God and His People
(1 Chronicles 16.8-22)1 Give thanks to the Lord,
proclaim his greatness;
tell the nations what he has done.
2 Sing praise to the Lord;
tell the wonderful things he has done.
3 Be glad that we belong to him;
let all who worship him rejoice.
4 Go to the Lord for help;
and worship him continually.
5-6 You descendants of Abraham, his servant;
you descendants of Jacob, the man he chose:
remember the miracles that God performed
and the judgments that he gave.
7 The Lord is our God;
his commands are for all the world.
8 He will keep his covenant forever,
his promises for a thousand generations.
9 He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham
and his promise to Isaac.
10 The Lord made a covenant with Jacob,
one that will last forever.
11 “I will give you the land of Canaan,” he said.
“It will be your own possession.”
12 God's people were few in number,
strangers in the land of Canaan.
13 They wandered from country to country,
from one kingdom to another.
14 But God let no one oppress them;
to protect them, he warned the kings:
15 “Don't harm my chosen servants;
do not touch my prophets.”
16 The Lord sent famine to their country
and took away all their food.
17 But he sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.
18 His feet were kept in chains,
and an iron collar was around his neck,
19 until what he had predicted came true.
The word of the Lord proved him right.
20 Then the king of Egypt had him released;
the ruler of nations set him free.
21 He put him in charge of his government
and made him ruler over all the land,
22 with power over the king's officials
and authority to instruct his advisers.
23 Then Jacob went to Egypt
and settled in that country.
24 The Lord gave many children to his people
and made them stronger than their enemies.
25 He made the Egyptians hate his people
and treat his servants with deceit.
26 Then he sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They did God's mighty acts
and performed miracles in Egypt.
28 God sent darkness on the country,
but the Egyptians did not obey his command.
29 He turned their rivers into blood
and killed all their fish.
30 Their country was overrun with frogs;
even the palace was filled with them.
31 God commanded, and flies and gnats
swarmed throughout the whole country.
32 He sent hail and lightning on their land
instead of rain;
33 he destroyed their grapevines and fig trees
and broke down all the trees.
34 He commanded, and the locusts came,
countless millions of them;
35 they ate all the plants in the land;
they ate all the crops.
36 He killed the first-born sons
of all the families of Egypt.
37 Then he led the Israelites out;
they carried silver and gold,
and all of them were healthy and strong.
38 The Egyptians were afraid of them
and were glad when they left.
39 God put a cloud over his people
and a fire at night to give them light.
40 They asked, and he sent quails;
he gave them food from heaven to satisfy them.
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out,
flowing through the desert like a river.
42 He remembered his sacred promise
to Abraham his servant.
43 So he led his chosen people out,
and they sang and shouted for joy.
44 He gave them the lands of other peoples
and let them take over their fields,
45 so that his people would obey his laws
and keep all his commands.
Praise the Lord!
بركات الله لشعبه
1 إحمَدوا الرّبَّ وادْعوا باسمِهِ،
وعرِّفوا في الشُّعوبِ بأعمالِهِ.
2 أنشِدوا للرّبِّ ورتِّلوا لهُ،
وتأمَّلُوا في جميعِ عَجائِبِهِ.
3 هلِّلوا لاسمِهِ القُدُّوسِ،
واطْلُبوهُ فتَفرَحَ قلوبُكُم.
4 إلتَمِسوا الرّبَّ وعِزَّتَهُ،
واطْلُبوا وجهَهُ كُلَّ حينٍ.
5 أُذكُروا عجائِبَهُ الّتي صَنَعَ،
ومُعجِزاتِهِ وأحكامَ فمِهِ،
6 يا نَسلَ إبراهيمَ عبدِهِ،
يا بَني يَعقوبَ الّذي اخْتارَهُ.
7 هوَ الرّبُّ إلهُنا،
في كُلِّ الأرضِ أحكامُهُ.
8 يذكُرُ إلى الأبدِ عَهدَهُ،
وصيّتَهُ إلى ألفِ جيلٍ،
9 العَهدَ الّذي قطَعَهُ لإبراهيمَ،
اليمينَ الّتي حَلَفَها لإسحَقَ
10 وأَثبَتَها حَقًّا ليعقوبَ،
عَهدا أبديًّا لإسرائيلَ.
11 قالَ: «أُعطيكُم أرضَ كنعانَ
قِسْمةَ ميراثٍ لكُم»،
12 حينَ كانوا عددا ضئيلا،
قليلينَ غُرَباءَ فيها،
13 مُتَنَقِّلينَ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ إلى أُمَّةٍ،
ومِنْ مَملَكةٍ إلى مَملَكةٍ.
14 لم يَدَعْ أحدا يَظلِمُهُم،
بل وَبَّخَ المُلوكَ مِنْ أجلِهِم.
15 قالَ: «لا تَمَسُّوا الّذينَ اخْتَرتُهُم،
ولا تُسيئُوا إلى أنبـيائي».
16 دعا بالجُوعِ على الأرضِ،
وقَطَعَ قُوتَ الخبزِ كُلَّهُ.
17 أرسَلَ أمامَهُم إنسانا،
يوسُفَ الّذي بِيعَ عَبدا.
18 حبَسوا رِجلِـيهِ بالقُيودِ،
وأدخَلوا عُنُقَه في الحديدِ،
19 إلى أنْ تَتِمَّ كلِمَتُهُ
ويُبَرهِنَ صِدْقَها قولُ الرّبِّ.
20 أرسلَ المَلِكُ فَحَلَّ قُيودَهُ،
سلطانُ الشُّعوبِ فأخلى سَبـيلَهُ.
21 أقامَهُ سيِّدا على بـيتِهِ
وسَلَّطَهُ على جميعِ مُقتَناهُ،
22 يُؤدِّبُ أعوانَهُ كما يشاءُ
ويُعَلِّمُ شُيوخَهُ الحِكمةَ.
23 وجاءَ إِسرائيلُ إلى مِصْرَ
يَعقوبُ تَغَرَّبَ في أرضِ حامٍ.
24 فزادَ الرّبُّ شعبَه نُمُوًّا
وجعَلَهُ أقوى مِنْ جميعِ خُصومِهِ.
25 لَكِنَّهُ حوَّلَ قلوبَ المِصْريِّينَ.
فأبغَضوا شعبَهُ ونكَّلوا بِــعبـيدِهِ،
26 فأرسلَ موسى عبدَهُ إليهِم
وهرونَ الّذي اخْتارَهُ،
27 فصَنَعا آياتِهِ ومُعجِزاتِهِ،
هُناكَ في أرضِ حامٍ.
28 أرسلَ الظَّلامَ فأظلَمَت،
وما نفَعَهُم تدبـيرُهُ.
29 حوَّلَ مياهَهُم إلى دَمٍ
وأماتَ كُلَّ أسماكِهِم.
30 فاضَت أرضُهُم ضَفادِعَ،
حتّى في مَخادِعِ مُلوكِهِم،
31 أمرَ الذُّبابَ والبَعوضَ
فاجتاحَ جميعَ أرضِهِم.
32 جعلَ أمطارَهُم بَرَدا
ونارا في أرضِهم تلتَهِبُ،
33 وضَرَبَ كُرومَهُم وتِـينَهُم
وكسَّرَ أشجارَ أرضِهِم.
34 أمرَ الجَرادَ والجَنادِبَ
فجاءَ مِنها ما لا يُحصَى.
35 فأكلَ عُشْبَ أرضِهِم كُلَّهُ
والتَهَمَ ثِمارَ تُربَتِهِم.
36 ضَرَبَ الأبكارَ كُلَّهُم في مِصْرَ،
عُنفوانَ كُلِّ قُدرةٍ لهُم،
37 وأخرجَ الشَّعبَ بِفِضَّةٍ وذهَبٍ
ولم يسقُطْ مِنْ أسباطِهِم واحدٌ.
38 ففَرِحَت مِصْرُ بِـخُروجِهِم مِنها،
لأنَّ الرُّعبَ حَلَّ علَيها.
39 بَسَطَ سَحابا ظَلَّلَهُم
ونارا أضاءَت لهُم في اللَّيلِ.
40 طلَبوا فجاءَهُم بالسَّلوى،
ومِنْ خبزِ السَّماءِ أشبَعَهُم.
41 فتَحَ الصَّخرَةَ فسالتِ المياهُ
وجَرَت أنهارا في القِفارِ.
42 هكذا ذكَرَ كلِمَتَهُ المُقدَّسَةَ،
كلِمَتَهُ لإبرهيمَ عبدِهِ،
43 فأخرجَ شعبَهُ المُختارَ،
أخرَجَهُم بالسُّرور والتَّرنِـيمِ.
44 ومنَحَهُم أرضَ الأمَمِ
فوَرِثُوا تَعَبَ الشُّعوبِ
45 لِـيَسهَروا على حُقوقِهِ
ويَنصُروا شرائعَهُ. هلِّلويا.