| I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king’s matter. | I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded. |
| The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks. | A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. |
| But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress. | But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. |
| Yahweh, remember your tender mercies and your loving kindness, for they are from old times. Don’t remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. Remember me according to your loving kindness, for your goodness’ sake, Yahweh. | Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord. |
| My son, attend to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the center of your heart. | My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart. |
| Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life. | Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. |
| Behold, God is my helper. The Lord is the one who sustains my soul. | But God is my helper. The Lord keeps me alive! |
| As newborn babies, long for the pure spiritual milk, that with it you may grow. | Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment. |
| For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. | Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. |
| My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for they will add to you length of days, years of life, and peace. | My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. |
| Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. | God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. |
| Turn back, and tell Hezekiah the prince of my people, ‘Yahweh, the God of David your father, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day, you will go up to Yahweh’s house.”’ | Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord.’ |
| You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. | You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. |
| Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you! Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are continually before me. | Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. |
| Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart. | Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. |
| That which makes a man to be desired is his kindness. A poor man is better than a liar. | Loyalty makes a person attractive. It is better to be poor than dishonest. |
| Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. | Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. |
| Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. | As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. |
| I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. | I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one. |
| So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. | Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. |
| But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. | So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. |
| For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. | For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. |
| I will give thanks to you with uprightness of heart, when I learn your righteous judgments. | As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! |
| The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver. The heart of the wicked is of little worth. | The words of the godly are like sterling silver; the heart of a fool is worthless. |
| A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. | A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. |
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