“That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord!
My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord.
Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.
and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, a volunteer for the service of the Lord, with 200,000 mighty men of valor.
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!”
but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the Lord!
Sihon, king of the Amorites, for his steadfast love endures forever; and Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever;
but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever;
Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O Lord.
O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!
Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments!
the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me,
And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.
“The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation, the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me,
“Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people's land.”
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.