the book of psalms

The book of psalms – conclusion

by with No Comment Books of the Bible
The book of psalms – conclusion

In this article, we will be concluding our summary on the book of psalms.

In the center poem, psalm 148 all creation is summoned to praise the God of Israel because he has “Raised up a horn for His people” The horn here is a metaphor of a bull’s horn raised in victory and this image echoes back to the same image used in Hannah’s song for Samuel chapter 2, but also to the earlier psalm 132.

The horn is a symbol for the future messianic king and his victory over evil.  It is a fitting conclusion to this amazing book.

Here’s one more thing that you are likely going to miss if you don’t read this book in order.  There’s lots of different kinds of poems in the book of psalms but they all basically fall into 2 big categories, either poems of lament or poems of praise.

Poems of lament express pain, confusion and anger, about how horrible the world is and how horrible the things are happening to the poet, and so these poems draw attention to what’s wrong in the world and they ask God to do something about it.

There’s a lot of these in the book, which tells us something important. That lament is an appropriate response to the evil that we see in our world.

What you’ll notice however, is that lament poems predominate earlier in the book (books 1 through 3) but pay attention because you’ll also see praise palms occasionally.

Praise poems are poems of joy and celebration and they draw attention to what’s good in the world and they retell stories of what God has done in our lives and thank God for it.

In books 4 and 5 you’ll notice that praise poems come to outnumber lament poems and it all culminates in that 5 part Halleluiah conclusion so this shift from lament to praise is profound and it tells us something about the nature of prayer.

As we hope for the messianic kingdom as the book teaches us to do, this will create tension for us as we look out on the tragic state of our world and of our lives and so the psalms teach us not to ignore the pain of our lives but at the same time, Biblical faith is forward looking, looking to the promise of God’s future messianic kingdom.

Therefore, Torah and Messiah, lament and praise, faith and hope are what the book of psalms is all about

Watch the video from Bible Project Here

Courtesy of Bible Project

the book of psalms

The book of psalms – part 2

by with No Comment Books of the Bible
The book of psalms – part 2

In the previous post, we introduced the book of psalms and book one. in this post, we will be looking at books 2 through 5.

Book 2 opens with 2 poems that are united in their hope for a future return to the temple in Zion. This is an image closely associated with the hope of the messianic kingdom.

It closes with a poem that depicts the future reign of the messianic king over all of the nation.

This poem is really amazing because it echoes all these other passages from the prophets about the messianic kingdom and it concludes by saying that this king’s reign will bring about the fulfillment of God’s ancient promise to Abraham to bring God’s blessing to all of the nations.

The book of psalms – book 3

Book 3 also concludes with a poem reflecting on God’s promise David, but this time in light of Israel’s exile.

The poet remembers how God said he would never abandon the line of David. However, he’s now looking at Israel’s rebellion and its resulting destruction and exile and the downfall of the line of David and so the poet ends by asking God to never forget his promise to David.

The book of psalms – book 4

Book 4 is designed to respond to this crisis of exile so the opening poem returns us back to Israel’s roots with the prayer of Moses and he does what he did on Mount Sinai after the golden calf incident, which is to call upon God to show mercy.

The center of book 4 is dominated by a group of poems that announce that the Lord the God of Israel reigns as the true king of the world, and that all creation, trees, mountains, rivers are all summoned to celebrate that future day when God will bring his Justice and kingdom over all the world.

The book of psalms – book 5

Book 5 opens with a series of poems that affirm that God hears the cries of His people and will one day send the future king to defeat evil and bring God’s kingdom.

This book also contains 2 larger collections, 1 called the Hallel, and the other called the songs of Ascents.  Each 1 of these collections concludes with a poem about the future messianic kingdom.

These 2 collections together sustain the hope for a future Exodus-like act of God to redeem His people. Right between them is psalm 119 which is the longest poem in the book. It’s an alphabet poem.

Each line begins with a new letter of the Hebrew alphabet and it explores the wonder and the gift of the Torah as God’s word to His people so here we go.

The themes from psalms 1 and 2 – Torah and Messiah combine all together here in book 5 which brings us all the way back to that 5 poem conclusion.

Watch the video from Bible Project Here

Courtesy of Bible Project

the book of psalms

The book of psalms

by with No Comment Books of the Bible
The book of psalms

We have been learning to translate the book of psalms, which is an intricately designed collection of poetry that recounts Israel’s history and God’s covenant promises. To fully understand what the book is about, here’s is a summary from Bible Project

The book of psalms is a collection of 150 ancient Hebrew poems, songs and prayers that come from different periods in Israel’s history. Many of these poems are connected to King David (73) who was known as a poet and a harp player.

There are, however, many different authors behind these poems. There are the poems of Asaph, or from the sons of Korah, some are from other worship leaders and the temple. Even Solomon and Moses have their own psalms.

However, nearly 1/3 of these are anonymous. Many of these poems came to be used by the choirs that sang in Israel’s temple. The book of psalms is actually not a hymn book. At some point in the period after Israel’s exile to Babylon, these ancient poems were gathered together and intentionally arranged into the book of Psalms before us.

It has a very unique design and message that you’re not going to notice unless you read it from beginning to end. To see how the book of psalms is designed it is most helpful to start at the end.

The book concludes with 5 poems of praise to the God of Israel and each one begins and ends with the word Hallelujah which is Hebrew for a command to tell a group of people to praise YAH which is short for the divine name Yahweh.

It is a really nice 5 part arrangement and it looks like someone is giving us a conclusion here to the book. This invites the question, does the book have any other signs of intentional design?

If you pay attention to the headings of the poems you’ll notice that at 5 places, Bible translators have the heading book 1, book 2, .., book 5 at various points.

These divide the book into 5 large sections. The reason for this is that the final poem in each of those sections have a very similar ending but looks like an editorial addition which reads something like, “May the Lord the God of Israel be blessed forever and ever, Amen and Amen”.

So the book has a conclusion, it has an internal organization into 5 main parts and so the natural place to go from here is now the beginning to look for an introduction where we find psalms 1 and 2.

Psalms 1 and 2

These 2 psalms stand outside of book one because most of the poems in book 1 are linked to David. Psalms 1 and 2 are anonymous. Psalm 1 celebrates how blessed the person is who meditates on the Torah, prayerfully reading it day-and-night and then obeying.

The word ‘Torah’ means teaching and more specifically it came to refer to the 5 books of Moses that begin the Old Testament. Here, the word seems to be used with both meanings in mind, which explains why it has 5 main parts.

The book of psalms is being offered as a new Torah that will teach God’s people the lifelong practice of prayer, as they strive to obey God’s commands given in the 1st Torah. Psalm 2 is the poetic reflection on God’s promise to King David from 2nd Samuel chapter 7, that 1 day a messianic king would come and establish God’s kingdom over the world, defeat evil and rebellion among the nations.

Psalm 2 concludes by saying that all those who take refuge in the messianic king will be blessed. Precisely the word used to open psalm 1 and so together these 2 poems tell us that the book of psalms is designed to be the prayer book of God’s people as they strive to be faithful to the commands of the Torah as they hope and wait for the future messianic kingdom. Now with these 2 themes introduced we can start to see how the smaller books have been designed as well around these 2 ideas.

The book of psalms, Book one.

Book one has right at the center, a collection of poems, palms 15 through 24 that opens and closes with a call to covenant faithfulness.

In psalms 16 to 18 we find the depiction of David as a model of this kind of faithfulness. He calls out to God to deliver him and God elevates him as king.

In the corresponding set of poems, psalms 20 to 23, the David of the past has become an image of the messianic king of the future who will also call out to God, He will be delivered and then given a kingdom over the nations.

Right at the center of this collection is psalm 19, dedicated to praising God for the Torah. So here we go. The 2 themes from psalm 1 and 2 are bound together tightly there.

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Iboysɨ i nɨn ghɨ sɨ̂ fòyn vzɨ̀ a wù

The Triumphal entry – Ta Jisòs nɨ̀n zɨ a Jèlusalèm ta fòyn

by with No Comment Uncategorized

Ŋwà’lɨ̀ Lûk 19

28 Jisòs ɨ taŋi tèyn ɨ chwò asɨ nɨ̀ ghelɨ ɨ nà sɨ ko’ ndû a Jèlusalèm,

29 ɨ ni ndu ba’sɨ a ntè’sɨ ghê a ghɨ nà n-toŋtɨ na Betfàs nɨ̀ Betanì, a kfɨ̂yn Olìfsɨ̀ ɨ tum njùmtɨ̀sɨ ibam nɨ̀ ŋweyn, sɨ̀ bò, 

30 ɨ bè na, <<Yì zɨ ndù antêynɨ̀ ntè’ afêyn a yi asɨ. Yi n-se sɨ zɨ sɨ ndù, yeyn wâyn njàkâs ta ghɨ chfɨŋ, bùla wùl timî kò’ atu àteyn. Yi yeyn, yi yàs ɨ gvì nɨ̀ nyeyn afêyn. 

31 Yi se sɨ yàs, à bɨf mɨ ndà na yi n-yâs sɨ ni gha nɨ̀ nyeyn a, yi bè na, <Bôbo nɨn kelɨ ìwo sɨ ni nɨ̀ nyeyn.> >>

32 Ghelɨ nâ ghì a wù n-tum tî ɨ lu ndù, nô mɨ ghà ɨ gayn kɨ tî ta wù nì bè.

33 Àŋena nɨ̀n ndu meyn ɨ se sɨ yàs, ghelɨ ghì a ghɨ nà n-kelɨ nyam àteyn ɨ bɨf sɨ̂ àŋena na, <<Bòm ghà ta yi n-yasɨ njàkâs àteyn a?>>

34 Àŋena bè na, <<Bôbo nɨn kelɨ ìwo sɨ ni nɨ̀ nyeyn.>> 35Ta àŋena bè tî ɨ li gvì nɨ̀ nyeyn sɨ̂ Jisòs ɨ kæ zɨ̀sɨ nɨ̀ ɨ̀waf ɨ àŋena, ɨ ko’sɨ Jisòs atu àteyn. 

36 Jisòs ɨ nà sɨ ndû atû nyàm nâ ghè, ghelɨ cho’tɨ̂ ɨ̀waf ɨ àŋena mâ’ ndû a dzɨ, wu dyâŋ atu.

37 Wu ni ba’sɨ a Jèlusalèm ɨ nà sɨ kalì sɨ a kfɨ̂yn Olìfsɨ̀, nô ànôyn a njùmtɨ̀sɨ ibam nɨ̀ ŋweyn à jɨ̀mà ɨ nà sɨ saŋlɨ̂ kɨ saŋlɨ, ko’sɨ̂ Fɨ̀yìnì nô nɨ̀ gyasɨ tosɨ bòm àwo a kaynɨ-a kì a àŋena nà n-sɨ ghɨ ma ghɨ yeyn meyn. 

38 Àŋena nà n-bê na, <<Iboysɨ i nɨn ghɨ sɨ̂ fòyn vzɨ̀ a wù n-gvî sɨ izɨyn nɨ̀ Bôbo. Mbôynɨ̀ nɨ̀n ghɨ iyvɨ. Fɨ̀yìnì fɨ̀ nɨn kelɨ ìko’sɨ alè’ ghè a kɨ ngàŋtɨ meyn kfeyn!>>

39 Ghelɨ Falàsî ghɨ li ta ghɨ nà n-jêl kɨmɨ anòyn nâ ghè ɨ bè sɨ̂ Jisòs na, <<Chɨ̀ylɨ njùmtɨ̀sɨ ibam nɨ̀ và sèynsɨ̀ a ndyèynsɨ̀.>>

40 Wu bè sɨ̂ àŋena na, <<Àŋena chìmi mɨ chimi, a nô ngò’sɨ̀ na ko’sɨ̂ kɨ Fɨ̀yìnì tèyn.>>

41 Wu ni ndù ɨ nà sɨ ba’sɨ̂ mesì ndû a nte’ Jèlusalèm ɨ ki ndùsɨ̀ nɨ̀ nte’ àteyn, isuyn i kola ŋweyn, wù dzɨ gvi kɨ gvi, 

42 ɨ bè na, <<Ndà fu ma zɨ̀, ghelɨ Jèlusalèm nà n-kya ìwo zɨ̀ a yi n-gvî nɨ̀ mbôynɨ̀ layn a, lvɨ̂yn nɨ̀n ghɨ ma yì kà’ yi bû yeyn! 

43 Mɨ̀chi ɨ̀m bɨ̂ nɨ̀n ba’sɨ̂ gvî sɨ̂ zɨ̀. Mbàynɨ̀ sisɨ nì tɨm mbàyn, a yì jɨŋ kàli zɨ̀ ɨ̀ fèyn zɨ̀ kɨ ɨbyâs ɨ̀ jɨ̀m, chɨ̀ytɨ kɨ̀ chɨytɨ zɨ. 

44 Àŋena læ̀ chye’sɨ̂ zɨ̀ kɨ ghɨ̀ jɨ̀m bà’sɨ kɨ̀mɨ nɨ̀ woyn ghì a ghɨ n-ghɨ a yi a ndosɨ. Ngò’ læ̀ faŋ wi atu àteyn nɨ̀ ìlì afêyn bòm ta yi bû yeyn kèli ɨ̀lvɨ vzɨ̀ a Fɨ̀yìnì fɨ̀ nɨn gvî sɨ bœ̀sɨ zɨ ateyn.>>

Luke 19

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them,

30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.

33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.

36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it

42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 

43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 

44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of Godʼs coming to you.”

memory verses from the book of Ruth

Memory Verses From The Book of Ruth Part II

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In the previous post, Memory Verses From The Book of Ruth, We introduced the book of Ruth and gave a brief summary of each of the chapters. In today’s article, we go straight into the memory verses.

Awo a Betɨnɨ-a a Ŋwàʼlɨ̀  Lût.

Lût 2:19, 20a

Nàwumì ɨ bɨf sɨ̂ ŋweyn nâ wù yìsi sàyntɨ àsaŋ nâ kèynà a gvêyn nɨ̀ ndà a? Wu n-bɨf tî ɨ bè na yi n-jêm na Bô Fɨyini boysɨ wul ɨ vzɨ̀ a wù nì tòʼnɨ̀ gàmtɨ̀ ŋweyn.

Lût ɨ kæ fèʼtɨ̀ sɨ̂ nà lum nɨ̀ ŋweyn na yì nì nà sayntɨ̂ a gvêyn nɨ̀ wùl, izɨyn i ŋweyni ghɨ Bowàs. Nàwumì ɨ bè na, “Bô Fɨyini boysɨ ŋweyn. Fɨyini fɨ nɨn lêysɨ̀ wì wul, kèsa wù n-ghɨ ɨtwo kèsa wù kfɨ̀ kfɨ.

19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20“The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.”

Lût 3:5, 6

Nàwumì nɨ̂n bè têyn nô mɨ ɨlvɨ gha, Lût ɨ bèynsɨ̀ kɨ sɨ̂ ŋweyn na, “Mɨ n-ndù nî kɨ ta wà bè.” Lût nɨ̀n kali meyn alèʼ ghè a ghɨ nà n-leŋ asaŋ ateyn ɨ ndu ni kɨ ta nà lum nɨ̀ ŋweyn nì bè.

5“I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

Lût 3:10

Bowàs ɨ bè sɨ̂ ŋweyn na, “Bô Fɨyini boysɨ vâ a wayn wom. Wà fi meyn nì ìwo, yi koʼnɨ̂ chwô izɨ̂-ì a wà tî nì sɨ asɨ sɨ̂ nà lum nɨ̀ và.

Wa nà n-kôŋ ma wà tî kɨŋ ndù kɨ nɨ̀ wayndà ɨ̀kùŋ ɨ̀lvɨ̀ ta wu n-kelɨ ɨkwo ɨ̀ màla, ɨ̀ fàŋ tî, ma wà tî kɨŋ ndù nɨ̀ ɨ̀lvɨ̀ wu kelɨ wi nô mɨ ɨ̀kwo kɨ̀ nô bòm ìkôŋ.

10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.

Lût 3:11

Nô mɨ ndà a ntèʼ afêyn nɨn kya a wâyn wom na wà n-ghɨ kɨ nô chɨ̀ynsɨ̀ wul ɨ wi. Ka wa n-fàyn, mɨ n-nî nô mɨ ghà vzɨ̂ a wà n-kɨŋ na mà ni.

11 And now, my daughter, donʼt be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character.

Lût 4:11

Ghelɨ ateyn ɨ bèynsɨ̀ kɨ ghɨ̀jɨ̀m baʼsɨ̂ nɨ̀ chyeʼsɨ na, “Ghès ɨ yeyn meyn. Bô Fɨyini ni wul ɨ wi nâ wèyn a wà lì têyn na ghɨ kɨ ta Lachèl ŋêyn Liyà, ma à ti àŋena ghì a ghɨ n-læ bzɨ ngœ̀ ndo nɨ̀ Jàkôb.

Fɨyini fɨ boysɨ vâ, wà na ghɨ kɨ nô wul ɨ ghaʼnɨ a ndô Efɨ̀là, izɨyn ìzæ fî ngaŋtɨ a Betɨ̀làhêm.

11 Then the elders and all those at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.

May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.

Lût 4:14

Ghɨ̀kì ɨ Betɨ̀làhêm ghì ɨ bè sɨ̂ Nàwumì na, Ibemsɨ i nɨn ghɨ sɨ̂ Bô Fɨyini. Wù fu meyn ɨ̀nkàʼ mɨ̀ ɨ̀dvɨ̀yn sɨ̂ và. Ghès nɨn jêm kɨ na wàyn nâ wèyn lema kɨ̀ nô sɨ a nkàyntɨ̀ wùl a ilaʼi Isìlæ.

14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!

Lût 4:15

Wàyn àteyn læ̀ nà ghɨ kɨ nô ɨ̀nkâʼ mɨ̀ ɨ̀dvɨ̀yn nɨ̀ và bòm ta wù n-ghɨ ma à bzɨ kɨ nô wî wayn vâ, kôŋ và, ghɨ sɨ̂ và chwô woyn ghɨlûmnɨ̀ nsòmbo.

15He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

 Lût 4: 18-22

Akêynà nɨn ghɨ àzɨyn a ghɨ̂bo bò fòyn Devìt kɨ̀ sɨ zɨ̀tɨ̀ a Bèlês. Bèlês nɨn læ nà ghɨ bò Heselòn, Heselòn ɨ ghɨ bò Lâm, Lâm ɨ ghɨ bò Àminadàb,  Àminadàb ɨ ghɨ bò Nashòn, Nashòn ɨ ghɨ bò Salmùyn,  Salmùyn ɨ ghɨ bò Bowàs, Bowàs ɨ ghɨ bò Obèt, Obèt ɨ ghɨ bò Jesì, Jesì ɨ ghɨ bò fòyn Devìt.

18This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, 19 Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab,
20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,
21 Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, 22 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.
Learn more about the workshops attended by the translators in this post. Translation Technologies Workshop