The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 By Shlomo: God, give the king your fairness in judgment, endow this son of kings with your righteousness,
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<Of Solomon.> Give the king your authority, O God, and your righteousness to the king's son.
2 so that he can govern your people rightly and your poor with justice.
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May he be a judge of your people in righteousness, and make true decisions for the poor.
3 May mountains and hills provide your people with peace through righteousness.
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May the mountains give peace to the people, and the hills righteousness.
4 May he defend the oppressed among the people, save the needy and crush the oppressor.
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May he be a judge of the poor among the people, may he give salvation to the children of those who are in need; by him let the violent be crushed.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun endures and as long as the moon, through all generations.
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May his life go on as long as the sun and moon, through all generations.
6 May he be like rain falling on mown grass, like showers watering the land.
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May he come down like rain on the cut grass; like showers watering the earth.
7 In his days, let the righteous flourish and peace abound, till the moon is no more.
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In his days may the upright do well, living in peace as long as there is a moon in heaven.
8 May his empire stretch from sea to sea, from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.
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Let his kingdom be from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 May desert-dwellers bow before him; may his enemies lick the dust.
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Let those who are against him go down before him; and let his haters be low in the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and the coasts will pay him tribute; the kings of Sh'va and S'va will offer gifts.
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Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands come back with offerings; let the kings of Sheba and Seba give of their stores.
11 Yes, all kings will prostrate themselves before him; all nations will serve him.
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Yes, let all kings go down before him; let all nations be his servants.
12 For he will rescue the needy when they cry, the poor too and those with none to help them.
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For he will be a saviour to the poor in answer to his cry; and to him who is in need, without a helper.
13 He will have pity on the poor and needy; and the lives of the needy he will save.
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He will have pity on the poor, and be the saviour of those who are in need.
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence; their blood will be precious in his view.
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He will keep their souls free from evil designs and violent attacks; and their blood will be of value in his eyes.
15 May [the king] live long! May they give him gold from the land of Sh'va! May they pray for him continually; yes, bless him all day long.
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May he have long life, and may gold from Sheba be given to him: may prayers be made for him at all times; may blessings be on him every day.
16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land, all the way to the tops of the mountains. May its crops rustle like the L'vanon. May people blossom in the city like the grasses in the fields.
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May there be wide-stretching fields of grain in the land, shaking on the top of the mountains, full of fruit like Lebanon: may its stems be unnumbered like the grass of the earth.
17 May his name endure forever, his name, Yinnon, as long as the sun. May people bless themselves in him, may all nations call him happy.
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May his name go on for ever, as long as the sun: may men be blessing themselves by him; may all nations be blessing his name.
18 Blessed be ADONAI, God, the God of Isra'el, who alone works wonders.
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Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, the only doer of wonders.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen. Amen.
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Praise to the glory of his noble name for ever; let all the earth be full of his glory. So be it, So be it.
20 This completes the prayers of David the son of Yishai.
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The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. <A Psalm. Of Asaph.>
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.