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(By Solomon.)

A Prayer for God To Guide and Help the King

Please help the king
to be honest and fair
    just like you, our God.
Let him be honest and fair
with all your people,
    especially the poor.
Let peace and justice rule
    every mountain and hill.
Let the king defend the poor,
rescue the homeless, and crush
    everyone who hurts them.
Let the king live[a] forever
    like the sun and the moon.
Let him be as helpful as rain
that refreshes the meadows
    and the ground.
Let the king be fair
    with everyone,
and let there be peace
until the moon
    falls from the sky.

(A) Let his kingdom reach
    from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
    across all the earth.
Force the desert tribes
    to accept his rule,
and make his enemies
    crawl in the dirt.
10 Force the rulers of Tarshish[b]
and of the islands
    to pay taxes to him.
Make the kings of Sheba
    and of Seba[c] bring gifts.
11 Make other rulers bow down
    and all nations serve him.

12 Do this because the king
rescues the homeless
    when they cry out,
and he helps everyone
    who is poor and in need.
13 The king has pity
on the weak and the helpless
    and protects those in need.
14 He cares when they hurt,
and he saves them from cruel
    and violent deaths.

15 Long live the king!
    Give him gold from Sheba.
Always pray for the king
    and praise him each day.
16 Let cities overflow with food
and hills be covered with grain,
    just like Mount Lebanon.
Let the people in the cities
    prosper like wild flowers.
17 May the glory of the king
shine brightly forever
    like the sun in the sky.
Let him make nations prosper
    and learn to praise him.

18 Lord God of Israel,
we praise you.
    Only you can work miracles.
19 We will always praise
    your glorious name.
Let your glory be seen
everywhere on earth.
    Amen and amen.

20 This ends the prayers
    of David, the son of Jesse.

Footnotes

  1. 72.5 Let the king live: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Let them worship you.”
  2. 72.10 Tarshish: Possibly a city in Spain.
  3. 72.10 Sheba … Seba: Sheba may have been a place in what is now southwest Arabia, and Seba may have been in southern Arabia.

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