Psalm 91:1-2
The Voice
Psalm 91
1 He who takes refuge in the shelter of the Most High
will be safe in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 He will say to the Eternal, “My shelter, my mighty fortress,
my God, I place all my trust in You.”
Psalm 91:9-16
The Voice
9 For you made the Eternal [your][a] refuge,
the Most High your only home.
10 No evil will come to you;
plagues will be turned away at your door.
11 He will command His heavenly messengers to guard you,
to keep you safe in every way.
12 They will hold you up in their hands
so that you will not crash, or fall, or even graze your foot on a stone.[b]
13 You will walk on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the lion and the serpent underfoot.
14 “Because he clings to Me in love,
I will rescue him from harm;
I will set him above danger.
Because he has known Me by name,
15 He will call on Me, and I will answer.
I’ll be with him through hard times;
I’ll rescue him and grant him honor.
16 I’ll reward him with many good years on this earth
and let him witness My salvation.”
Footnotes
- 91:9 Hebrew manuscripts read, “who is my.”
- 91:11–12 Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10–11
Exodus 5:10-23
The Voice
Slave Drivers and Supervisors (to the people): 10 Pharaoh has a message for you: “I am not going to supply you with any more straw. 11 You must go out and get it for yourselves—wherever you can find it—but you must produce the same number of bricks as before. Your workload will not be reduced.”
12 The people quickly and desperately spread out across the land of Egypt looking for dry stalks of grain to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers pushed them hard.
Slave Drivers: Hurry, you must meet your quotas. You must produce the same number of bricks as you did before when we provided you with straw.
14 Plus they beat and interrogated the supervisors of the Israelites, the Hebrews whom the slave drivers had appointed over the workers.
Slave Drivers: Why are you lagging behind? Why haven’t you met your quotas of bricks yesterday or today as you did before?
15 The supervisors of the Israelites were unable to meet the demands and so they appealed to Pharaoh.
Supervisors (pleading with Pharaoh): Why are you treating your servants this way? 16 No more straw is being provided to your servants, yet the slave drivers keep yelling at us, “Make bricks!” And then your servants are beaten; it is your people who are at fault here, not us.
Pharaoh: 17 No. It is you. You are lazy! You are all so very lazy! You try to escape your work by making up excuses, saying, “Please release us so that we may go sacrifice to the Eternal.” 18 Leave me now, and get back to work, you indolent whiners! You will not be provided any straw, and you must make the same number of bricks as before.
19 The supervisors of the Israelites knew they were in deep trouble when they were told, “You are not to lessen the workload. You must still make the same number of bricks every day as you did before.” 20 After the supervisors left Pharaoh, they went directly to Moses and Aaron who were already waiting for them.
Supervisors (to Moses and Aaron): 21 May the Eternal see and judge what you have done. Now because of you Pharaoh and all who serve him look on us as if we were some kind of disgusting odor. You might as well have put the sword in their hands they will use to kill us.
22 Moses went back to meet with the Eternal One.
Moses: Eternal, these are Your people. Why have You brought so much trouble on them? And why have You sent me here? 23 Ever since I approached Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done more harm to them than ever before. And You have done absolutely nothing to rescue Your people.
Acts 7:30-34
The Voice
30 Forty more years passed. One day while Moses was in the desert near Mount Sinai, a heavenly messenger appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush. 31 The phenomenon intrigued Moses; and as he approached for a closer look, he heard a voice—the voice of the Lord: 32 “I am the God of your own fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”[a] This terrified Moses—he began to tremble and looked away in fear. 33 The voice continued: “Take off your sandals and stand barefoot on the ground in My presence, for this ground is holy ground. 34 I have avidly watched how My people are being mistreated by the Egyptians. I have heard their groaning at the treatment of their oppressors. I am descending personally to rescue them. So get up. I’m sending you to Egypt.”[b]
Footnotes
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
