The House Of God
Psalm 132
An EasyEnglish Translation with Notes (about 1200 word vocabulary) on Psalm 132
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, "(People) will call my house 'the place where people from every country will pray'." (Mark 11:17)
(This is) a song for climbing.
v1 *LORD, remember David and all his troubles.
v2 He promised the
*LORD.
He made this special promise to the *Mighty One of
Jacob.
v3 "I will not go into my house or get into my bed.
v4 I will not shut my
eyes or go to sleep
until I find a place for the *LORD.
v5 It will be a place where the *Mighty One of Jacob will live".
v6 We heard that it
was at Ephratah.
And we found it in the fields of Jaar.
v7 We will go into
the place where he lives.
And we will *worship at his feet.
v8 Get up, *LORD. And
go into the place where you can rest.
Go in yourself, with the *ark.
The *ark shows that you are strong.
v9 (I pray that) all
your *priests will be *righteous
and all your *saints will shout.
They will shout because they are so happy.
v10 Remember your servant David
and do not turn away the face of your *messiah.
v11 The *LORD promised David what
would happen.
He will not turn from it.
"I will put the fruit of your body on your
*throne.
v12 Your children should obey my
rules.
And they should do what I will teach them.
Then their children will always sit on your
*throne".
v13 The *LORD chose Zion.
He wants it for a place to live in.
v14 "This is where I will
always rest. This is what I want.
So I will live here", he said.
v15 "I will do a lot of good
things for her.
I will give food to the poor people in her.
v16 All her *priests will be safe
and her *saints will shout aloud.
They will shout because they are so happy.
v17 There I will make David very
strong.
The light of my *messiah will never go out.
v18 His enemies will be ashamed.
But his *crown will shine and be bright!’
We do not know who wrote this psalm. Maybe it was Solomon when he built God’s house (called the *temple) in Jerusalem. Or maybe Ezra or Nehemiah wrote it when they built the *temple again about 450 years later. Perhaps someone whose name we do not know wrote it! The notes on Psalm 120 in this set of psalms explain "song for climbing".
Verses 1 - 5: These verses tell us that David wanted to bring the ark of God into Jerusalem. The ark was a special box that was very important to the *Jews. After a war with the Philistines, who lived near the *Jews, they left the ark in a place called "Kiriath-Jearim". David had a lot of trouble when he brought it into Jerusalem. He also wanted to build a house to put it in. But God would not let him. "The *Mighty One of Jacob" is another name for God. "*LORD" is a special name for God that his people use. It is his *covenant name. A *covenant is when people agree to do something. God agrees to give his people help; his people agree to love and obey him.
Verses 6 - 10: tell us that the *Jews found "it" (the ark) in the country round Kiriath-Jearim (or Jaar). It was in a place called Ephratah. The ark was a special box that Moses made from wood. After they brought the ark into Jerusalem, they said the words in verses 7-10. "The place where you can rest" is the house of God. "Rest" means "not work" and "*priests and *saints" are servants of God. Christians believe that the *Messiah is Jesus. But here it means the King of Israel. "Worship God" means "tell God that you love him".
Verses 11 - 18: tell us about God’s promises. Many Christians believe that they happened when Jesus came to the earth. "*Messiah" is the *Hebrew word for "Christ". The *Jews spoke the *Hebrew language and wrote the psalms in *Hebrew. "*Messiah" means "*anointed", or "oil poured on". Look at the notes on Psalm 133 in this set of psalms. In verse 11, "the fruit of your body" means "your children". The "*throne" in verse 12 is a special chair that a king sits on. His "crown" in verse 18 is the "special hat that he wears". The light of the *messiah will never go out because Jesus will always be the Light of the World.
1. Count God’s promises in Psalm 132:11-18.
2. What was in the ark of God? Look for the answer is in Hebrews 9:4.
3. Read about how the ark came to Jaar (see Psalm 132:6) in 1 Samuel chapters 6 and 7.
anoint ~ to pour oil on a person; it showed that God had chosen them as a king or a *priest.
ark ~ a box that they made from wood.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 for more about the covenant.
crown ~ a special hat that a king wears.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
LORD ~ the *covenant name of God. (See note on verses 1-5.)
Messiah ~ *anointed; a name for the Kings of Judah and Israel. For Christians, the name of Jesus.
Mighty One of Jacob ~ a name for God; mighty means powerful.
priests ~ servants of God in his house, the *temple in Jerusalem.
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people who love and obey him are righteous. Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the word ‘righteous’.
saints ~ people that love and obey God.
temple ~ the house of God in Jerusalem (or the house of any god).
throne ~ a special seat that a king sits on.
worship ~ love and obey.
Zion ~ Jerusalem was on a mountain called Zion.
© 1997-2004, Wycliffe Associates (UK)
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words).
January 2004
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