72
A psalm written by Solomon
A prayer for God to bless the king
1 O God, enable the king whom you appointed in Israel to rule justly.
Show/Teach him how to judge matters fairly
2 in order that he will judge your people fairly,
that he will govern your oppressed people justly.
3 I desire that all over the country—even on the hills and mountains [DOU]—
people will live peacefully and righteously.
4 Help your king to defend the poor people
and to rescue needy people and to defeat those who oppress them.
5 I desire that your king will live (OR, that your people will worship you) as long as the sun shines,
as long as the moon shines, forever.
6 I desire that his rule will be enjoyed by the people [SIM]
like they enjoy rain on the growing crops,
like they enjoy the showers that fall on the land.
7 I hope/desire that people will live righteously during the years that he rules,
and that the people will live peacefully and prosperously as long as the moon shines.
8 I hope/desire that the king of Israel will rule the people
in all the area from one sea in the east to another in the west,
and from the Euphrates River to the most remote/distant places on earth.
9 I hope/desire that those who live in the desert will bow down before him,
and that his enemies will throw themselves on the ground in submission to our king.
10 I hope/desire that the kings of Spain and of the islands in the Mediterranean Sea will bring ◄tribute money/taxes► to the king of Israel,
and that the kings of Sheba to the south and of Seba to the southwest will bring him gifts.
11 I hope/desire that all the other kings in the world will bow before the king of Israel,
and that people of all nations will serve our king.
12 He rescues poor people when they ◄cry out/plead► for help,
and he helps those who are needy and those who have no one to help them.
13 He pities those who are weak and needy;
he saves the people's lives.
14 Our king will rescue the people from being oppressed and from being treated cruelly,
because ◄their lives/they► [MTY] are precious to our king.
15 I hope/desire that our king will live a long time!
I hope/desire that he will be given gold from Sheba.
I desire that people will always pray for our king
and praise him all the time, every day.
16 I hope/desire that the fields will produce plenty of grain everywhere, even on the tops of the hills in the land where he rules,
like the grain that grows on the hills in Lebanon.
I hope/desire that the cities in Israel will be full of people
like the fields are full of grass.
17 I desire that the name of the king will never be forgotten.
I hope/desire that people will remember him as long as the sun shines.
I hope/desire that people of all nations will ask ◄God to bless them/that they will be blessed by God►
just like he has blessed the king of Israel.
18 Praise Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship;
he is the only one who does wonderful things.
19 Praise him forever!
I desire that ◄his glory will fill the whole world/people all over the world may see that he is very great►! [MTY]
Amen! May it be so!
20 That is the end of this group of prayers/songs written by David, the son of Jesse.
Book Three
Note: The Old Testament in this translation is still being worked on, and is in draft form. Updates will be posted at eBible.org/t4t/.