I am Like a Little Child
Psalm 131
An EasyEnglish Translation with Notes (about 1200 word vocabulary) on Psalm 131
Words in boxes are from the Bible. Words in brackets, ( ), are not in the *Hebrew Bible.
The notes explain some of the words with a *star by them. A word list at the end explains all the words that have a *star by them.
The translated Bible text has yet to go through Advanced Checking.
Jesus said, "Unless you turn and become like little children, you cannot go in to the *kingdom of *heaven" (Matthew 18:3). (A kingdom is a place that has a king; *heaven is the home of God.)
(This is) a song for climbing by David.
v1 *LORD, my *heart
is not *proud, neither are my eyes (*proud).
I do not try to do things that are too important for
me.
I do not try to do things that are too hard for me.
v2 Really, I have made
myself *calm and I have become quiet.
I am like a young child with its mother.
Yes, I am like a young child with its mother.
v3 Israel, put your hope in the *LORD, now and always.
King David had many enemies. He was a strong soldier. He was a powerful man and he had many servants. But he did not think that he was better or more important than other people. This psalm tells us that.
Verse 1: David’s thoughts were not *proud. "*Proud" means "to think that I am more important than I really am". "*LORD" is a special name for God. It is his covenant name. A covenant is when people agree to do something. Here, God agrees to send help to his people. They agree to love and obey him.
Verse 2: David was quiet and calm. "Calm" means "not angry". He was like a young child with its mother.
Verse 3: Some Bible students think that David did not write verse 3. Someone else wrote it, so that everybody could use the psalm. When Christians read this psalm, Israel can mean "God’s people".
Read through the psalms for climbing, (Psalms 120-134). Make a list of all the names for God that you can find. Remember: Jesus is God, so names for God are also names for Jesus! The notes in Psalm 120 explain "psalms for climbing".
calm ~ not angry.
heaven ~ the home of God; we do not know where it is.
kingdom ~ a country that has a king.
LORD ~ the covenant name of God. A covenant is when people agree to do something. God agrees to give help to his people; they agree to love and obey him.
proud ~ a proud person thinks that they are more important than they really are.
© 1997-2004, Wycliffe Associates (UK)
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words).
January 2004
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