Psalm 105(A)

Give praise to the Lord,(B) proclaim his name;(C)
    make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him,(D) sing praise to him;(E)
    tell of all his wonderful acts.(F)
Glory in his holy name;(G)
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face(H) always.

Remember the wonders(I) he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,(J)
you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,(K)
    his chosen(L) ones, the children of Jacob.
He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers his covenant(M) forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,(N)
    the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it(O) to Jacob as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:(P)
11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan(Q)
    as the portion you will inherit.”(R)

12 When they were but few in number,(S)
    few indeed, and strangers in it,(T)
13 they wandered from nation to nation,(U)
    from one kingdom to another.
14 He allowed no one to oppress(V) them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:(W)
15 “Do not touch(X) my anointed ones;
    do my prophets(Y) no harm.”

16 He called down famine(Z) on the land
    and destroyed all their supplies of food;
17 and he sent a man before them—
    Joseph, sold as a slave.(AA)
18 They bruised his feet with shackles,(AB)
    his neck was put in irons,
19 till what he foretold(AC) came to pass,
    till the word(AD) of the Lord proved him true.
20 The king sent and released him,
    the ruler of peoples set him free.(AE)
21 He made him master of his household,
    ruler over all he possessed,
22 to instruct his princes(AF) as he pleased
    and teach his elders wisdom.(AG)

23 Then Israel entered Egypt;(AH)
    Jacob resided(AI) as a foreigner in the land of Ham.(AJ)
24 The Lord made his people very fruitful;
    he made them too numerous(AK) for their foes,
25 whose hearts he turned(AL) to hate his people,
    to conspire(AM) against his servants.
26 He sent Moses(AN) his servant,
    and Aaron,(AO) whom he had chosen.(AP)
27 They performed(AQ) his signs(AR) among them,
    his wonders(AS) in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness(AT) and made the land dark—
    for had they not rebelled against(AU) his words?
29 He turned their waters into blood,(AV)
    causing their fish to die.(AW)
30 Their land teemed with frogs,(AX)
    which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.
31 He spoke,(AY) and there came swarms of flies,(AZ)
    and gnats(BA) throughout their country.
32 He turned their rain into hail,(BB)
    with lightning throughout their land;
33 he struck down their vines(BC) and fig trees(BD)
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke,(BE) and the locusts came,(BF)
    grasshoppers(BG) without number;(BH)
35 they ate up every green thing in their land,
    ate up the produce of their soil.
36 Then he struck down all the firstborn(BI) in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their manhood.
37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,(BJ)
    and from among their tribes no one faltered.
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
    because dread of Israel(BK) had fallen on them.

39 He spread out a cloud(BL) as a covering,
    and a fire to give light at night.(BM)
40 They asked,(BN) and he brought them quail;(BO)
    he fed them well with the bread of heaven.(BP)
41 He opened the rock,(BQ) and water gushed out;
    it flowed like a river in the desert.

42 For he remembered his holy promise(BR)
    given to his servant Abraham.

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105 O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.

He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.

Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

12 When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.

13 When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;

14 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.

17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him.

20 The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.

21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:

22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.

23 Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

24 And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.

25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.

26 He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.

27 They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.

29 He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.

30 Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.

31 He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.

32 He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.

33 He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.

34 He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,

35 And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.

36 He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.

37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

38 Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.

40 The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

41 He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.

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Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

20 After this, the Moabites(A) and Ammonites with some of the Meunites[a](B) came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army(C) is coming against you from Edom,[b] from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar(D)” (that is, En Gedi).(E) Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast(F) for all Judah. The people of Judah(G) came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said:

Lord, the God of our ancestors,(H) are you not the God who is in heaven?(I) You rule over all the kingdoms(J) of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.(K) Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land(L) before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?(M) They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary(N) for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine,(O) we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt;(P) so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession(Q) you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them?(R) For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.(S)

13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

14 Then the Spirit(T) of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,(U) a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged(V) because of this vast army. For the battle(W) is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see(X) the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

18 Jehoshaphat bowed down(Y) with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith(Z) in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.(AA) 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[c] holiness(AB) as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.”(AC)

22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes(AD) against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:1 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Ammonites
  2. 2 Chronicles 20:2 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram
  3. 2 Chronicles 20:21 Or him with the splendor of

20 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,

And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,

If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.

10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;

11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.

12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.

13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;

15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.

18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever.

22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

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The Narrow Door

22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.(A) 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,(B) because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’(C)

26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’(D)

28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth,(E) when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west(F) and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”(G)

Jesus’ Sorrow for Jerusalem(H)(I)

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod(J) wants to kill you.”

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22 And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,

24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.

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