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13 “If only you would prepare your heart
    and lift up your hands to him in prayer!

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13 “Yet if you devote your heart(A) to him
    and stretch out your hands(B) to him,(C)

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I lift my hands to you in prayer.
    I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Interlude

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I spread out my hands(A) to you;
    I thirst for you like a parched land.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 143:6 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

    My eyes are blinded by my tears.
Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;
    I lift my hands to you for mercy.

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    my eyes(A) are dim with grief.

I call(B) to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands(C) to you.

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Then they will not be like their ancestors—
    stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,
    refusing to give their hearts to God.

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They would not be like their ancestors(A)
    a stubborn(B) and rebellious(C) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

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Samuel Leads Israel to Victory

Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

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So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning(A) to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid(B) yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths(C) and commit(D) yourselves to the Lord and serve him only,(E) and he will deliver(F) you out of the hand of the Philistines.”

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But if you pray to God
    and seek the favor of the Almighty,
and if you are pure and live with integrity,
    he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.

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But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead(A) with the Almighty,(B)
if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(C)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.(D)

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47 “And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished.

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47 “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows.(A)

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31 Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals[a];
    let Ethiopia[b] bring tribute to God.

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Footnotes

  1. 68:31a Or of rich cloth.
  2. 68:31b Hebrew Cush.

31 Envoys will come from Egypt;(A)
    Cush[a](B) will submit herself to God.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 68:31 That is, the upper Nile region

21 “Submit to God, and you will have peace;
    then things will go well for you.
22 Listen to his instructions,
    and store them in your heart.

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21 “Submit to God and be at peace(A) with him;(B)
    in this way prosperity will come to you.(C)
22 Accept instruction from his mouth(D)
    and lay up his words(E) in your heart.(F)

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“If I were you, I would go to God
    and present my case to him.

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“But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.(A)

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Even so, there is some good in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles throughout the land, and you have committed yourself to seeking God.”

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There is, however, some good(A) in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles(B) and have set your heart on seeking God.(C)

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14 But he was an evil king, for he did not seek the Lord with all his heart.

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14 He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord.

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