Psalm 77:1-2
The Voice
Psalm 77
For the worship leader, Jeduthun. A song of Asaph.
1 I cry up to heaven,
“My God, True God,” and He hears.
2 In my darkest days, I seek the Lord.
Through the night, my hands are raised up, stretched out, waiting;
And though they do not grow tired,
my soul is uneasy.
Psalm 77:11-20
The Voice
11 I will remember the actions the Eternal has taken,
reminisce on Your ancient wonders.
12 I will reflect on all of Your work;
indeed, I will study all You have performed.
13 O God, Your way is so different, so distinct, so divine.
No other god compares with our God.
14 You, God, and Your works evoke wonder.
You have proved Your strength to the nations.
15 You used Your great power to release Your people:
with a strong arm, You freed Jacob’s children, and Joseph’s.
[pause]
16 The waters saw You, O True God.
The seas saw You and swelled in sorrow.
Even the deep trembled.
17 Water poured from the clouds,
and the sky boomed out in response
as Your arrows of lightning flashed this way and that.
18 The sound of Your thunder whirled within the wind
as Your lightning lit up the world.
Yes, the whole earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way ran through the sea,
Your path cut through great waters,
and still no one can spot Your footprints.
20 You led Your people as a flock
tended by the hands of Moses and Aaron.
1 Kings 22:29-40
The Voice
29 Israel’s king and Jehoshaphat, Judah’s king, waged war against Ramoth-gilead.
Ahab (to Jehoshaphat): 30 Here’s what I am going to do. I am going to put on a disguise and enter into battle, but you are going to dress in your normal robes.
Fearing that Micaiah might be right, Israel’s king put on a disguise and entered battle.
31 Aram’s king commanded the 32 captains in charge of all the chariots.
King of Aram (to his captains): Don’t waste your time fighting with any important or unimportant person. Fight only with Israel’s king. He’s the one we want dead.
32 When the chariot captains laid eyes upon Jehoshaphat and saw the robes he was wearing, they said to themselves, “This must be Israel’s king. Only a king wears such robes.” They engaged in battle with him, and Jehoshaphat screamed for his life. 33 To Jehoshaphat’s immense relief, when the chariot captains realized that this was not Israel’s king, they left him alone. 34 In the meantime, one warrior shot a random arrow from his bow up into the air, and the arrow happened to strike inside a joint of Israel’s king’s armor.
Ahab (to his charioteer): Get me out of this battle quickly! I am hurt badly.
35 The fighting continued throughout that entire day. Meanwhile, the king was propped up inside his chariot before all the Arameans, so they would think he still led Israel, and he died that night. Blood dripped out from where the arrow had pierced him, and it stained the bottom of the chariot. 36 At sunset, word spread throughout the entire army: “Israel’s king is dead. Go back to where you came from. Return to your native cities and countries.”
37 Israel’s king died and was transported to Samaria where he was laid to rest. 38 They cleaned the blood out of his chariot at the Samaritan pool, where all the prostitutes and promiscuous women bathed in the bloodstained water and the dogs licked up his blood, just as the Eternal said they would.
39 Is not the rest of Ahab’s story—all his actions and the ivory house and cities he constructed—documented in the book of the chronicles of Israel’s kings? 40 Ahab left this world to sleep with his fathers; and his son, Ahaziah, then inherited the throne.
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1 Kings 22:51-53
The Voice
51 Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, took over the throne of Israel in Samaria during the 17th year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah. Ahaziah’s reign over Israel lasted two years. 52 Ahaziah committed evil in the Eternal’s eyes. He walked the wicked path of his father and mother and Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) who caused the Israelites to live sinful lives. 53 He gave his heart and life to Baal and offered his services and worship to him. This caused the Eternal God of Israel’s wrath to be provoked just as it had at the wickedness of his father.
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2 Corinthians 13:5-10
The Voice
Weakness looks like failure in the eyes of the world, but for Paul weakness is an avenue to share in Jesus’ death and, therefore, in His life as well. The challenge is to remain faithful even in the difficult times, even when there is no one left to provide support. It is in these times that God’s power and comfort are most evident. This call to embrace weakness and suffering is difficult. It is normal to run from pain. But the examples of Jesus in the Gospels, of Paul in his letters, and of David in the psalms are of finding God’s strength in times of weakness.
5 Examine yourselves. Check your faith! Are you really in the faith? Do you still not know that Jesus the Anointed is in you?—unless, of course, you have failed the test. 6 Surely you will realize we have not failed the test, 7 but we pray to God that you will stay away from evil. What’s important is not whether we appear to have passed the test, but that you do what is right and act honorably, even if it appears that we have failed. 8 For there’s nothing we can do to oppose the truth; all we can do is align ourselves with it. 9 You see, we celebrate when we are weak but you are strong. Our prayer is simple: that you may be whole and complete. 10 How I hope I am saving you by writing this to you in advance; this letter will spare me from using the Lord’s authority to come down on you when I arrive. His intention in giving me this authority is to build you up, not tear you down.
Read full chapterThe Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
