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David’s Last Words

23 Now these are the last words of David:

The oracle of David the son of Jesse,
    the oracle of the man who was raised on high,
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
    and the favorite psalmist of Israel:

The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
    and His word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel said,
    the Rock of Israel spoke to me:
He who rules over man justly,
    who rules in the fear of God,
is like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
    a morning with no clouds,
gleaming after the rain
    like grass from the land.

Is not my house like this with God?
    For He made an everlasting covenant with me,
    ordered in all things and secure.
For this is all my salvation and all my desire;
    will He not make it flourish?
But the worthless individual is like a thorn tossed away, all of them,
    for they cannot be taken with the hand.
But the man who touches them
    must have an iron implement and the shaft of a spear,
    and they must be burned with fire on the spot.

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David Extols Yahweh

23 These are the last words of David, the declaration of David the son of Jesse, and the declaration of the man exalted by the Most High, the anointed one of the God of Jacob and the darling of the songs of Israel. “The spirit of Yahweh speaks through me, and his word is upon my tongue. The God of Israel said to me, the rock of Israel has spoken; ‘He who rules over mankind rules righteously, in the fear of God. Like the light of the morning when the sun rises, shining with no clouds, bringing vegetation from the earth apart from rain.’[a] Yet not so is my house with God, for he made an everlasting covenant for me, arranging everything. He has secured all my deliverance, and all my desire he will cause to happen. But evil persons are like thorns cast aside; all of them, because they cannot be picked up in the hand. And if a man wants to touch them, he must use an iron instrument or the shaft of a spear; then they are consumed entirely with fire on the spot.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 23:4 In other words, even men who rule rightly pass like the dew of the morning