<t /><p class="psasuper">A song of ascents.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Those who trust in the <sc>Lordsc> are like Mount Zion;p> <p class="poetry">it cannot be upended and will endure forever.p>

<p class="poetry">Trust in the <sc>Lordsc> from this time forward,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">even in Yah, the <sc>Lordsc>, an enduring protector!<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The downtrodden will again rejoice in the <sc>Lordsc>;p> <p class="poetry">the poor among humankind will take delight<n id="1" /> in the Holy One of Israel.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;p> <p class="poetry">the wind will scatter them.p> <p class="poetry">You will rejoice in the <sc>Lordsc>;p> <p class="poetry">you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.p>

<p class="poetry">Israel will be delivered once and for all by the <sc>Lordsc>;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">you will never again be ashamed or humiliated.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">they will say about me,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Yes, the <sc>Lordsc> is a powerful deliverer.&#8221;&#8217;&#8221;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">All who are angry at him will cower before him.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">We know our noisy worship of false godsp> <p class="poetry">on the hills and mountains did not help us.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">We know that the <sc>Lordsc> our Godp> <p class="poetry">is the only one who can deliver Israel.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">They have committed treason<n id="1" /> against the <sc>Lordsc>,p> <p class="poetry">because they bore illegitimate children.p> <p class="poetry">Soon<n id="2" /> the new moon festival will devour them and their fields.p>

Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, &#8216;The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a means of strength to us through their God, the <sc>Lordsc> who rules over all.&#8217;

so that I may make you solemnly promise<n id="1" /> by the <sc>Lordsc>, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire<n id="2" /> a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living.

When Israel saw<n id="1" /> the great power<n id="2" /> that the <sc>Lordsc> had exercised<n id="3" /> over the Egyptians, they<n id="4" /> feared the <sc>Lordsc>, and they believed in<n id="5" /> the <sc>Lordsc> and in his servant Moses.<n id="6" />p>

&#8220;Tell the Israelites, &#8216;When<n id="1" /> a man or a woman commits any sin that people commit,<n id="2" /> thereby breaking faith<n id="3" /> with the <sc>Lordsc>, and that person is found guilty,<n id="4" />

Look, these people through the counsel of Balaam caused the Israelites to act treacherously against the <sc>Lordsc> in the matter of Peor &#8211; which resulted in the plague among the community of the <sc>Lordsc>!

The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel.<n id="1" /> The whole community criticized<n id="2" /> the leaders,

but all the leaders told the whole community, &#8220;We swore an oath to them in the name of<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel. So now we can&#8217;t hurt<n id="2" /> them!

Now today you dare to turn back<n id="1" /> from following the <sc>Lordsc>! You are rebelling today against the <sc>Lordsc>; tomorrow he may break out in anger against<n id="2" /> the entire community of Israel.

<t /><p class="bodytext">After Joshua died, the Israelites asked<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc>, &#8220;Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?&#8221;<n id="2" />

How can we find wives for those who are left?<n id="1" /> After all, we took an oath in the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s name not to give them our daughters as wives.&#8221;

So they inquired again of the <sc>Lordsc>, &#8220;Has the man arrived here yet?&#8221; The <sc>Lordsc> said, &#8220;He has hidden himself among the equipment.&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

So David asked the <sc>Lordsc>, &#8220;Should I go and strike down these Philistines?&#8221; The <sc>Lordsc> said to David, &#8220;Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.&#8221;p>