Psalms 107 Cross References - NSB

¹ Give thanks to Jehovah, for he is good. His loving kindness endures forever. ² Let the redeemed by Jehovah say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, ³ And gathered out of the lands, from the east (sunrise) and from the west (sunset), from the north and from the south. ⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way. They found no city to live in. ⁵ Hungry and thirsty, they fainted within. ⁶ Then they cried to Jehovah in their trouble. He delivered them out of their distress. ⁷ He led them also by a straight way that they might go to a city to live in. ⁸ Let them praise Jehovah for his loving kindness, for his wonderful works to the children of men! ⁹ For he satisfies the thirsty and the hungry person. ¹⁰ Those who lived in the dark, in death's shadow were prisoners in misery. They were held in iron chains ¹¹ They had rebelled against God's words and had despised the advice given by the Most High. ¹² He humbled them with hard work. They fell down, but no one was there to help them. ¹³ In their distress they cried out to Jehovah. He saved them from their troubles. ¹⁴ He brought them out of the dark, out of death's shadow. He broke apart their chains. ¹⁵ Let them give thanks to Jehovah because of his goodness. He performed his miracles for the sons of men. ¹⁶ He shattered bronze gates and cut iron bars in two. ¹⁷ Fools suffered because of their disobedience and because of their crimes. ¹⁸ All food was disgusting to them, and they came near death's gates. ¹⁹ In their distress they cried out to Jehovah. He saved them from their troubles. ²⁰ He sent his message and healed them. He rescued them from the grave. ²¹ Let them give thanks to Jehovah because of his goodness. He performed his miracles for the sons of men. ²² Let them bring songs of thanksgiving as their sacrifice. Let them tell in joyful songs what he has done. ²³ Those who sail on the sea in ships, who do business on the high seas, ²⁴ have seen what Jehovah can do, the miracles he performed in the depths of the sea. ²⁵ He spoke, and a storm began to blow, and it made the waves rise high. ²⁶ The sailors aboard ship rose toward the sky. They plunged into the depths. Their courage failed in the face of disaster. ²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunks, and all their skills as sailors became useless. ²⁸ In their distress they cried out to Jehovah. He led them from their troubles. ²⁹ He made the storm calm down, and the waves became still. ³⁰ The sailors were glad that the storm was quiet. He guided them to the harbor they had longed for. ³¹ Let them give thanks to Jehovah because of his goodness. He performed his miracles for the sons of men. ³² Let them glorify him when the people are gathered for worship. Let them praise him in the company of respected leaders. ³³ He changes rivers into a desert, springs into thirsty ground, ³⁴ and fertile ground into a layer of salt because of the wickedness of the people living there. ³⁵ He changes deserts into lakes (marshland) and dry ground into springs. ³⁶ There he settles those who are hungry, and they build cities to live in. ³⁷ They plant in fields and vineyards that produce crops. ³⁸ He blesses them, and their numbers multiply, and he does not allow a shortage of cattle. ³⁹ They became few in number and were humiliated because of oppression, disaster, and sorrow. ⁴⁰ He poured contempt on their influential people and made them stumble around in a pathless desert. ⁴¹ He lifts needy people high above suffering and makes their families like flocks. ⁴² The righteous will see this and rejoice, but all the wicked will shut their mouths. ⁴³ Let those who think they are wise pay attention to these things so they will understand the loving kindness of Jehovah.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them: »Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and dominate the birds of the air. Have dominion over every living creature that moves on the ground.«

¹ God blessed Noah and his sons. He said: »Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

² »I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing.

¹⁰ Lot looked up and saw that the district of the Jordan River was well watered, like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. This was before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

¹³ The men of Sodom were wicked and sinned greatly against Jehovah.

³ These joined forces in the Valley of Siddim at the Dead Sea.

¹⁶ »I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her.«

²⁰ »Concerning Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him. I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.

²⁴ Jehovah made burning sulfur and fire rain out of the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. ²⁵ He destroyed those cities, the whole Plain, all who lived in the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.

¹⁴ Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beer-sheba. ¹⁵ When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ She sat across from him at a distance. She thought: »I cannot watch the boy die.« She sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept.

⁵ The Hittites answered Abraham: ⁶ »Listen to us, my lord. You are a mighty leader among us. Bury your dead in one of our best tombs. Not one of us will withhold from you his tomb for burying your dead.« ⁷ Abraham got up and bowed to the people of that region, the Hittites.

¹² Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. Jehovah blessed him.

⁴³ He became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.

⁹ »This way God has taken sheep and goats from your father and given them to me.

¹¹ »‘»I will provide for you in Egypt. For there will be five more years of famine. Then you, your family, and all who belong to you will not lose all that you have.«’

¹¹ Israel said to Joseph: »I never expected to see you again. Now God has even let me see your sons.«

⁷ The children of Israel had many children. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them.

¹³ They forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves. ¹⁴ They made their lives bitter with backbreaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard work.

²³ Time went by and the king of Egypt died. The Israelites still groaned because they were slaves. So they cried out, and their cries for help went up to God.

²³ Time went by and the king of Egypt died. The Israelites still groaned because they were slaves. So they cried out, and their cries for help went up to God. ²⁴ God heard their groaning. He remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

⁷ Jehovah said: »I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt. I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them. ⁸ »I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians. I will bring my people out of Egypt into a country where there is good land, rich with milk and honey. I will give them the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.

¹⁸ »Get back to work! You will not be given straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks.« ¹⁹ The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told: »Do not make fewer bricks each day than you are supposed to.«

³ »‘»The Nile will swarm with frogs. They will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed. They will go into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls.

¹⁷ So Aaron struck the ground with his stick. The dust in Egypt was turned into gnats. They swarmed over the people and the animals.

²⁴ Jehovah did what he said. Dense swarms of flies came into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials. All over Egypt the flies ruined everything.

³ Jehovah will bring a terrible plague on your livestock, including your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. ⁴ »‘»Jehovah will distinguish between Israel’s livestock and the livestock of the Egyptians. The animals belonging to the Israelites will not die.«’« ⁵ Jehovah set a definite time: »I, Jehovah, choose tomorrow as the time when I will do this.« ⁶ The next day Jehovah did as he had said. The Egyptian’s animals all died. Not one of the animals of the Israelites died. ⁷ The king asked what had happened. He was told that none of the animals of the Israelites had died. He was stubborn and would not let the people go.

⁷ »But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast. This is so you may understand how Jehovah makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.«

³⁸ Many other people also went with them, along with large numbers of sheep, goats, and cattle.

² »Jehovah is my strong defender. He is the one who has saved me. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will sing about his greatness.

¹⁶ »Terror and dread fall upon them. By the greatness of your arm they are motionless as stone. Until your people pass over, O Jehovah, until the people pass over whom you have purchased.

¹² »‘If you offer it as a thank offering, you must also bring rings of unleavened bread mixed with oil, wafers of unleavened bread brushed with oil, and loaves made from flour mixed well with oil.

³³ While the meat was still in their mouths, before they had even had a chance to chew it, Jehovah became angry with the people and struck them with a severe plague. ³⁴ That place was called Kibroth Hattaavah (Graves of Those Who Craved Meat) because they buried the people who had a strong craving for meat there.

¹⁰ After the smoke left the tent, Miriam was covered with an infectious skin disease. She was as white as snow. Aaron turned to her and saw she was covered with the disease. ¹¹ He said to Moses: »Please, do not make us suffer this punishment for our foolish sin. ¹² »Do not let her become like something born dead with half its flesh eaten away.« ¹³ Therefore Moses cried out to Jehovah: »O God, heal her!«

⁵ and criticized God and Moses. They said: »Why did you make us leave Egypt only to let us die in the desert? There is no bread or water, and we cannot stand this awful food!« ⁶ Jehovah sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said: »We sinned when we criticized Jehovah and you. Pray to Jehovah so that he will take the snakes away from us. So Moses prayed for the people.« ⁸ Jehovah said to Moses: »Make a snake and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.« ⁹ Moses made a copper snake and put it on a pole. People looked at the copper snake after they were bitten and lived.

¹⁶ From there they went on to a place called Wells, where Jehovah said to Moses: Bring the people together, and I will give them water. ¹⁷ The people of Israel sang this song: »Wells, produce your water; And we will greet it with a song. ¹⁸ »The well dug by princes and by leaders of the people, dug with a royal scepter and with their walking sticks. They moved from the wilderness to Mattanah,

¹³ »Jehovah’s anger blazed against the Israelites. Therefore he made them wander in the desert for forty years until the whole generation of those who had done evil in Jehovah’s presence was gone.

³³ »‘Your children will be shepherds in the desert for forty years. They will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies dead in the desert.

⁸ »You were chosen because Jehovah loved you and kept the oath he swore to your fathers. So he used his mighty hand to bring you out. He freed you from slavery under Pharaoh king of Egypt.

¹⁴ »God will bless you more than any other people. There will not be a male or a female barren among you or your livestock.

¹⁵ »He was the one who led you through that vast and dangerous wilderness. It was a parched, arid land, with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He was the one who made water come out of solid rock for you.

²⁹ If only they had such a heart in them that they would respect (reverence) me and obey all my commandments for as long as they live! Then things would go well for them and their children from generation to generation.’

¹⁵ »Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah your God redeemed you. Therefore I command you this today!

⁴ »Jehovah will bless you with many children, with abundant crops, and with many cattle and sheep.

¹¹ »Jehovah will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your animals and in the produce of your ground, the land that Jehovah swore to your fathers to give you.

²³ »All its land is brimstone and salt. It is a burning waste, unsown and unproductive. No grass grows on it. Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Jehovah overthrew in his anger and in his wrath. ²⁴ »All the nations will say: Why has Jehovah done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?' ²⁵ »Then men will say: ‘Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. ²⁶ »‘They served other gods and worshiped them. These are gods whom they have not known and whom he had not allotted to them. ²⁷ »‘Jehovah became angry against this land and brought on it all the curses described in this book. ²⁸ »‘His fierce anger and fury caused Jehovah to uproot these people from their land and deported them to another country. This is where they still are today.’

³ he will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you from all the nations of the world where he has scattered you.

⁹ »Jehovah your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand. In the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, you will prosper. Jehovah will again rejoice over you for good, just as he rejoiced over your fathers;

¹⁰ »He found his people in a desert land, in a barren place where animals howl. He guarded them, took care of them, and protected them because they were the precious apple (pupil) of his eye.

²⁹ They fail to see why they were defeated. They cannot understand what happened.

²⁴ When they brought out the kings to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him: »Come near, put your feet on the back of the necks of (humiliate) (abase) these kings.« They came near, and put their feet upon their necks. ²⁵ Joshua said: »Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified! Be strong and have courage: for this is what Jehovah will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.« ²⁶ Afterward Joshua struck and killed them. He hanged them on five trees: and they hung on the trees until evening.

⁶ Adoni-bezek fled and they chased him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. ⁷ And Adoni-bezek said: »Seventy kings with their big toes cut off have gathered food scrapes under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done.« So they brought him to Jerusalem where he died.

³ Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he ruled the people of Israel with cruelty and violence for twenty years. The people of Israel cried out to Jehovah for help.

²¹ Then Jael Heber’s wife picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went to him while he was fast asleep and drove the peg into his temple and it went down into the ground. He was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

¹⁰ The children of Israel cried out to Jehovah: »We sinned against you. We left our God and served the Baals.« ¹¹ Jehovah answered: »Did I free you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, and the Philistines? ¹² »Did I save you from the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites? They oppressed you and you cried out to me. ¹³ »You still left me and worshiped other gods. I am not going to rescue you again. ¹⁴ »Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them save you in your time of trouble.« ¹⁵ But the people of Israel said to Jehovah: »We have sinned. Do to us what seems best to you, only please, save us today!« ¹⁶ So they removed the foreign gods and worshiped Jehovah. He could bear the distress of Israel no longer. ¹⁷ Then the Ammonite army prepared camped in Gilead. They prepared for battle. The people of Israel gathered and camped at Mizpah in Gilead. ¹⁸ There the people and the leaders of Gilead asked one another: »Who is the man to lead the fight against the Ammonites? Whoever does will be the leader of everyone in Gilead.«

³ When the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites along with the desert tribes attacked them. ⁴ They camped on the land and destroyed the crops as far south as Gaza. They took all the sheep, cattle, and donkeys, and left nothing for the Israelites to live on. ⁵ They came with their livestock and tents, as thick as locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels. They entered the land and destroyed it. ⁶ Israel was helpless against them.

⁶ Israel was helpless against them. ⁷ The people of Israel cried out to Jehovah for help against the Midianites. ⁸ Then Jehovah sent a man, a prophet, to the Israelites. He said to them: »Jehovah, the God of Israel says, ‘It was I who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. ⁹ »‘I rescued you from the Egyptians and from the people who fought you in this land. I drove them out as you advanced. I gave you their land. ¹⁰ »‘I said to you: ‘I am Jehovah your God. You should not worship the gods of the Amorites, whose land you are now living in. But you have not listened to me.’«

¹⁸ Samson became very thirsty. He called to Jehovah: »You gave me this great victory. Will I now die of thirst and be captured by these heathen Philistines?« ¹⁹ God opened a hollow place in the ground there at Lehi, and water came out of it. Samson drank it and felt better. The spring was named Hakkore. It still exists there at Lehi.

³ However Samson stayed in bed until midnight. He got up and took hold of the city gate and pulled it up, doors, posts, lock, and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them far off to the top of the hill overlooking Hebron.

²¹ The Philistines captured him and put his eyes out. They took him to Gaza, chained him with copper chains. They put him to work grinding at the mill in the prison.

³⁰ Samson shouted: »Let me die with the Philistines!« He pushed with all his might, and the building fell down on the five kings and everyone else. Samson killed more people at his death than he had killed during his life.

²⁰ She said: »Do not call me Naomi (meaning pleasant). Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life bitter. ²¹ »I went away full, and Jehovah sent me back empty. Why do you give me the name Naomi, seeing that Jehovah has given witness against me, and the Almighty has brought sorrow to me?«

¹⁴ The women said to Naomi: »A blessing on Jehovah. He has not let you be without a near relative. May his name be great in Israel. ¹⁵ »He will be a giver of new life to you. He will be your comforter when you are old, because your daughter-in-law, who in her love for you is better than seven sons, has given birth to him.« ¹⁶ Naomi took the child in her arms and took care of it. ¹⁷ Her neighbor women gave it a name. They said: »Naomi has a child.« They gave him the name of Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

⁹ After they had moved it, Jehovah threw the city into a great panic. He struck all the people in the city and they were covered with tumors.

⁴ »What guilt offering (trespass gift) shall we send him?« The people asked. They answered: »Five gold models of tumors and five gold mice, one of each for each Philistine king. The same plague was sent on all of you and on the five kings.

⁵ »Those who were full have hired themselves out for food. The hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven. She who has had many sons has languished.

⁵ »Those who were full have hired themselves out for food. The hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven. She who has had many sons has languished. ⁶ »Jehovah kills and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and brings up.

⁶ »Jehovah kills and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and brings up. ⁷ »Jehovah takes away and He gives riches. He brings low and lifts up high.

⁷ »Jehovah takes away and He gives riches. He brings low and lifts up high. ⁸ »He raises the poor from the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to set them among the princes. He causes them to inherit a throne of glory (honor). The pillars of the earth are Jehovah’s. He sets the world on them.

⁸ »He raises the poor from the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill to set them among the princes. He causes them to inherit a throne of glory (honor). The pillars of the earth are Jehovah’s. He sets the world on them.

²¹ Jehovah visited Hannah so that she conceived. She bore three sons and two daughters. At the same time the child Samuel grew before Jehovah.

¹¹ David’s men found an Egyptian in the open country and took him to David. They gave him food to eat and water to drink. ¹² He also ate some dried figs, and two bunches of raisins. After he ate his strength returned. He had not eaten nor did he drank for three days.

¹⁰ »Even the bravest man with a heart like a lion would lose his courage. All Israel knows that your father is a mighty man and the men with him are brave.

¹⁶ He said: »This is what Jehovah says: ‘Dig ditches all over this dry streambed (wadi). ¹⁷ »You will not see any rain or wind. This streambed will be filled with water and you and your animals will have plenty to drink.« ¹⁸ Elisha continued: »This is an easy thing for Jehovah to do. He will also give you victory over the Moabites. ¹⁹ »You will conquer all their beautiful fortified cities. You will cut down all their fruit trees, stop all their springs, and ruin all their fertile fields by covering them with stones.« ²⁰ The next morning when the sacrifice was offered water came flowing from the direction of Edom. It covered the ground.

⁸ Elisha went to Shunem, where a rich woman lived. She invited him to a meal. From that time on every time he went to Shunem he would have his meals at her house.

¹ Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: »By the living Jehovah, the God of Israel, whose servant I am, there will be no dew or rain in these years, but only at my word.« ² Then the word of Jehovah came to him, saying: ³ »Go east from here and hide by the Cherith Brook, east of Jordan. ⁴ »You will drink from the brook. I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.« ⁵ So he did as Jehovah said, living by the Cherith Brook, east of Jordan. ⁶ The ravens took him bread in the morning and meat in the evening. And he drank water from the brook. ⁷ Now after a time the brook became dry, because there was no rain in the land.

⁵ Ahab said to Obadiah: »Come! Let us go through all the country, to all the fountains of water and all the rivers. Let us see if there is any grass for the horses and the transport beasts. We must save some of the livestock.«

¹⁹ »Say to him: ‘Jehovah says: »Have you put a man to death and taken his heritage?«’« »Then say: ‘Jehovah says: »Your blood will become the drink of dogs! You will go to the same place where the dogs drink the blood of Naboth.«’«

²⁶ The king of Israel walked by on the city wall when a woman cried out: »Help me, Your Majesty!« ²⁷ The king replied: »If Jehovah will not help you, what help can I provide? Where can I get you help from the threshing floor or the wine press?«

³³ While Elisha was still talking the king arrived and said: »Jehovah brought this trouble on us! Why should I wait any longer for him to do something?«

³ When the seven years ended she returned to Israel. She went to the king to ask that her house and her land be restored to her.

³⁵ They went to bury her, but they found nothing to bury. There were only the bones of her head, and her feet, and parts of her hands. ³⁶ So they came back and told him about it. He said: »This is what Jehovah said by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the heritage of Jezreel the flesh of Jezebel will become food for dogs. ³⁷ »‘The dead body of Jezebel will be like waste dropped on the face of the earth in the heritage of Jezreel. They will not be able to say: »This is Jezebel.«’«

³² Jehovah began to reduce the size of Israel's territory. King Hazael of Syria conquered all the Israelite territory

²⁶ Jehovah saw the bitter affliction of Israel. There was no one left, bond or free. There was no help for Israel.

⁷ Out of all his army, Jehoahaz had only fifty horsemen and ten carriages and ten thousand footmen. The king of Aram had given them up to destruction, crushing them like dust.

²² Israel was crushed under the power of Hazael, king of Aram, all the days of Jehoahaz.

⁴ Isaiah had not gone as far as the middle courtyard when Jehovah spoke to him: ⁵ »Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what Jehovah God of your ancestor David says: »I heard your prayer. I saw your tears. Now I will heal you. The day after tomorrow you will go to Jehovah’s Temple.

³ When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and Jehovah’s glory on the Temple, they knelt down with their faces on the pavement. They worshiped and praised Jehovah. They said: »He is good; his mercy (lovingkindness) endures forever.«

⁶ The priests were standing at their posts. So were the Levites who had Jehovah’s musical instruments that King David made for praising Jehovah. They were saying: »his mercy endures forever.« This he used to offer praise. The priests were opposite the Levites blowing trumpets while all Israel was standing there.

³⁴ Give thanks to Jehovah because he is good, because his mercy endures forever!

⁴¹ With Zadok and his relatives were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of the Levites who had been selected. They were chosen by name, to give thanks to Jehovah by singing, because His mercy endures forever.

¹³ the trumpeters and singers praised and thanked Jehovah in unison. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments, they sang in praise to Jehovah: »He is good; his mercy (lovingkindness) endures forever.« Then Jehovah’s Temple was filled with a cloud.

⁵ »No one could come and go in peace at that time. This is because everyone living in the land had a lot of turmoil. ⁶ »One nation crushed another nation. One city crushed another. God tormented them with every kind of trouble.

¹⁵ Jehovah became angry with Amaziah. He sent him a prophet who asked: »Why do you dedicate your life to serving the gods of those people? Those gods could not save their own people from you!« ¹⁶ The king asked him: »Did we make you an adviser to the king? Stop! Do you want me to have you killed?« The prophet stopped. He said: »I know that God has decided to destroy you because you did this. Yet you refuse to listen to my advice.«

²¹ »After consulting with the people, the king ordered some musicians to put on the robes they wore on sacred occasions and to march ahead of the army. They sang: ‘Praise Jehovah! His love is eternal!’«

¹⁸ Everything else about Manasseh, including his prayer to his God and the words that the seers spoke to him in the name of Jehovah the God of Israel are in the records of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ His prayer and how God accepted it are written in the records of Hozai. The things he did before he humbled himself are also written there. This includes all his sins and unfaithfulness and the places where he built illegal worship sites and set up idols and poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.

¹⁶ They mocked God’s messengers. They despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until Jehovah became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them.

²⁵ But Hezekiah was conceited. So he did not repay Jehovah for his kindness. Jehovah became angry with him, with Judah, and with Jerusalem.

¹⁰ Jehovah spoke to Manasseh and his people. But they would not pay attention. ¹¹ So Jehovah made the army commanders of the king of Assyria invade Judah. They took Manasseh captive, put a hook in his nose, put him in bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon. ¹² When he experienced distress, he begged Jehovah his God to be kind and humbled himself in front of the God of his ancestors. ¹³ He prayed to Jehovah. And Jehovah accepted his prayer and listened to his request. Jehovah brought him back to his kingdom in Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah is God.

²¹ Then I gave orders for a time of going without food, there by the Ahava River, so that we might make ourselves low before our God in prayer, requesting from him a safe journey for us and for our little ones and for all our substance. ²² I would not make request to the king for a band of armed men and horsemen to give us help against those who might attack us on the way. We said to the king: »The hand (power) (protection) of our God is on his servants for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who have turned away from him.« ²³ So we went without food, requesting our God for this: and his ear was open to our prayer.

³⁷ »And it gives much increase to the kings whom you have put over us because of our sins. They have power over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great trouble.

³ These are the chiefs of the divisions of the country who were living in Jerusalem: but in the towns of Judah everyone was living on his heritage in the towns, that is, Israel, the priests, the Levites, the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon's servants.

¹⁵ Mordecai went out from before the king, dressed in king-like robes of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold and clothing of purple and the best linen. The entire town of Shushan gave loud cries of joy. ¹⁶ It was a time of happiness joy and honor for the Jews. ¹⁷ And in every part of the kingdom and in every town, wherever the king's letter and his order came, the Jews were glad with great joy. They had a feast and a good day. A large number of the people of the land became Jews: for the fear of the Jews had come on them.

¹⁰ »You have always protected him and his family and everything he owns. You bless everything he does. You have given him enough cattle to fill the whole country. ¹¹ »Now suppose you take away everything he has. He will curse you to your face!« ¹² »All right,« Jehovah said to Satan, »everything he has is in your power, but you must not hurt Job!« So Satan left. ¹³ One day when Job's children were having a feast at the home of their oldest brother, ¹⁴ a messenger came running to Job. »We were plowing the fields with the cattle,« he said, »and the donkeys were in a nearby pasture. ¹⁵ »Suddenly the Sabeans attacked and stole them all. They killed every one of your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.« ¹⁶ Before he finished speaking, another servant came and said: »Lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and killed them all. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.« ¹⁷ Before he finished speaking, another servant came and said: »Three bands of Chaldean raiders attacked us. They took away the camels and killed all your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.«

⁵ »Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it once more. May a cloud settle over it and may blackness overwhelm its light.

¹¹ »He sets on high the lowly people. He lifts those who mourn to safety.

¹⁵ »He saves people from the sword (slander) of their mouth. He saves the needy from the power of the mighty. ¹⁶ »The poor have hope when wrongdoing shuts its mouth.

⁷ »Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.

¹³ »God will not withdraw his anger. The allies of the proud lie thrown down beneath him.

²¹ before I go to the place of no return, to the land of darkness and the shadow of death, ²² to the land of dark night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.«

¹⁵ then you will lift up your face without shame. You will stand firm without fear. ¹⁶ »You will forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. ¹⁷ »Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. ¹⁸ »You will be secure because there is hope. You will look about you and take your rest in safety. ¹⁹ »You will lie down and no one will make you afraid. Many will entreat your favor.

²² »He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword.

³⁰ »He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.

¹¹ »They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around.

²¹ »He pours out contempt upon nobles and disarms the mighty.

²⁴ »He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason and understanding. He sends them wandering through a pathless wilderness. ²⁵ »They grope in darkness without light. He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

⁸ »God has blocked my path so that I cannot go on. He has made my path dark.

¹⁹ »The righteous see it and are glad and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

⁸ »But if men are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction,

⁸ »But if men are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, ⁹ he tells them what they have done, that they have sinned arrogantly.

²⁰ »Shall it be told him that I would speak? Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up?

⁸ »Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb?

¹⁰ After Job had prayed for his friends, Jehovah made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble Jehovah allowed to come upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. ¹² Jehovah blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.

¹¹ Sing praise to Jehovah! He dwells in Zion! Tell every nation what he has done!

¹³ Be merciful to me, O Jehovah! See the sufferings my enemies cause me! Rescue me from death, O Jehovah.

¹⁹ »On the other hand a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones. ²⁰ »His very being finds food repulsive and he loathes the choicest meal. ²¹ »His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out. ²² »He draws near to the pit and to the messengers of death. ²³ »Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, ²⁴ to be gracious to him and say: ‘Spare him from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom for him!’ ²⁵ »His flesh is renewed like a child’s. It is restored as in the days of his youth. ²⁶ »He prays to God and finds favor with him. He sees God’s face and shouts for joy! God restores him to his righteous state.

²⁸ »He redeemed me from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light. ²⁹ »God does all these things to a man twice, even three times. ³⁰ »He turns him back from the pit that the light of life may shine on him.

³⁰ »He turns him back from the pit that the light of life may shine on him.

⁹ »When I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, ¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, ¹¹ when I said: ‘This far you may come and no farther’; here is where your proud waves halt?

¹⁷ »Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

¹⁶ After this Job lived a hundred and forty years. He saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

¹ ([Psalm of David]) The fool says in his heart: »There is no God (Jehovah) (Psalm 10:4).« They are corrupt. They do disgusting things. No one does good things.

⁶ I called on Jehovah in my distress. I cried to my God for help. He heard my voice from his temple, and my cry for help reached his ears.

⁴⁰ You made my enemies turn their backs to me. I destroyed those who hated me. ⁴¹ They cried out for help, but there was no one to save them. They cried out to Jehovah, but he did not answer them.

⁴⁶ Jehovah lives! Blessed is my rock! Praise the God of my salvation.

⁵ Jehovah will tear them down and never build them up again. This is because they never consider what he has done or what his hands have made.

² O Jehovah my God, I cried to you for help, and you healed me. ³ O Jehovah, you brought me up from the grave. You kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.

⁶ Now as for me, I said in my prosperity: »I will never be shaken.« ⁷ By your favor, O Jehovah, you made my mountain to stand strong. You hid your face and I was alarmed (dismayed). ⁸ To You, O Jehovah, I called. To Jehovah I made supplication: ⁹ What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it declare your truth? ¹⁰ Hear, O Jehovah, and be gracious to me. O Jehovah help me. ¹¹ You turned my mourning into dancing. You loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness. ¹² Now I sing praise to you. I am not silent! O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks and praise you forever.

⁵ Into your hands I entrust my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Jehovah, God of truth.

³ Come magnify Jehovah with me. Let us highly honor (exalt) (promote) his name together. ⁴ I went to Jehovah for help. He answered me and rescued me from all my fears. ⁵ All who look to him will be radiant. Their faces will never be covered with shame. ⁶ The poor man called out. Jehovah heard him and saved him from all his troubles.

¹⁰ Young lions go hungry and may starve, but those who seek Jehovah’s help have all the good things they need.

¹¹ Do not be so far away from me. Trouble is near, and there is no one to help.

¹⁴ I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart has melted within me like wax (I am weak).

²² I will tell my people about your name. I will praise you within the congregation.

²⁵ My praise comes from you while I am among those assembled for worship. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who respect Jehovah. ²⁶ Humble (meek) people will eat until they are full. Those who look to Jehovah will praise him. May your heart live forever.

¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the large congregation. I will praise you in a mighty crowd.

¹⁰ Cease your endeavors and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be glorified in the earth!

⁷ You break the ships of Tarshish using the east wind.

¹⁵ But God will redeem me (buy me back) from the power of the grave because he will receive me.

¹³ For you have delivered me from death, and my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

¹⁰ The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹ Men will say: Truly there is a reward for the righteous. Truly there is a God who judges the earth.

⁵ Come and see the works of God, his awe-inspiring deeds for the sons of men.

¹⁶ Come and listen, all who reverence God, and I will tell you what he has done for me.

⁶ God sets the lonely in families. He frees the prisoners who are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

¹⁸ You went to the highest place. You took prisoners captive. You have received gifts in the form of people, even from among rebellious people, so that Jehovah God may live there [with them].

¹⁷ O God, You taught me from my youth, and I still declare your wondrous deeds.

¹⁸ Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, who alone does miracles. ¹⁹ Blessed be to his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!

²⁴ You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward you give me honor (glory).

²⁸ It is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in Jehovah God, that I may declare all your works.

¹⁵ You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.

¹ ([Psalm of David]) O Jehovah, do not correct me or discipline me in your burning anger. ² Your arrows have struck me. Your hand has struck me hard. ³ No healthy spot is left on my body because of your rage. There is no peace in my bones because of my sin. ⁴ My guilt has overwhelmed me. Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear. ⁵ My wounds smell rotten. They fester because of my stupidity. ⁶ I am bent over and bowed down very low. All day I walk around in sadness. ⁷ My insides are filled with burning pain, and no healthy spot is left on my body. ⁸ I am numb and completely devastated. I roar because my heart is filling with anguish.

⁵ O Jehovah my God, Many are the wonders that you have done and your thoughts toward us. None can compare with you. If I would declare and teach about them, they would be too numerous to report.

⁹ »I announced the good news of righteousness in the great congregation. I will not close my lips. You know that, O Jehovah. ¹⁰ »I have not hidden your righteousness deep in my heart. I have been outspoken about your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not hidden your mercy and your truth from the great congregation.«

¹⁴ »Bring your thanks to God as a sacrifice, and pay (make good) your vows to the Most High. ¹⁵ »Call on me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honor me.«

²³ »Whoever offers thanks as a sacrifice honors me. I will let everyone who continues in my way see the salvation that comes from God.«

⁶ The righteous also sees, and fears, and laughs at him. They say:

¹¹ But the king will find joy in God. Everyone who takes an oath by God will speak praise, but the mouths of liars will be shut.

⁹ They will be afraid and say: Look at what God has done and remember it.

⁷ He stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.

⁹ You visit the earth and cause it to overflow. You greatly enrich it! The stream of God is full of water. You prepare their grain and thus you prepare the earth. ¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly; you settle its ridges and soften it with showers. You bless its growth. ¹¹ You have crowned the year with your bounty. Your paths drip with fatness. ¹² The pastures of the wilderness drip, and the hills surround themselves with rejoicing. ¹³ The meadows are clothed with flocks and the valleys are covered with grain. They shout for joy, yes, they sing.

¹¹ I will remember Jehovah's deeds! I will remember your wonders of old.

¹⁴ You are the God who does wonders. You have made your strength known among the peoples.

²⁰ You led your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

⁴ We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, and his strength and his wondrous works that he has done.

³⁴ When he killed some of them, the rest searched for him. They turned from their sins and eagerly looked for God. ³⁵ They remembered that God was their rock, that the Most High was their defender.

⁴⁰ How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness! How often they caused him grief in the desert!

⁵² He led his own people out like sheep and guided them like a flock through the wilderness.

⁶⁶ He struck his enemies from behind and disgraced them forever.

³ I am filled with troubles, and my life comes closer to the grave.

⁹ You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.

¹⁵ When you call to me, I will answer you. I will be with you when you are in trouble. I will deliver you and honor you.

¹ It is good to give thanks to Jehovah, to sing praises to your name, O Most High. ² It is good to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness at night.

⁶ A stupid (senseless) person cannot know and a fool cannot understand.

³ The floods have lifted up, O Jehovah, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their pounding waves.

⁵ The sea is his. He made it and his hands formed the dry land.

¹³ »Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! ¹⁴ »I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their adversaries. ¹⁵ »Those who hate Jehovah would pretend obedience (submission) to him. Their time of punishment would be long lasting. ¹⁶ »I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.«

⁵ Exalt Jehovah our God and worship at his footstool! (Isaiah 66:1) He is holy.

⁹ Exalt Jehovah our God and worship at his holy mountain, for Jehovah our God is holy.

⁵ For Jehovah is good. His loving kindness is everlasting and his truth endures to all generations.

²⁰ He heard the groaning of the prisoner, to set free those who were doomed to death.

² With all my heart I praise Jehovah! Do not forget how kind he has been. ³ He forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases. ⁴ He redeems your life from ruin and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies.

¹⁷ But the loving kindness of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting on those who reverence him, and his righteousness is to the sons of sons.

²⁴ O Jehovah, how many are your works! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your possessions. ²⁵ The sea is so big and wide with many creatures, living things both large and small. ²⁶ Ships sail on it, and Leviathan (great sea animal), which you made, plays in it. ²⁷ All of them wait for you to give them their food at the proper time.

¹ O give thanks to Jehovah! Call upon his name. Make his work known among the people.

¹ O give thanks to Jehovah! Call upon his name. Make his work known among the people. ² Sing to him, give praise to him! Declare all his wondrous works.

¹⁸ Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: ¹⁹ Jehovah’s presence tested him through fiery trials until the time that his word came. ²⁰ The king sent someone to release him. The ruler of nations set him free.

³¹ He spoke, and swarms of flies and gnats infested their entire territory.

³⁴ He spoke, and countless locusts and grasshoppers came.

¹ Praise Jehovah! Oh give thanks to Jehovah, for he is good and His loving-kindness endures forever.

⁷ Our fathers in Egypt did not understand your wonders. They did not remember your abundant kindnesses. But they rebelled by the Red Sea.

¹⁰ He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

⁴³ He rescued them many times, but they continued to plot rebellion against him and to sink deeper because of their sin.

⁴⁷ Rescue us, O Jehovah our God, and gather us from the nations so that we may give thanks to your holy name and make your praise our glory.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way. They found no city to live in.

⁶ Then they cried to Jehovah in their trouble. He delivered them out of their distress. ⁷ He led them also by a straight way that they might go to a city to live in. ⁸ Let them praise Jehovah for his loving kindness, for his wonderful works to the children of men!

¹⁰ Those who lived in the dark, in death's shadow were prisoners in misery. They were held in iron chains

¹³ In their distress they cried out to Jehovah. He saved them from their troubles.

¹⁵ Let them give thanks to Jehovah because of his goodness. He performed his miracles for the sons of men.

¹⁹ In their distress they cried out to Jehovah. He saved them from their troubles.

²¹ Let them give thanks to Jehovah because of his goodness. He performed his miracles for the sons of men.

²⁸ In their distress they cried out to Jehovah. He led them from their troubles.

³¹ Let them give thanks to Jehovah because of his goodness. He performed his miracles for the sons of men.

³⁶ There he settles those who are hungry, and they build cities to live in.

⁴⁰ He poured contempt on their influential people and made them stumble around in a pathless desert.

¹ Praise Jehovah! I will praise Jehovah with all my heart in the company of the upright and in the congregation.

⁴ He has made his miracles unforgettable. Jehovah is gracious and compassionate.

¹⁷ I will not die; instead, I will live and proclaim the works of Jehovah.

²⁴ Your laws are my delight and counsel.

²⁸ I weep because of grief; strengthen me according to your word (as you promised).

⁴⁶ I will also speak of your laws before kings and will not be ashamed.

¹⁰ The wicked sees this and becomes angry. He angrily grits his teeth and disappears. The hope of the wicked will perish (be destroyed).

⁷ He lifts the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from a garbage heap. ⁸ He seats them with important people, with the leaders (princes) of his people. ⁹ He makes a childless woman a joyful mother. Praise Jehovah!

⁸ He turns a rock into a pool filled with water and turns flint into a spring flowing with water.

³ The ropes of death became tangled around me. The fear of the grave took hold of me. I experienced pain and agony. ⁴ But I called on the name of Jehovah: »Please, Jehovah, deliver (rescue) me!«

⁴ But I called on the name of Jehovah: »Please, Jehovah, deliver (rescue) me!« ⁵ Jehovah is gracious and righteous. Our God is compassionate (merciful).

⁵ Jehovah is gracious and righteous. Our God is compassionate (merciful). ⁶ Jehovah protects defenseless people (simple ones). When I was weak, he saved me.

⁶ Jehovah protects defenseless people (simple ones). When I was weak, he saved me. ⁷ I will be at peace again because Jehovah has been good to you. ⁸ You saved me from death. You saved my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling.

¹² How can I repay Jehovah for all the good that he has done for me?

¹⁶ O Jehovah, I am indeed your servant. I am your servant, the son of your handmaid. You have freed me from my chains. ¹⁷ I will bring a song of thanksgiving to you as a sacrifice. I will call on the name of Jehovah.

¹⁷ I will bring a song of thanksgiving to you as a sacrifice. I will call on the name of Jehovah. ¹⁸ I will keep my vows to Jehovah in the presence of all his people, ¹⁹ in the courtyards of Jehovah’s house, in the middle of Jerusalem. Praise Jehovah!

¹ O Give thanks to Jehovah because he is good and his loving kindness is eternal.

⁶⁸ You are good and do good. Teach me your statutes.

¹ Blessed are all who reverence Jehovah and live his way. ² You will certainly eat what your own hands have provided. Blessings to you! May things go well for you! ³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine inside your home. Your children will be like young olive trees around your table. ⁴ This is how Jehovah will bless the person who fears him. ⁵ May Jehovah bless you from Zion so that you may see Jerusalem prosper all the days of your life. ⁶ May you live to see your children's children. Let there be peace in Israel!

⁶ May you live to see your children's children. Let there be peace in Israel!

⁸ He will save his people Israel from all their sins.

¹⁵ I will greatly bless all that Zion needs. I will satisfy its needy people with food.

⁷ He causes the vapors to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain. He brings wind out of his storehouses.

¹ Give thanks to Jehovah, for he is good. His loving kindness is everlasting. ² Give thanks to the God of gods. His loving kindness is everlasting. ³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His loving kindness is everlasting. ⁴ To the one who alone does wonderful thing. His loving kindness is everlasting. ⁵ To the one who made the heavens with skill. His loving kindness is everlasting. ⁶ To him who spread out the earth above the waters. His loving kindness is everlasting. ⁷ To him who made the great lights. His loving kindness is everlasting: ⁸ The sun to rule by day, for His loving kindness is everlasting, ⁹ The moon and stars to rule by night, for His loving kindness is everlasting. ¹⁰ To him who destroyed the Egyptians in their firstborn. His loving kindness is everlasting. ¹¹ And brought Israel out from their midst, for his loving kindness is everlasting. ¹² With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his loving kindness is everlasting. ¹³ To Him who divided the Red Sea asunder. His loving kindness is everlasting. ¹⁴ And made Israel pass through the midst of it. For his loving kindness is everlasting. ¹⁵ But he overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for his loving kindness is everlasting. ¹⁶ To him who led his people through the wilderness, for his loving kindness is everlasting.

¹⁶ To him who led his people through the wilderness, for his loving kindness is everlasting. ¹⁷ To him who destroyed great kings. His loving kindness is everlasting.

⁴ Look to my right and see that no one notices me. Escape is impossible for me. No one cares about me.

¹³ Let our garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce, our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; ¹⁴ Let our cattle bear without mishap and without loss. Let there be no outcry in our streets!

²² »How long, you simple (stupid) (foolish) ones, will you love simplicity (foolishness) (stupidity)? The scoffers delight in scoffing. Fools hate knowledge!

²⁵ »You have ignored all my counsel. You accept no correction.

³⁰ »You rejected my advice and paid no attention when I warned you. ³¹ »Now you will get what you deserve for what you have done. Your own advice will make you sick.

¹¹ The mouth of a righteous man is a fountain of life. Aggression comes from the mouth of the wicked.

²² The blessing of Jehovah makes rich and he adds no grief to it.

¹⁸ And struck mighty kings, for his loving kindness is everlasting: ¹⁹ Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his loving kindness is everlasting, ²⁰ And Og, king of Bashan, for his loving kindness is everlasting, ²¹ And gave their land as a heritage, for his loving kindness is everlasting, ²² Even a heritage to Israel his servant, for his loving kindness is everlasting. ²³ He remembered us in our low estate. His loving kindness is everlasting. ²⁴ He has rescued us from our adversaries, for his loving kindness is everlasting. ²⁵ He gives food to all flesh, for his loving kindness is everlasting. ²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his loving kindness is everlasting.

⁷ He executes justice for the oppressed. He gives food to the hungry. Jehovah sets the prisoners free.

¹ Praise Jehovah! It is good to sing praise to our God. It is pleasant to sing his praise beautifully.

³ He is the healer of the brokenhearted. He is the one who bandages their wounds.

¹⁵ He is the one who sends his promise throughout the earth. His word travels with great speed.

¹⁸ He sends out his word and melts his hailstones. He makes wind blow and water flow. ¹⁹ He speaks his word to Jacob, his laws and judgments to Israel.

⁸ Praise him lightning and hail, snow and fog, strong winds that obey his commands.

⁷ I saw among the simple ones, I discerned among the youth, a young man without understanding.

²² He immediately goes after her. He is like a bull that goes to the slaughter. Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,

⁶ Grandchildren are the crowns of old men. Fathers take pride in their children.

¹² At their feasts there are lyres and harps, tambourines and flutes, and wine. Yet, they do not pay attention to what Jehovah is doing or respect what his hands have done.

¹⁹ You say: »Let Jehovah hurry up and do what he says he will, so that we can see it. Let Israel's holy God carry out his plans. Let us see what he has in mind.«

¹¹ Then it will happen in that day that Jehovah will again recover the second time with his hand the remnant of his people. They will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. ¹² He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the outcast ones of Israel. He will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. ¹³ Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart. Those who harass Judah will be destroyed. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim. ¹⁴ They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will possess Edom and Moab, and the sons of Ammon will be subject to them. ¹⁵ Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt. He will wave his hand, his mighty Spirit, over the (Euphrates) River. He will strike it into seven streams and make men walk over on dry land. ¹⁶ There will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant of his people who will be left. This will be as it was for Israel when they came up out of the land of Egypt.

⁴ In that day you will say: »Give thanks to Jehovah, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.

⁷ »All hands will fall impaired (weakened). Every man's heart will melt (courage will fail).

¹⁹ Babylon, the beauty (honor) (glory) of kingdoms, the majesty of Chaldean pride, will be overthrew by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. ²⁰ »It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation! Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there. Nor will shepherds take their flocks there. ²¹ »But desert animals will lie down there. Their houses will be full of owls! Shaggy goats (demons) will play there and ostriches will dance there.

³ »The Egyptians will become discouraged. I will bring their plans to nothing. They will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.

⁵ The waters of the Nile River will dry up. The riverbed will be parched and dry. ⁶ The canals will stink. The streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither. ⁷ The plants (rushes) along the Nile, at the mouth of the river will wither. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched and blow away to be no more. ⁸ The fishermen will groan and lament. All who cast hooks into the Nile and throw nets on the water will be weak and sick. ⁹ Those who work with combed flax will despair. The weavers of fine linen (and cotton) will lose hope. ¹⁰ The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.

¹⁴ Jehovah has poured into them a spirit of dizziness. They make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.

⁸ Who planned such a thing against Tyre, the city that produced kings? Its merchants are princes. Its traders are among the honored people of the world. ⁹ Jehovah of Hosts planned this in order to dishonor all arrogant people and to humiliate all the honored people of the world.

⁹ Stand still and wonder. Refuse to see and be blind. Get drunk and stagger, but not from wine.

²¹ You will hear a voice behind you say: »This is the way. Walk in it,« whether it turns to the right or to the left.

¹³ For the land of my people where thorns and briars will grow for they are on the delightful houses and the exultant city. ¹⁴ Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken. Hill and watchtower have become caves forever. They will be a delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks. ¹⁵ The Spirit will be poured out upon us from on high. Then the wilderness will be turned into a fertile field, and the fertile field will be considered a forest.

² The people who walk in darkness (ignorance) (lies) have seen a great light (truth). A light has dawned on those who live in the land of the shadow of death (the grave) (calamity).

²⁰ The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard and it quakes like a shack in the wind. Its transgression is heavy upon it, and it will fall, never to rise again.

¹ O Jehovah, you are my God. I will exalt you and I will praise your name! You have done wonderful things with plans formed of old. You are faithful and true.

⁹ Edom's streams will be turned to tar. Its soil will be turned to burning sulfur. Its land will become blazing tar. ¹⁰ They will not be extinguished day or night, and smoke will always go up from them. Edom will lie in ruins for generations. No one will ever travel through it.

⁶ The lame will leap and dance, and those who cannot speak will shout for joy. Streams of water will flow through the desert plain. ⁷ The parched ground will become a lake, and dry land will be filled with springs. Marsh grass and reeds will grow where jackals used to live. ⁸ There will be a highway there, called: »The Road of Holiness.« No sinner will ever travel that road. No fools will mislead those who follow it. ⁹ No lions will be there. No fierce animals will pass that way! Those whom Jehovah has rescued will travel home by that road.

⁹ No lions will be there. No fierce animals will pass that way! Those whom Jehovah has rescued will travel home by that road. ¹⁰ They will reach Jerusalem with gladness, singing and shouting for joy. They will be happy forever. They will be forever free from sorrow and grief.

³⁰ »‘This will be the sign for you, O Hezekiah: ‘This year you will eat what grows by itself. The second year you will eat what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

¹⁰ »I thought that in the prime of my life I would go down to the gates of the grave and be robbed of the rest of my life.

¹⁵ »I will destroy the hills and mountains and dry up the grass and trees. I will turn the river valleys into deserts and dry up the pools of water. ¹⁶ »I will lead my blind people by roads they have never traveled. I will turn their darkness into light and make rough country smooth before them. I will keep my promises without fail.«

¹ Jehovah created Jacob and formed Israel. Jehovah says: »Do not be afraid for I have reclaimed you. I have called you by my name. You are mine.

⁵ »Do not be afraid for I am with you. I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west. ⁶ »‘I will say to the north, ‘Give them up,’ and to the south, ‘do not keep them. Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

³ »‘I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring. I will give blessing to your descendants. ⁴ »‘They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. ⁵ »‘»One person will say: »I belong to Jehovah.« Another person will call himself by the name of Jacob. Still another will write on his hand: »Jehovah’s.« And he will take the name Israel.’

¹² The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals. He shapes an idol with hammers; he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength. He drinks no water and grows faint.

²² »I have swept your sins away like a cloud. Come back to me! I am the one who saves you.

¹⁷ This is what Jehovah your Defender (Redeemer), the Holy One of Israel, says: »I am Jehovah your God. I teach you what is best for you. I lead you where you should go. ¹⁸ »If only you had listened to my commandments! Your peace would be like a river that never runs dry. Your righteousness would be like waves on the sea.

⁸ This is what Jehovah says: »In the time of favor I will answer you. I will appoint you as my promise to the people. You will restore the land. You will make them inherit the desolate inheritance.« ⁹ Say to those who are bound: »Go forth, to those in the darkness and show yourselves. They will feed along the roads and their pasture is on all bare heights.

⁹ Say to those who are bound: »Go forth, to those in the darkness and show yourselves. They will feed along the roads and their pasture is on all bare heights. ¹⁰ »They will never be hungry or thirsty. The sun and the burning hot wind will not strike them. The one who has compassion on them will lead them and guide them to springs. ¹¹ »I will make all my mountains a road. My highways will be raised up. ¹² »They will come from far away. They will come from the north and from the west. They will come from the land of Sinim.«

²⁰ »‘The children removed from you will say to you: ‘This place is too crowed for me. Make room for me to live here.’ ²¹ »‘You will think in your heart: ‘Who brought these children to birth? I am barren (sterile) and bereaved of my children. I am an exiled wonderer. Who gave birth to these? From where did these come?’ ²² »Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,« said Jehovah. »I will set up my standard for the peoples. They will bring your sons and your daughters in their bosom and carried on their shoulders.

² »Why was no one here when I came? Why was no one here to answer when I called? Am I too weak to reclaim you? Do I not have the power to rescue you? I dry up the sea with my command, and I turn rivers into deserts. Their fish stink because there is no water, and people die of thirst.

¹⁹ These double calamities have come upon you. Who can comfort you? You experience ruin and destruction, famine and sword. Who can console you? ²⁰ Your sons have fainted. They lie at the head of every street. They are like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the rage of Jehovah and the rebuke of your God.

²³ »I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you: ‘Lie down that we may walk all over you. You made your back like the ground like a street to be walked over.«’

⁵ »What do I have here?« Declares Jehovah. »For my people have been taken away for nothing. Those who rule them mock,« declares Jehovah. »And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.

¹ Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the water. You, who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. ² Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. ³ Give ear and come to me; listen to me, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

¹⁷ »The poor and needy search for water, but there is none! Their tongues are parched with thirst. But I Jehovah will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

¹⁷ »The poor and needy search for water, but there is none! Their tongues are parched with thirst. But I Jehovah will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ¹⁸ »I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.

¹⁸ »I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. ¹⁹ »I will put the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive in the desert. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together.

⁷ »You will open the eyes of the blind and set free those who sit in dark prisons.

¹⁰ Sing a new song to Jehovah. Sing his praise, all the world! Praise him, you that sail the sea. Praise him, all creatures of the sea! Sing, distant lands and all who live there!

²⁷ »‘I say to the watery deep: ‘Be a waste and I will dry up your rivers!’

¹ This is WHAT JEHOVAH SAYS ABOUT CYRUS, his anointed one: »I have held him by his right hand so he could conquer the nations ahead of him; that he could strip kings of their power, and open doors ahead of him so that the gates would not be shut. ² »I will go ahead of you, Cyrus. I will smooth out the rough places. I will break down the copper doors and cut through the iron bars.

⁸ The Sovereign Lord Jehovah declares: »He who gathers the exiles of Israel, I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.«

¹⁷ Because of the iniquity of his covetousness gain I was angry and struck him. I hid and was angry. He went on backsliding in the way of his heart (his heart directed course of life). ¹⁸ I have seen his ways, and will heal him. I will also lead him, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners.

¹ »Arise O woman and shine! Your light has come, and the glory of Jehovah beams on you. ² »Darkness now covers the earth! Thick darkness overwhelms the nations. But Jehovah shines for you. His glory appears to you. ³ »Nations will come to your light. Kings will come to the brightness of your illumination.

⁶ »See, it stands written before me. I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps ⁷ both your sins and the sins of your fathers, says Jehovah. This is because they burned sacrifices on the mountains and defied me on the hills. I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds.«

²¹ »They will build houses and dwell in them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

¹⁰ »All who love Jerusalem, be happy and rejoice with her. All who mourn for her be glad with her. ¹¹ »You will nurse and be satisfied from her comforting breasts. You will nurse and be satisfied at her full breasts.«

¹⁴ When you see it, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like new grass. The power of Jehovah will be made known to his servants, but he will condemn his enemies.

¹⁹ »Your own wickedness will correct you. Your apostasies (unfaithful ways) will punish you! You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you when you abandon Jehovah your God! You do not respect (reverence) me,« says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

¹⁶ Jehovah says: »Stand by the way [of life] and see and ask for the ancient paths. Walk in the good way and you will find rest.« But you said: »We will not walk in it!«

¹² »Who is the wise man that may understand this? Who is he to whom the mouth of Jehovah has spoken? Let him declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through?«

²⁴ »If they want to brag, instead let them advocate (glory) (celebrate) that they understand and know me. They should advocate that I, Jehovah, act out of love, righteousness, and justice on the earth. This kind of celebration pleases me,« declares Jehovah.

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah is upon me, because Jehovah has anointed me to announce good news to the lowly and meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.

¹² They will be called the holy people reclaimed (repurchased) by Jehovah! You will be called »searched for,« a »City Not Deserted.«

⁴ »The day of vengeance was in my heart. The year for my reclaiming you has come. ⁵ »I looked, but there was no help. I was astounded that there was no outside support. So my own arm (power) brought me salvation. My anger supported me.

⁷ I will acknowledge Jehovah’s acts of loving-kindness, and sing the praises of Jehovah, because of everything that Jehovah has done for us. He has done many good things for the nation of Israel because of his compassion and the abundance of his loving-kindness.

¹⁰ But they rebelled and grieved (offended and hurt) his Holy Spirit. So he turned against them as their enemy. He fought against them. ¹¹ His people finally remembered Moses and the days of old. Where is the one who brought them out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is the one who put his Holy Spirit in the midst of them?

¹³ Where is the one who led them through the deep water? Like horses in the wilderness, they did not stumble. ¹⁴ Just like animals going down into a valley, they were given rest by Jehovah’s Spirit. In this way you guided your people to make an honored name for yourself.

¹⁵ Listen, give heed and do not be haughty (arrogant). Jehovah has spoken. ¹⁶ Give glory to Jehovah your God before he brings darkness and before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You hope for light. He makes it into deep darkness and turns it into gloom. ¹⁷ If you will not listen, I will cry secretly over your arrogance. I will cry bitterly, and my eyes will flow with tears because Jehovah’s flock will be taken captive. ¹⁸ Say to the king and his mother: »Come down from your thrones, because your crowns have fallen off your heads.«

³ Important people send their assistants out for water. They do not find any water at the cisterns. They return with their containers empty. They cover their heads, because they are ashamed and dishonored.

¹⁸ »‘If I go to the field, I see those killed because of war. If I go to the city, I see those sick because of famine. Prophets and priests wander through a land they have not heard of.’«

²¹ »I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked. I will redeem you from the grasp of the cruel.«

⁵ ‘Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.

¹² ‘Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me and I will hear you. ¹³ ‘When you look for me, you will find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me, ¹⁴ ‘I will let you find me, declares Jehovah. I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you,’ declares Jehovah. ‘I will bring you back from the place where you are being held captive.’

¹⁴ ‘I will let you find me, declares Jehovah. I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you,’ declares Jehovah. ‘I will bring you back from the place where you are being held captive.’

¹⁹ »The people who live there will sing songs of praise. The sound of laughter will be heard from there. I will make them numerous, and their number will not decrease. I will bring them honor, and they will not be considered unimportant.

⁵ »You will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria. The planters will plant and will enjoy them.

⁸ I am bringing them from the North Country. I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth. Among them are the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labor with child. As a great company they will return here. ⁹ With weeping they will come. By supplication I will lead them. I will make them walk by streams of waters on a straight path in which they will not stumble. For I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn. ¹⁰ Hear the word of Jehovah, O nations. Declare in the coastlands afar off. Say: »He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. ¹¹ »Jehovah will free the descendants of Jacob and reclaim them from those who are stronger than they are.

¹⁴ »I will satisfy the priests with rich food. My people will be filled with my blessings,« proclaims Jehovah.

¹⁸ »I hear the people of Israel say in grief, ‘Jehovah, we were like an untamed animal, but you taught us to obey. Bring us back for we are ready to return to you, Jehovah our God. ¹⁹ »‘We turned away from you. But soon we wanted to return. After you had punished us we hung our heads in grief. We were ashamed and disgraced because we sinned when we were young.’« ²⁰ »Ephraim, O Ephraim my dear delightful son! Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him. My heart yearns for him. I will surely have mercy on him,« declares Jehovah.

²⁴ »Judah and all its cities will dwell together in it, the farmer and the shepherds with the flocks. ²⁵ »For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone filled with sorrow.«

³⁸ »The time is coming,« declares Jehovah, »when the city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to Corner Gate. ³⁹ »A measuring line will stretch from there straight to the Hill of Gareb, and then it will turn to Goah. ⁴⁰ »The whole valley is filled with its dead bodies and ashes. The entire area to the Kidron Valley, as far as the corner of Horse Gate in the east, will be holy to Jehovah. It will never be uprooted or torn down again.«

³ ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I will tell you grand and impressive things, things you do not know.’«

¹⁰ »This is what Jehovah says: ‘You have said that this place is ruined and that no people or animals live in it. It is true! The cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are deserted. No people or animals live there. But once again you will hear, ¹¹ »Yes, you will hear the sounds of joy and happiness and the sounds of brides and grooms. You will hear those who bring thank offerings to Jehovah’s Temple.«’ »‘They will say: Give thanks to Jehovah of Hosts because Jehovah is good, because his mercy endures forever. I will restore the prosperity of the land to what they were before,«’ says Jehovah. ¹² »Jehovah of Hosts said: ‘In this land that is like a desert and where no people or animals live, there will once again be pastures where shepherds can take their sheep.’ ¹³ »‘In mountain towns, in the foothills, and in southern Judah, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, shepherds will once again count their sheep.’ I Jehovah have spoken.«

³³ »I am the All-Powerful Jehovah, the God of Israel, and I make this promise: Soon Babylon will be leveled and packed down like a threshing place at harvest time. ³⁴ »The people of Jerusalem say: King Nebuchadnezzar made us panic. That monster (big snake) filled up with our treasures, leaving us empty. He gobbled down what he wanted and spit out the rest.

³⁹ What protest may a living man make? Can a man protest about the punishment for his sin?

³⁹ What protest may a living man make? Can a man protest about the punishment for his sin? ⁴⁰ Let us search and put our ways to the test. Let us turn again to Jehovah. ⁴¹ Let us lift up our hearts along with our hands to God in heaven. ⁴² For we have done wrong. We have rebelled against your law. We have not received your forgiveness.

¹⁶ »We refuse to listen to what you have told us in the name of Jehovah.

³¹ On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the imprisonment of King Jehoiakin of Judah, King Evil Merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, freed King Jehoiakin of Judah and released him from prison. ³² He treated him well and gave him a special position higher than the other kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ Jehoiakin no longer wore prison clothes, and he ate his meals in the king's presence as long as he lived. ³⁴ The king of Babylon gave him a daily food allowance as long as he lived.

¹⁹ »Rise up! Cry out in the night at the beginning of the night watches. Let your heart be flowing out like water before the face of Jehovah. Lift up your hands to him for the life of your young children who are falling down starving in every street.«

⁶ He kept me in dark places, like those who have been dead a long time. ⁷ He built a wall around me so that I am unable to go out. He made a heavy chain for me.

⁵ Our attackers are on our necks. We are overcome with weariness and we have no rest. ⁶ We have given our hands to the Egyptians and to the Assyrians so that we might have enough bread.

¹⁵ The joy of our hearts has ended; our dancing is changed into sorrow. ¹⁶ The crown has been taken from our head. Sorrow is ours, for we are sinners. ¹⁷ Because of this our hearts are feeble. For these things our eyes are dark.

³⁴ ‘»I will bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where I have scattered you with my mighty hand and powerful arm. I will pour out my fury.

²⁶ »‘»They will live in it securely. They will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know that I am Jehovah their God!«’«

¹² »I will dry up the Nile River and sell the land to wicked people. I will have foreigners destroy the land and everything in it. I, Jehovah, have spoken.’

⁶ »‘»My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered throughout the entire earth. No one searched or looked for them.

¹² »As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for my sheep and will deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

²⁴ »I will take you from the nations and gather you from every country. I will bring you back to your own land.

²⁶ »‘»I will promise them peace. This will be a long lasting promise. I will establish them and make them increase in number. I will put my holy place among them for a very long time.

²⁶ »‘»Your rowers have brought you into great waters. The east wind has broken you in the heart of the seas.

²⁷ »I will bring them back from the other nations and gather them from the countries of their enemies. Many nations will see that I am holy.’

² »It seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. ³ »How great are his signs! How mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

³³ That same hour it was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from men and did eat grass like bulls. His body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair grew like eagles' feathers, and his fingernails like birds' claws.

⁵ In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote above the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. ⁶ Then the king's countenance (appearance) changed in him. His thoughts troubled him. The joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other.

¹⁸ »O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. ¹⁹ »Because of the greatness he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he chose he killed and whom he chose he kept alive. Whom he chose he raised up, and whom he chose he put down. ²⁰ »But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened with pride he dealt proudly. He was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him: ²¹ »He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. ²² »You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you know all this. ²³ »You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life. ²⁴ »Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵ »This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. ²⁶ »This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; ²⁷ »TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. ²⁸ »PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.« ²⁹ Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. ³⁰ In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.

⁶ He asked me: »Son of man, do you see this?« ⁷ The man then led me back along the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw many trees on both sides of the river. ⁸ He said: »This water flows through the land to the east, down into the Jordan Valley, and into the Dead Sea. When the water flows into the Dead Sea, it will replace the salt water there with fresh water. ⁹ »Wherever the river flows, there will be many fish and animals. The river will make the water in the Dead Sea fresh. Wherever the river flows, it will bring life. ¹⁰ »From En Gedi to En Eglaim people will be standing on the shore of the sea with their fishing nets spread out. As many kinds of fish will be there as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. ¹¹ »But the water in the swamps and marshes will not become fresh. It will remain salty.

¹¹ »But the water in the swamps and marshes will not become fresh. It will remain salty. ¹² »All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both sides of the river. Their leaves will not wither, and they will not fail to produce fruit. Each month they will produce fresh fruit because this water flows from the Holy Place. The fruit will be good food, and the leaves will be used for healing.«

²⁷ »He delivers and rescues, and he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, which has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.«

⁸ »She did not know that I gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.

¹⁵ »I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek me. They will seek me earnestly in their affliction.«

²⁰ »Yes, the beasts of the field pant for you. The water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.«

⁷ »I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city. One received rain. The other did not receive rain and it dried up. ⁸ »Two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water. They were not satisfied and yet you have not returned to me,« said Jehovah.

¹³ »Behold, the days are coming,« said Jehovah, »that the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes by the one who sows seed. The mountains will drop sweet wine, and all the hills will melt. ¹⁴ »I will bring my people Israel back from captivity. They will rebuild the cities and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, and drink the wine. They will also make gardens and eat their fruit. ¹⁵ »I will plant them upon their own land and they will no more be plucked up out of their land that I have given them.« Jehovah your God has spoken.

¹² Then he said: »Do not fear Daniel! From the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I have come in response to your prayer.

⁹ Let the wise understand these things. Let the discerning know them. For the ways of Jehovah are right. And the righteous will walk in them. But transgressors will stumble in them.

¹⁰ »The field is laid waste, the land mourns. The grain is destroyed, the new wine dried up, the oil fails. ¹¹ »Be ashamed you farmers. Cry you vinedressers. The wheat, the barley and the harvest of the field have perished. ¹² »The vine and the fig tree fail. The pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field have dried up. Joy has withered away from the sons of men.

⁴ Jehovah sent out a great windstorm upon the sea and the ship was about to break up. ⁵ The sailors were so afraid that each man cried out to his own god. They threw the cargo that was on the ship into the sea to lighten the load. At that time Jonah was fast asleep down in the innermost parts of the ship. ⁶ So the captain came to him, and said: »Why are you sleeping? Get up and call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.«

¹⁴ So they cried to Jehovah, and said: »We earnestly request that you, O Jehovah, do not let us perish because of this man. Do not allow the loss of innocent blood! For you, O Jehovah, have done as you pleased.« ¹⁵ So they picked up Jonah, and threw him into the sea. Immediately the sea ceased from its raging. ¹⁶ The men greatly reverenced Jehovah. They offered a sacrifice to Jehovah, and made vows.

⁹ »But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving! I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is from Jehovah!«

¹³ »The breaker (one who opens the breach) (one that breaks through) has gone ahead of them. They will pass through the gate and go out by it. Their king will lead them with Jehovah at the head of them.«

¹⁰ »Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in childbirth! For now you will go out of the city and dwell in the field. You will go to Babylon where you will be rescued. Jehovah will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.

⁴ »I brought you out of the land of Egypt. I redeemed you out of the house of bondage. I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. ⁵ »O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him. Remember from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of Jehovah.«

⁸ Do not rejoice against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light to me.

⁴ He rebukes the sea, and makes it dry. He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel become dry and the flower of Lebanon withers.

¹⁰ She is empty and void, a city laid waste! The hearts melt and the knees knock together. There is pain in all the hips and their faces have all grown pale.

⁹ »Just as I live,« said Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, »Moab will be like Sodom, and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah. They will be possessions of nettles and salt pits. They will be deserted forever! My people will plunder them and the remnant of my nation will take possession of their land.

¹³ »He will stretch out his hand (exercise his power) against the north, and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh a desolation. It will be barren like the desert wilderness.

⁵ Jehovah of Hosts said: »Consider your ways. ⁶ »You sow much and reap little. You eat but you do not have enough! You drink and yet you are not filled. You clothe yourselves but you are not warm. You earns wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.«

¹⁰ »It is because of you that the sky above you withholds the dew, and the earth below withholds its produce. ¹¹ »I brought drought on the land and its hills, grain fields, vineyards, and olive orchards. Yes drought on every crop the ground produces, on people and animals, on everything you try to grow.«

¹⁶ »You would go to a pile of grain looking for twenty bushels, but there would be only ten. You would go to draw fifty gallons of wine from a vat and find only twenty. ¹⁷ »I struck you with scorching winds, mildew and hail to ruin everything you tried to grow,« declared Jehovah, »but you still did not repent. ¹⁸ »Today is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day that the foundation of the Temple of Jehovah was completed. See what is going to happen from now on. ¹⁹ »There is no grain left. The grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced. However from now on I will bless you.«

¹² »There will be peace for the seed. The vine will give its fruit. The ground will yield its increase. The heavens will offer their dew and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things!

¹¹ »I set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. This is because of the blood of your covenant! ¹² »Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. I declare today: I shall repay you a double portion.

⁸ The centurion replied to Jesus: »Lord, I am not worthy that you come under my roof. Say the word and my servant will be healed.

²⁴ Suddenly a storm blew in and the boat was covered with waves. Jesus was asleep. ²⁵ And they came to him, woke him, and cried: »Save us, Lord, or we will perish.« ²⁶ He said to them: »Why are you afraid, you of little faith?« Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. Suddenly there was a great calm.

¹⁶ »the people sitting in darkness saw a great light. Light rose upon those sitting in a region of deathly shadow.«

⁶ »Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

¹⁷ Jesus answered him: »Why are you questioning me about what is good? There is one who is good. If you desire life, obey the Law.«

¹³ »The king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and thrown outside into the dark. That is where people will cry and grind their teeth in pain.

³⁹ He awoke from sleep and commanded the wind and sea. He commanded the sea to be at peace and rest. And he commanded the wind to go down and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ He said: »Why are you full of fear? Do you have no faith?« ⁴¹ Their fear was great. They said to themselves: »Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey his orders?«

² Jesus said: »I am concerned for these people because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat. ³ »If I send them away to their houses with no food they will be weak and faint. Some of them have a long way to go.«

⁵⁰ »His mercy is to all generations for all who respect him.

⁵³ »He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty handed.

⁶⁸ »Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel. He has visited his people and brought them redemption. (Psalm 72:18)

⁷⁴ »He gave us deliverance out of the hand of our enemies so we could serve him without fear.

⁷⁹ »The light will shine on them who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. It will guide our feet into the way of peace.«

³⁰ The Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God and were not baptized by him.

¹⁴ »He spent everything! When a famine spread over that country he was left with nothing. ¹⁵ »He went to work for a citizen of that country who sent him to his farm to take care of the pigs. ¹⁶ He wanted to eat the Carob bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. ¹⁷ »Finally it dawned on him, my father’s hired workers have more than they can eat and I am about to starve!

¹⁴ Hearing this the Pharisees made fun of Jesus, because they loved money.

¹⁸ »Were the others not willing to return with this foreigner to give glory to God?

²³ Jesus fell asleep as they sailed to the other side. A large windstorm came to the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. ²⁴ They awoke him saying: »Master, Master, we parish!« He rebuked the wind and the raging of the water and there was calm. ²⁵ He asked them, »Were is your faith?« They were afraid and they marveled. They asked: »Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?«

¹⁶ »Here is a descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept in bonds for eighteen years. Should she be released on the Sabbath?«

²¹ »We hoped he would redeem Israel. Yes and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

¹⁸ A great wind made the sea rise.

²¹ They eagerly brought him into the boat. The boat soon arrived at the land where they were going.

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: »You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, ⁹ »If we are on trial for a good deed done to a sick man, concerning how this man was made well; ¹⁰ »Let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you impaled and whom God raised from the dead, even by him this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ »This is the stone that was rejected by you builders. It became the chief corner stone. ¹² »There is no salvation in anyone else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.«

¹⁹ During the night God’s angel opened the prison doors, brought them out and said:

²⁵ Someone came to them and told them: »The men you put in prison are standing in the temple teaching the people.«

¹⁷ »He has not left himself without witness. For he did good and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.«

²⁶ Suddenly there was a massive earthquake. It was so great the foundations of the prison-house were shaken. All the doors were opened and everyone’s bands came off. ²⁷ The jailor, who was roused out of sleep and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ Paul cried with a loud voice: »Do not harm yourself for we are all here.« ²⁹ The jailer called for lights. He rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ He brought them out and asked: »Sirs, what must I do to be saved?« ³¹ They said: »Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your house.« ³² They spoke the Word of God to him and those in his house. ³³ That very hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds. Then he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴ He took them to his house and fed them. They rejoiced along with his entire house, having believed in God. ³⁵ The next day the magistrates sent the officers saying: »Let those men go.« ³⁶ The jailor reported the words to Paul, saying: »The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore go in peace.« ³⁷ Paul said to them: »They have beaten us publicly uncondemned, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison. Do they now throw us out privately? No I say, but let them come in person to bring us out.« ³⁸ The officers reported these words to the magistrates. They feared when they heard that they were Romans. ³⁹ They personally came to them and brought them out. They asked them to go away from the city. ⁴⁰ They left the prison and entered the house of Lydia. When they saw the brothers they comforted them and then left.

²⁶ »From one person he made every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth. He determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation.

²⁷ »I did not shrink from telling you the entire will of God.

⁹ Much time had been lost and sailing was now dangerous. Because the fast was over Paul admonished them, ¹⁰ »Men, I see that our voyage from here on will be dangerous. There will be great damage to the cargo and to the ship, and loss of life as well.« ¹¹ But the army officer was convinced by what the captain and the owner of the ship said, and not by what Paul said. ¹² It was not a good harbor in which to spend the winter. Nearly everyone was in favor of putting out to sea and trying to reach Phoenix in order to spend the winter there. Phoenix is a harbor in Crete that faces southwest and northwest. ¹³ A gentle wind from the south began to blow. The men thought they could accomplish their plan. So they pulled up the anchor and sailed as close as possible along the coast of Crete. ¹⁴ Soon a very strong northeast wind blew down from the island. ¹⁵ It hit the ship and it was impossible to keep the ship headed into the wind. We gave up trying and let it be carried along by the wind.

¹⁵ It hit the ship and it was impossible to keep the ship headed into the wind. We gave up trying and let it be carried along by the wind. ¹⁶ We had shelter when we passed to the south of the little island of Cauda. There, with some difficulty we managed to make the ship’s boat secure.

¹⁶ We had shelter when we passed to the south of the little island of Cauda. There, with some difficulty we managed to make the ship’s boat secure.

⁷ Suddenly God’s angel came to him. A light shined in the prison. He struck Peter on the side, and woke him up saying: »Get up quickly.« And his chains fell off of his hands. ⁸ The angel said: »Dress yourself and put on sandals. Put on your coat and follow me.« So Peter did as he was told. ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison. He did not know what the angel was doing was really happening. He thought he saw a vision. ¹⁰ They went past the first and second guard to the Iron Gate that leads to the city. The gate opened and went out on the street. The angel then departed from him.

²³ Immediately the angel of God killed him, because he did not give God the glory. He was eaten by worms and died.

¹⁷ They pulled it aboard and then fastened some ropes tight around the ship. They were afraid that they might run into the sandbanks (quicksand) off the coast of Libya, so they lowered the sail and allowed the ship be carried by the wind.

¹⁷ They pulled it aboard and then fastened some ropes tight around the ship. They were afraid that they might run into the sandbanks (quicksand) off the coast of Libya, so they lowered the sail and allowed the ship be carried by the wind. ¹⁸ The violent storm continued. The next day they began to throw some of the ship’s cargo overboard.

¹⁸ The violent storm continued. The next day they began to throw some of the ship’s cargo overboard. ¹⁹ The following day they threw part of the ship’s equipment overboard.

¹⁹ The following day they threw part of the ship’s equipment overboard. ²⁰ The sun and stars did not appear for many days. No small tempest pressed upon us. All hope of our being saved was taken away.

²⁰ The sun and stars did not appear for many days. No small tempest pressed upon us. All hope of our being saved was taken away. ²¹ After they spent a long time without eating Paul stood up and said: »Sirs, you should listen to me. You should not have put out to sea from Crete to sustain this damage and loss. ²² »I urge you to be of good cheer for none of you will lose your life, only the ship. ²³ »Last night an angel of the God of whom I serve stood beside me.

²³ »Last night an angel of the God of whom I serve stood beside me. ²⁴ »He said, »Paul, do not be afraid. You must stand before Caessar and God has graciously given you the lives of you and all who sail with you.

²⁴ »He said, »Paul, do not be afraid. You must stand before Caessar and God has graciously given you the lives of you and all who sail with you. ²⁵ »Be of good cheer. I believe God. It will happen just as he spoke to me.

²⁵ »Be of good cheer. I believe God. It will happen just as he spoke to me. ²⁶ »But we must run aground on some island.« ²⁷ On the fourteenth night we were driven to and fro in the sea of Adria. About midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some land. ²⁸ They sounded and found twenty fathoms. After a little space they sounded again and found fifteen fathoms.

²⁰ His invisible attributes are clearly seen since the creation of the world. The things made prove His eternal power and divine nature. Mankind has no excuse, ²¹ for when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God. They did not thank him and were vain in their reasoning, for their foolish hearts were darkened.

²⁸ They did not like to retain God in their knowledge, so God gave them over to a reprobate (depraved) mind, to do things that are not fitting.

²⁰ When you were servants of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ You are now ashamed of the fruit you had at that time. For the results of these things is death.

¹⁹ We know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law. Every mouth may be stopped and the entire world may become liable to God for punishment.

⁷ Neither he that plants and neither he that waters is anything; but God gives the increase.

¹⁰ God delivered us out of so great a death, and will deliver us. We have set our hope on him. He will deliver us!

⁸ We do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning our affliction that began in Asia. We were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, so much that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Yes, we have had the sentence of death within ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

¹⁰ The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. It is written; »Cursed is everyone who is hung on a stake.«

¹⁸ May you be able to comprehend with all the holy ones the breadth and length and height and depth. ¹⁹ And may you know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. May you be filled with all the fullness of God.

⁸ You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk (live) (be occupied) as children of light

⁸ Three times I prayed to God about this and asked him to take it away. ⁹ He told me: »My grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness.« Most gladly therefore, I would rather glory in my infirmities (frailities), that the power of Christ may rest upon me (cover me like a tent) (descend upon me) (abide with me). (Isaiah 40:29-31) ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.

² For men will be lovers of their own selves, covetous (lovers of money), arrogant, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful (ungrateful), unholy,

¹¹ and also persecutions and sufferings. The things that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured. Out of them the Lord delivered me.

¹⁴ He (Jesus Christ) gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify a people for himself, who are special people, zealous for good works.

¹⁵ We do not have a high priest who is not able to sympathize with our infirmities (weaknesses). He was tested in all things like ourselves. Yet he was without sin! ¹⁶ Let us approach the throne of grace (loving-kindness) with confidence, that we may receive mercy, and find grace for help in time of need.

⁹ By faith he became an alien in the Promised Land. It was not his land. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob. They were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ He looked for the city having real foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

¹⁶ They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Because of this, God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has prepared a city for them!

³⁸ The world was not worthy of them! They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

²² You have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads (thousands of thousands) of angels,

¹⁵ Let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God through him [Jesus], that is, the fruit of lips that make confession (give thanks and offer praise) to his name.

¹¹ As you know, those who have endured are called blessed. You have heard of the patience (perseverance) (endurance) of Job, and have seen the outcome Jehovah provided, how he was very tender with his affection and mercy. (Psalm 103:8)

¹⁸ Know that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited from your fathers. [The redemption] was not with corruptible things like silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, even the blood of Christ.

⁵ You also as living stones are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

⁹ You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God’s own possession, that you may show the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

¹⁵ They went astray, forsaking the right way. They followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing.

²¹ For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

⁹ They sing a new song, saying: »You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

⁶ The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God. There they feed her a thousand two hundred and sixty days.

³ They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: »Great and marvelous are your works, Jehovah God, the Almighty; just and true are your ways, you King of the ages (Eternal King) (King of the nations) (King of the holy ones). (Deuteronomy 31:30; 32:4) (Exodus 6:3)

¹⁷ »'In one hour these great riches came to nothing.' Every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood far off,

¹⁸ »that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of military commanders, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.«

² Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ Then I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying: »Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they will be his people! God will be with them, and be their God. ⁴ »God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death. There will be no more sorrow nor crying. There will be no more pain! The former things have passed away.«

¹⁰ He carried me away in spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy city Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. ¹¹ She had the glory of God. Her light was like a very precious stone, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹² The city had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written on each gate, the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ¹³ On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. ¹⁴ The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ He who talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city and the gates and the wall. ¹⁶ And the city lies foursquare. The length is as large as the width. He measured the city with the reed, fourteen hundred miles. The length and the width and the height of it are equal. ¹⁷ He measured the wall, two hundred feet, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. ¹⁸ The structure of the wall was jasper: and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; ²⁰ the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, hyacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each individual gate was one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold, as transparent glass. ²² I saw no temple there: for the Jehovah God the Almighty and the Lamb are the temple. ²³ The city did not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. For the glory of God and of the Lamb was its light. ²⁴ The nations will walk by means of its light. The kings of the earth bring their glory into it. ²⁵ Its gates will not close in the daytime and there will be no night there. ²⁶ They will bring the glory of the nations into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it. The shameful and deceitful will not enter. Only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life will enter.

¹⁶ »They will hunger no more, nor thirst any more; neither shall the sunlight beat down on them, nor any heat. ¹⁷ »The Lamb who is in the middle of the throne will feed them and lead them to living fountains of water. God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.«