微读圣经

1Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.

Let the whole world know what he has done.

2Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.

Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.

3Exult in his holy name;

rejoice, you who worship the Lord.

4Search for the Lord and for his strength;

continually seek him.

5Remember the wonders he has performed,

his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

6you children of his servant Abraham,

you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

7He is the Lord our God.

His justice is seen throughout the land.

8He always stands by his covenant—

the commitment he made to a thousand generations.

9This is the covenant he made with Abraham

and the oath he swore to Isaac.

10He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,

and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:

11“I will give you the land of Canaan

as your special possession.”

12He said this when they were few in number,

a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.

13They wandered from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another.

14Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.

He warned kings on their behalf:

15“Do not touch my chosen people,

and do not hurt my prophets.”

16He called for a famine on the land of Canaan,

cutting off its food supply.

17Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them—

Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

18They bruised his feet with fetters

and placed his neck in an iron collar.

19Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,105:19 Hebrew his word.

the Lord tested Joseph’s character.

20Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free;

the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.

21Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household;

he became ruler over all the king’s possessions.

22He could instruct105:22 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads bind or imprison. the king’s aides as he pleased

and teach the king’s advisers.

23Then Israel arrived in Egypt;

Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.

24And the Lord multiplied the people of Israel

until they became too mighty for their enemies.

25Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites,

and they plotted against the Lord’s servants.

26But the Lord sent his servant Moses,

along with Aaron, whom he had chosen.

27They performed miraculous signs among the Egyptians,

and wonders in the land of Ham.

28The Lord blanketed Egypt in darkness,

for they had defied105:28 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads had not defied. his commands to let his people go.

29He turned their water into blood,

poisoning all the fish.

30Then frogs overran the land

and even invaded the king’s bedrooms.

31When the Lord spoke, flies descended on the Egyptians,

and gnats swarmed across Egypt.

32He sent them hail instead of rain,

and lightning flashed over the land.

33He ruined their grapevines and fig trees

and shattered all the trees.

34He spoke, and hordes of locusts came—

young locusts beyond number.

35They ate up everything green in the land,

destroying all the crops in their fields.

36Then he killed the oldest son in each Egyptian home,

the pride and joy of each family.

37The Lord brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold;

and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled.

38Egypt was glad when they were gone,

for they feared them greatly.

39The Lord spread a cloud above them as a covering

and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.

40They asked for meat, and he sent them quail;

he satisfied their hunger with manna—bread from heaven.

41He split open a rock, and water gushed out

to form a river through the dry wasteland.

42For he remembered his sacred promise

to his servant Abraham.

43So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy,

his chosen ones with rejoicing.

44He gave his people the lands of pagan nations,

and they harvested crops that others had planted.

45All this happened so they would follow his decrees

and obey his instructions.

Praise the Lord!