A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

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[a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:

“In my distress I called(A) to the Lord,(B)
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead(C) I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the depths,(D)
    into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves(E) and breakers
    swept over me.(F)
I said, ‘I have been banished
    from your sight;(G)
yet I will look again
    toward your holy temple.’(H)
The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
    the deep surrounded me;
    seaweed was wrapped around my head.(I)
To the roots of the mountains(J) I sank down;
    the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
    brought my life up from the pit.(K)

“When my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered(L) you, Lord,
and my prayer(M) rose to you,
    to your holy temple.(N)

“Those who cling to worthless idols(O)
    turn away from God’s love for them.
But I, with shouts of grateful praise,(P)
    will sacrifice(Q) to you.
What I have vowed(R) I will make good.
    I will say, ‘Salvation(S) comes from the Lord.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Jonah 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:17, and 2:1-10 is numbered 2:2-11.
  2. Jonah 2:5 Or waters were at my throat

Israel Unrepentant

“Come, let us return(A) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces(B)
    but he will heal us;(C)
he has injured us
    but he will bind up our wounds.(D)
After two days he will revive us;(E)
    on the third day(F) he will restore(G) us,
    that we may live in his presence.

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Songs of Praise

12 In that day(A) you will say:

“I will praise(B) you, Lord.
    Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away(C)
    and you have comforted(D) me.
Surely God is my salvation;(E)
    I will trust(F) and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself,(G) is my strength(H) and my defense[a];
    he has become my salvation.(I)
With joy you will draw water(J)
    from the wells(K) of salvation.

In that day(L) you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;(M)
    make known among the nations(N) what he has done,
    and proclaim that his name is exalted.(O)
Sing(P) to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;(Q)
    let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy,(R) people of Zion,
    for great(S) is the Holy One of Israel(T) among you.(U)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 12:2 Or song

18 The Lord has chastened(A) me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.(B)
19 Open for me the gates(C) of the righteous;
    I will enter(D) and give thanks to the Lord.

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Psalm 116

I love the Lord,(A) for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry(B) for mercy.(C)
Because he turned his ear(D) to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death(E) entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name(F) of the Lord:
    Lord, save me!(G)

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11 You turned my wailing(A) into dancing;(B)
    you removed my sackcloth(C) and clothed me with joy,(D)
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise(E) you forever.(F)

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Psalm 18[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

I love you, Lord, my strength.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 18:1 In Hebrew texts 18:1-50 is numbered 18:2-51.

18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;(A)
    he injures, but his hands also heal.(B)

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30 King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped.

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Hannah’s Prayer

Then Hannah prayed and said:(A)

“My heart rejoices(B) in the Lord;
    in the Lord my horn[a](C) is lifted high.
My mouth boasts(D) over my enemies,(E)
    for I delight in your deliverance.

“There is no one holy(F) like(G) the Lord;
    there is no one besides you;
    there is no Rock(H) like our God.

“Do not keep talking so proudly
    or let your mouth speak such arrogance,(I)
for the Lord is a God who knows,(J)
    and by him deeds(K) are weighed.(L)

“The bows of the warriors are broken,(M)
    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.(N)
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
    but those who were hungry(O) are hungry no more.
She who was barren(P) has borne seven children,
    but she who has had many sons pines away.

“The Lord brings death and makes alive;(Q)
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.(R)
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;(S)
    he humbles and he exalts.(T)
He raises(U) the poor(V) from the dust(W)
    and lifts the needy(X) from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.(Y)

“For the foundations(Z) of the earth are the Lord’s;
    on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet(AA) of his faithful servants,(AB)
    but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.(AC)

“It is not by strength(AD) that one prevails;
10     those who oppose the Lord will be broken.(AE)
The Most High will thunder(AF) from heaven;
    the Lord will judge(AG) the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength(AH) to his king
    and exalt the horn(AI) of his anointed.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:1 Horn here symbolizes strength; also in verse 10.

The Song of Deborah

On that day Deborah(A) and Barak son of Abinoam(B) sang this song:(C)

“When the princes in Israel take the lead,
    when the people willingly offer(D) themselves—
    praise the Lord!(E)

“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
    I, even I, will sing to[a] the Lord;(F)
    I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.(G)

“When you, Lord, went out(H) from Seir,(I)
    when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook,(J) the heavens poured,
    the clouds poured down water.(K)
The mountains quaked(L) before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
    before the Lord, the God of Israel.

“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,(M)
    in the days of Jael,(N) the highways(O) were abandoned;
    travelers took to winding paths.(P)
Villagers in Israel would not fight;
    they held back until I, Deborah,(Q) arose,
    until I arose, a mother in Israel.
God chose new leaders(R)
    when war came to the city gates,(S)
but not a shield or spear(T) was seen
    among forty thousand in Israel.
My heart is with Israel’s princes,
    with the willing volunteers(U) among the people.
    Praise the Lord!

10 “You who ride on white donkeys,(V)
    sitting on your saddle blankets,
    and you who walk along the road,
consider 11 the voice of the singers[b] at the watering places.
    They recite the victories(W) of the Lord,
    the victories of his villagers in Israel.

“Then the people of the Lord
    went down to the city gates.(X)
12 ‘Wake up,(Y) wake up, Deborah!(Z)
    Wake up, wake up, break out in song!
Arise, Barak!(AA)
    Take captive your captives,(AB) son of Abinoam.’

13 “The remnant of the nobles came down;
    the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.
14 Some came from Ephraim,(AC) whose roots were in Amalek;(AD)
    Benjamin(AE) was with the people who followed you.
From Makir(AF) captains came down,
    from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s[c] staff.
15 The princes of Issachar(AG) were with Deborah;(AH)
    yes, Issachar was with Barak,(AI)
    sent under his command into the valley.
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
16 Why did you stay among the sheep pens[d](AJ)
    to hear the whistling for the flocks?(AK)
In the districts of Reuben
    there was much searching of heart.
17 Gilead(AL) stayed beyond the Jordan.
    And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
Asher(AM) remained on the coast(AN)
    and stayed in his coves.
18 The people of Zebulun(AO) risked their very lives;
    so did Naphtali(AP) on the terraced fields.(AQ)

19 “Kings came(AR), they fought,
    the kings of Canaan fought.
At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo,(AS)
    they took no plunder of silver.(AT)
20 From the heavens(AU) the stars fought,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21 The river Kishon(AV) swept them away,
    the age-old river, the river Kishon.
    March on, my soul; be strong!(AW)
22 Then thundered the horses’ hooves—
    galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.(AX)
23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord.
    ‘Curse its people bitterly,
because they did not come to help the Lord,
    to help the Lord against the mighty.’

24 “Most blessed of women(AY) be Jael,(AZ)
    the wife of Heber the Kenite,(BA)
    most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water, and she gave him milk;(BB)
    in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
26 Her hand reached for the tent peg,
    her right hand for the workman’s hammer.
She struck Sisera, she crushed his head,
    she shattered and pierced his temple.(BC)
27 At her feet he sank,
    he fell; there he lay.
At her feet he sank, he fell;
    where he sank, there he fell—dead(BD).

28 “Through the window(BE) peered Sisera’s mother;
    behind the lattice she cried out,(BF)
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming?
    Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’
29 The wisest of her ladies answer her;
    indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils:(BG)
    a woman or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera,
    colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments(BH) for my neck—
    all this as plunder?(BI)

31 “So may all your enemies perish,(BJ) Lord!
    But may all who love you be like the sun(BK)
    when it rises in its strength.”(BL)

Then the land had peace(BM) forty years.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 5:3 Or of
  2. Judges 5:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Judges 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. Judges 5:16 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags

The Song of Moses and Miriam

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song(A) to the Lord:

“I will sing(B) to the Lord,
    for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver(C)
    he has hurled into the sea.(D)

“The Lord is my strength(E) and my defense[a];
    he has become my salvation.(F)
He is my God,(G) and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt(H) him.
The Lord is a warrior;(I)
    the Lord is his name.(J)
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army(K)
    he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
    are drowned in the Red Sea.[b]
The deep waters(L) have covered them;
    they sank to the depths like a stone.(M)
Your right hand,(N) Lord,
    was majestic in power.
Your right hand,(O) Lord,
    shattered(P) the enemy.

“In the greatness of your majesty(Q)
    you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;(R)
    it consumed(S) them like stubble.
By the blast of your nostrils(T)
    the waters piled up.(U)
The surging waters stood up like a wall;(V)
    the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.(W)
The enemy boasted,
    ‘I will pursue,(X) I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;(Y)
    I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
    and my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath,(Z)
    and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
    in the mighty waters.(AA)
11 Who among the gods
    is like you,(AB) Lord?
Who is like you—
    majestic in holiness,(AC)
awesome in glory,(AD)
    working wonders?(AE)

12 “You stretch out(AF) your right hand,
    and the earth swallows your enemies.(AG)
13 In your unfailing love you will lead(AH)
    the people you have redeemed.(AI)
In your strength you will guide them
    to your holy dwelling.(AJ)
14 The nations will hear and tremble;(AK)
    anguish(AL) will grip the people of Philistia.(AM)
15 The chiefs(AN) of Edom(AO) will be terrified,
    the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,(AP)
the people[c] of Canaan will melt(AQ) away;
16     terror(AR) and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
    they will be as still as a stone(AS)
until your people pass by, Lord,
    until the people you bought[d](AT) pass by.(AU)
17 You will bring(AV) them in and plant(AW) them
    on the mountain(AX) of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,(AY)
    the sanctuary,(AZ) Lord, your hands established.

18 “The Lord reigns
    for ever and ever.”(BA)

19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen[e] went into the sea,(BB) the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.(BC) 20 Then Miriam(BD) the prophet,(BE) Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels(BF) and dancing.(BG) 21 Miriam sang(BH) to them:

“Sing to the Lord,
    for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver(BI)
    he has hurled into the sea.”(BJ)

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 15:2 Or song
  2. Exodus 15:4 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 22
  3. Exodus 15:15 Or rulers
  4. Exodus 15:16 Or created
  5. Exodus 15:19 Or charioteers

17 Some became fools(A) through their rebellious ways(B)
    and suffered affliction(C) because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food(D)
    and drew near the gates of death.(E)
19 Then they cried(F) to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he saved them(G) from their distress.
20 He sent out his word(H) and healed them;(I)
    he rescued(J) them from the grave.(K)
21 Let them give thanks(L) to the Lord for his unfailing love(M)
    and his wonderful deeds(N) for mankind.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings(O)
    and tell of his works(P) with songs of joy.(Q)

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