ He humbled you, causing you to be hungry, yet he fed you with manna that neither you nor your ancestors had known, in order to teach you that human beings are not to live by food alone—instead human beings are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

⁴ “Blessed will your children be, as well as the produce of your land, the offspring of your beasts and cattle, and the offspring of your flock.

⁸ “The LORD will send blessings for you with regard to your barns and everything you undertake. Indeed, he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is about to give you.

³⁷ They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a productive harvest. ³⁸ Then he blessed them, and they became numerous; he multiplied their cattle.

¹⁰ “Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. So put me to the test in this right now,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “and see if I won’t throw open the windows of heaven for you and pour out on you blessing without measure.

¹⁶ Then he told them a parable. He said, “The land of a certain rich man produced good crops. ¹⁷ So he began to think to himself, ‘What should I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I’ll store all my grain and goods in them. ¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ ²⁰ But God told him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’

⁷ “The LORD will make your enemies, who rise against you and attack from one direction, to flee from you in seven directions.

²⁵ From Defeat to Exile“The LORD will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You’ll go out against them in one direction, but you’ll flee from them in seven directions. Consequently, you’ll be in a state of great terror throughout all the kingdoms of the earth.

⁸ New gods were chosen, then war came to the city gates, but there wasn’t a shield or spear to be seen among 40,000 soldiers of Israel.

³ Whenever the Israelis sowed their crops, the Midianites, the Amalekites, and certain groups from the east would come up and invade them.

⁶ Because Israel was deeply impoverished due to the Midianites, they cried out to the LORD.

¹⁷ Raiders went out of the Philistine camp in three companies. One company turned in the direction of Ophrah, to the land of Shual, ¹⁸ one company turned in the direction of Beth-horon, while the one company turned toward the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboiim toward the desert.
¹⁹ The Philistine Monopoly on Metal WorkingNo blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel because the Philistines thought, “This will keep the Hebrews from making swords or spears.” ²⁰ Everyone in Israel would have to go to the Philistines so each person could sharpen his plow, his mattock, his axe, and his sickle. ²¹ The charge was one pin for plows, mattocks, three pronged forks, and axes, or for setting the goads. ²² On the day of battle, none of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan were armed with swords or spears, but Saul and his son Jonathan did have them. ²³ Now a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass of Michmash.

⁷ When the men of Israel who were across the valley and who were across the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and occupied them.

¹¹ There is an outcry in the streets over wine; all cheer turns to gloom; the fun times of the earth are banished.

¹⁷ If you don’t listen, I’ll cry secretly because of your pride. My eyes will cry bitterly, flowing tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive. ¹⁸ Say to the king and the queen mother, “Come take a lowly seat, because your beautiful crowns have fallen off your heads.” ¹⁹ The towns in the Negev will be closed up, and there will be no one to open them. All Judah will be taken into exile and be completely exiled.

² “Judah mourns, and her gates languish. The people mourn for the land, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

¹⁸ If I go out into the field, I see those slain by the sword! If I go into the city, I see the ravages of the famine! Indeed, both prophet and priest ply their trade in the land, but they don’t know anything.’”

⁴ The roads that lead to Zion are in mourning, because no one travels to the festivals. All her gates are desolate; her priests are moaning. Her young women are grieving, and she is bitter. ⁵ Her adversaries dominate her, her enemies prosper. For the LORD has made her suffer because of her many transgressions. Her children have gone away, taken into captivity in the presence of the enemy. ⁶ Fled from cherished Zion are all that were her splendor. Her princes have become like deer that cannot find their feeding grounds. They flee with strength exhausted from their pursuers.

³ “This is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Zion and I will live in the midst of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem will be called, “The City of Truth” and the mountain of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will be called, “The Holy Mountain”.’
⁴ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘There will yet be old men and old women sitting in the parks of Jerusalem, each one of them holding canes in their hands due to their old age! ⁵ The city parks will be filled with boys and girls. They will play in the city’s open parks.’

²⁹ How blessed are you, Israel! Who can be like you, a people delivered by the LORD, your shield of help and your finely crafted sword. May your enemies cower before you. You will tread down their high places.”

¹² How blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen as his own inheritance.

⁴ How blessed is the one you choose, the one you cause to live in your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house, yes, even with the holiness of your Temple.

¹⁵ How happy are the people who can worship joyfully! LORD, they walk in the light of your presence.

⁵ Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,

³ The Many Blessings of SalvationBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm,