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New International Version (NIV) |
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1 Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
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1 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
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2 Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music!
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2 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
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3 Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life!
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3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
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4 Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence.
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4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
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5 Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered -
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5 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
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6 O seed of Abraham, his servant, O child of Jacob, his chosen.
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6 O descendants of Abraham his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
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7 He's God, our God, in charge of the whole earth.
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7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
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8 And he remembers, remembers his Covenant - for a thousand generations he's been as good as his word.
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8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,
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9 It's the Covenant he made with Abraham, the same oath he swore to Isaac,
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9 the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
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10 The very statute he established with Jacob, the eternal Covenant with Israel,
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10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
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11 Namely, "I give you the land. Canaan is your hill-country inheritance."
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11 "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit."
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12 When they didn't count for much, a mere handful, and strangers at that,
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12 When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it,
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13 Wandering from country to country, drifting from pillar to post,
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13 they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
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14 He permitted no one to abuse them. He told kings to keep their hands off:
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14 He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings:
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15 "Don't you dare lay a hand on my anointed, don't hurt a hair on the heads of my prophets."
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15 "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm."
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16 Then he called down a famine on the country, he broke every last blade of wheat.
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16 He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food;
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17 But he sent a man on ahead: Joseph, sold as a slave.
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17 and he sent a man before them-- Joseph, sold as a slave.
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18 They put cruel chains on his ankles, an iron collar around his neck,
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18 They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons,
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19 Until God's word came to the Pharaoh, and God confirmed his promise.
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19 till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true.
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20 God sent the king to release him. The Pharaoh set Joseph free;
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20 The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free.
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21 He appointed him master of his palace, put him in charge of all his business
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21 He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed,
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22 To personally instruct his princes and train his advisors in wisdom.
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22 to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.
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23 Then Israel entered Egypt, Jacob immigrated to the Land of Ham.
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23 Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
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24 God gave his people lots of babies; soon their numbers alarmed their foes.
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24 The LORD made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes,
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25 He turned the Egyptians against his people; they abused and cheated God's servants.
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25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
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26 Then he sent his servant Moses, and Aaron, whom he also chose.
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26 He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
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27 They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland, miracles in the Land of Ham.
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27 They performed his miraculous signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham.
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28 He spoke, "Darkness!" and it turned dark - they couldn't see what they were doing.
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28 He sent darkness and made the land dark-- for had they not rebelled against his words?
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29 He turned all their water to blood so that all their fish died;
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29 He turned their waters into blood, causing their fish to die.
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30 He made frogs swarm through the land, even into the king's bedroom;
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30 Their land teemed with frogs, which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.
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31 He gave the word and flies swarmed, gnats filled the air.
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31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country.
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32 He substituted hail for rain, he stabbed their land with lightning;
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32 He turned their rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land;
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33 He wasted their vines and fig trees, smashed their groves of trees to splinters;
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33 he struck down their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country.
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34 With a word he brought in locusts, millions of locusts, armies of locusts;
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34 He spoke, and the locusts came, grasshoppers without number;
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35 They consumed every blade of grass in the country and picked the ground clean of produce;
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35 they ate up every green thing in their land, ate up the produce of their soil.
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36 He struck down every firstborn in the land, the first fruits of their virile powers.
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36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their manhood.
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37 He led Israel out, their arms filled with loot, and not one among his tribes even stumbled.
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37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered.
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38 Egypt was glad to have them go - they were scared to death of them.
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38 Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them.
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39 God spread a cloud to keep them cool through the day and a fire to light their way through the night;
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39 He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night.
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40 They prayed and he brought quail, filled them with the bread of heaven;
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40 They asked, and he brought them quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
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41 He opened the rock and water poured out; it flowed like a river through that desert -
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41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; like a river it flowed in the desert.
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42 All because he remembered his Covenant, his promise to Abraham, his servant.
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42 For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham.
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43 Remember this! He led his people out singing for joy; his chosen people marched, singing their hearts out!
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43 He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
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44 He made them a gift of the country they entered, helped them seize the wealth of the nations
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44 he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for--
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45 So they could do everything he told them - could follow his instructions to the letter. Hallelujah!
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45 that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the LORD.
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| Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved. (The Message Bible Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
