The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
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O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
2 Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music!
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Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
3 Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life!
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Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
4 Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence.
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Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
5 Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered -
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Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
6 O seed of Abraham, his servant, O child of Jacob, his chosen.
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O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
7 He's God, our God, in charge of the whole earth.
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He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
8 And he remembers, remembers his Covenant - for a thousand generations he's been as good as his word.
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He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
9 It's the Covenant he made with Abraham, the same oath he swore to Isaac,
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Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
10 The very statute he established with Jacob, the eternal Covenant with Israel,
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And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
11 Namely, "I give you the land. Canaan is your hill-country inheritance."
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Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
12 When they didn't count for much, a mere handful, and strangers at that,
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When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.
13 Wandering from country to country, drifting from pillar to post,
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When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;
14 He permitted no one to abuse them. He told kings to keep their hands off:
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He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;
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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Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
16 Then he called down a famine on the country, he broke every last blade of wheat.
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Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
17 But he sent a man on ahead: Joseph, sold as a slave.
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He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
18 They put cruel chains on his ankles, an iron collar around his neck,
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Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
19 Until God's word came to the Pharaoh, and God confirmed his promise.
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Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
20 God sent the king to release him. The Pharaoh set Joseph free;
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The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.
21 He appointed him master of his palace, put him in charge of all his business
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He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:
22 To personally instruct his princes and train his advisors in wisdom.
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To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
23 Then Israel entered Egypt, Jacob immigrated to the Land of Ham.
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Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 God gave his people lots of babies; soon their numbers alarmed their foes.
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And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.
25 He turned the Egyptians against his people; they abused and cheated God's servants.
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He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
26 Then he sent his servant Moses, and Aaron, whom he also chose.
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He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland, miracles in the Land of Ham.
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They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He spoke, "Darkness!" and it turned dark - they couldn't see what they were doing.
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He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.
29 He turned all their water to blood so that all their fish died;
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He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.
30 He made frogs swarm through the land, even into the king's bedroom;
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Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.
31 He gave the word and flies swarmed, gnats filled the air.
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He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.
32 He substituted hail for rain, he stabbed their land with lightning;
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He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
33 He wasted their vines and fig trees, smashed their groves of trees to splinters;
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He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.
34 With a word he brought in locusts, millions of locusts, armies of locusts;
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He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,
35 They consumed every blade of grass in the country and picked the ground clean of produce;
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And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down every firstborn in the land, the first fruits of their virile powers.
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He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.
37 He led Israel out, their arms filled with loot, and not one among his tribes even stumbled.
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He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.
38 Egypt was glad to have them go - they were scared to death of them.
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Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.
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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He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.
40 They prayed and he brought quail, filled them with the bread of heaven;
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The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock and water poured out; it flowed like a river through that desert -
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He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.
42 All because he remembered his Covenant, his promise to Abraham, his servant.
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For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant.
43 Remember this! He led his people out singing for joy; his chosen people marched, singing their hearts out!
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And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:
44 He made them a gift of the country they entered, helped them seize the wealth of the nations
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And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people;
45 So they could do everything he told them - could follow his instructions to the letter. Hallelujah!
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That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD.
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 King James Version is in the public domain.