Psalm 146-150
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 146
The God of Compassion
1 Hallelujah!
My soul, praise the Lord.(A)
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I live.(B)
3 Do not trust in nobles,
in a son of man,[a] who cannot save.(C)
4 When his breath[b] leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.(D)
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,(E)
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.(F)
He remains faithful forever,(G)
7 executing justice for the exploited
and giving food to the hungry.(H)
The Lord frees prisoners.(I)
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.(J)
The Lord raises up those who are oppressed.[c](K)
The Lord loves the righteous.(L)
9 The Lord protects resident aliens
and helps the fatherless and the widow,(M)
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.(N)
10 The Lord reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.(O)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 147
God Restores Jerusalem
1 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing to our God,
for praise is pleasant and lovely.(P)
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;(Q)
he gathers Israel’s exiled people.(R)
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.(S)
4 He counts the number of the stars;
he gives names to all of them.(T)
5 Our Lord is great, vast in power;
his understanding is infinite.[d](U)
6 The Lord helps the oppressed
but brings the wicked to the ground.(V)
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
play the lyre to our God,(W)
8 who covers the sky with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
and causes grass to grow on the hills.(X)
9 He provides the animals with their food,
and the young ravens what they cry for.(Y)
10 He is not impressed by the strength of a horse;
he does not value the power of a warrior.[e](Z)
11 The Lord values those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his faithful love.(AA)
12 Exalt the Lord, Jerusalem;
praise your God, Zion!(AB)
13 For he strengthens the bars of your city gates
and blesses your children within you.(AC)
14 He endows your territory with prosperity;[f](AD)
he satisfies you with the finest wheat.(AE)
15 He sends his command throughout the earth;
his word runs swiftly.(AF)
16 He spreads snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes;(AG)
17 he throws his hailstones like crumbs.
Who can withstand his cold?(AH)
18 He sends his word and melts them;
he unleashes his winds,[g] and the water flows.(AI)
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and judgments to Israel.(AJ)
20 He has not done this for every nation;
they do not know his judgments.(AK)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 148
Creation’s Praise of the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.(AL)
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his heavenly armies.(AM)
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.(AN)
4 Praise him, highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.(AO)
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded, and they were created.(AP)
6 He set them in position forever and ever;
he gave an order that will never pass away.(AQ)
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
all sea monsters and ocean depths,(AR)
8 lightning[h] and hail, snow and cloud,
stormy wind that executes his command,(AS)
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,(AT)
10 wild animals and all cattle,
creatures that crawl and flying birds,(AU)
11 kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all judges of the earth,(AV)
12 young men as well as young women,
old and young together.(AW)
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted.
His majesty covers heaven and earth.(AX)
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
resulting in praise to all his faithful ones,
to the Israelites, the people close to him.(AY)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 149
Praise for God’s Triumph
1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song,(AZ)
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.(BA)
2 Let Israel celebrate its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.(BB)
3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and lyre.(BC)
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;(BD)
he adorns the humble with salvation.(BE)
5 Let the faithful celebrate in triumphal glory;
let them shout for joy on their beds.(BF)
6 Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths[i]
and a double-edged sword in their hands,(BG)
7 inflicting vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,(BH)
8 binding their kings with chains
and their dignitaries with iron shackles,(BI)
9 carrying out the judgment decreed against them.
This honor is for all his faithful people.(BJ)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 150
Praise the Lord
1 Hallelujah!
Praise God in his sanctuary.
Praise him in his mighty expanse.(BK)
2 Praise him for his powerful acts;(BL)
praise him for his abundant greatness.(BM)
3 Praise him with the blast of a ram’s horn;(BN)
praise him with harp and lyre.(BO)
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;(BP)
praise him with strings and flute.(BQ)
5 Praise him with resounding cymbals;
praise him with clashing cymbals.(BR)
6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.(BS)
Hallelujah!
1 Kings 9
Christian Standard Bible
The Lord’s Response
9 When Solomon finished building the temple of the Lord,(A) the royal palace, and all that Solomon desired to do,(B) 2 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time just as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.(C) 3 The Lord said to him:
I have heard your prayer and petition you have made before me. I have consecrated this temple you have built, to put[a] my name there forever;(D) my eyes and my heart will be there at all times.(E)
4 As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and in what is right, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and ordinances,(F) 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.(G)
6 If you or your sons turn away from following me and do not keep my commands—my statutes that I have set before you—and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them,(H) 7 I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them,(I) and I will reject[b] the temple I have sanctified for my name.(J) Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.(K) 8 Though this temple is now exalted,[c] everyone who passes by will be appalled and will scoff.[d] They will say, “Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?”(L) 9 Then they will say, “Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt. They held on to other gods and bowed in worship to them and served them. Because of this, the Lord brought all this ruin on them.”(M)
King Hiram’s Twenty Towns
10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon had built the two houses, the Lord’s temple and the royal palace(N)— 11 King Hiram of Tyre(O) having supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold(P) for his every wish(Q)—King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the land of Galilee. 12 So Hiram went out from Tyre to look over the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them. 13 So he said, “What are these towns you’ve given me, my brother?” So he called them the Land of Cabul,[e] as they are still called today.(R) 14 Now Hiram had sent the king nine thousand pounds[f] of gold.(S)
Solomon’s Forced Labor
15 This is the account of the forced labor(T) that King Solomon had imposed to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces,(U) the wall of Jerusalem,(V) and Hazor,(W) Megiddo,(X) and Gezer.(Y) 16 Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He then burned it, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and gave it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.(Z) 17 Then Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon,(AA) 18 Baalath,(AB) Tamar[g][h] in the Wilderness of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, the chariot cities,(AC) the cavalry cities,(AD) and whatever Solomon desired to build(AE) in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.
20 As for all the peoples who remained of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites— 21 their descendants who remained in the land after them, those whom the Israelites were unable to destroy completely(AF)—Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is still this way today.(AG) 22 But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to slavery;(AH) they were soldiers, his servants, his commanders, his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. 23 These were the deputies(AI) who were over Solomon’s work: 550 who supervised the people doing the work.(AJ)
Solomon’s Other Activities
24 Pharaoh’s daughter moved from the city of David(AK) to the house that Solomon had built for her;(AL) he then built the terraces.(AM)
25 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them in the Lord’s presence.(AN) So he completed the temple.(AO)
26 King Solomon put together a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber,(AP) which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. 27 With the fleet, Hiram sent his servants, experienced seamen, along with Solomon’s servants. 28 They went to Ophir(AQ) and acquired gold there—sixteen tons[i]—and delivered it to Solomon.(AR)
Footnotes
- 9:3 Or by putting
- 9:7 Lit send from my presence
- 9:8 Some ancient versions read temple will become a ruin
- 9:8 Lit hiss
- 9:13 = Like Nothing
- 9:14 Lit 120 talents
- 9:18 Alt Hb traditions, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read Tadmor; 2Ch 8:4
- 9:18 Tamar was a city in southern Judah; Ezk 47:19; 48:28.
- 9:28 Lit 420 talents
2 Chronicles 8
Christian Standard Bible
Solomon’s Later Building Projects
8 At the end of twenty years(A) during which Solomon had built the Lord’s temple and his own palace— 2 Solomon had rebuilt the cities Hiram[a] gave him and settled Israelites there— 3 Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and seized it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath. 5 He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon(B)—fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars(C)— 6 Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, all the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and everything Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.
7 As for all the peoples who remained of the Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel(D)— 8 their descendants who remained in the land after them, those the Israelites had not completely destroyed—Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way today.(E) 9 But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to be slaves for his work; they were soldiers, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. 10 These were King Solomon’s deputies: 250 who supervised the people.
11 Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her,(F) for he said, “My wife must not live in the house[b] of King David of Israel because the places the ark of the Lord has come into are holy.”
Public Worship Established at the Temple
12 At that time(G) Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar he had made in front of the portico.(H) 13 He followed the daily requirement(I) for offerings according to the commandment of Moses(J) for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.(K) 14 According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service,(L) of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement,(M) and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each temple gate,(N) for this had been the command of David, the man of God.(O) 15 They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests and the Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries.(P) 16 All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple until it was finished. So the Lord’s temple was completed.
Solomon’s Fleet
17 At that time(Q) Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth(R) on the seashore in the land of Edom. 18 So Hiram[c] sent ships to him by his servants along with crews of experienced seamen. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, took from there seventeen tons[d] of gold, and delivered it to King Solomon.(S)
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