6 Seek to know me while it is still possible for you to do that;

call to me while I am near!

6 Seek to know me while it is still possible for you to do that;

call to me while I am near!

1 This is what Yahweh said:

"I was ready to reply to my people,

but no one requested me to help them.

I was ready to help even those who did not call out to me.

I continued to say, ‘I am here to help you!’

29 He strengthens [DOU] those who feel weak and tired.

30 Even youths become faint and weary,

and young men will fall when they are exhausted.

31 But those who trust in Yahweh will become strong again;

it will be as though they will soar/fly high like [SIM] eagles do.

They will run for a long time and not become weary;

they will walk long distances and not faint.

11 Trust in Yahweh and in his power;

continually seek to get help from him.

11 Trust in Yahweh and in his power;

continually seek to get help from him.

9 "And you, my son Solomon, must know God like I know him, and you must serve him faithfully and because you want to. You must do that because he knows what everyone is thinking and he understands the reasons that people do what they do. If you seek to know him, he will heed your prayers. But if you abandon/reject him, he will abandon/reject you forever.

14 if the people who belong to me humble themselves and pray, and request me to help them, and if they turn away from their sinful behavior, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive them for having sinned and I will cause them to prosper again.

2 Azariah went to talk with Asa, and said to him, "Asa and all you men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, listen to me. Yahweh is with you whenever you are trusting in him. If you request him to help you, he will help you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Obed. 2 Azariah went to talk with Asa, and said to him, "Asa and all you men of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, listen to me. Yahweh is with you whenever you are trusting in him. If you request him to help you, he will help you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. 3 For many years the Israeli people did not know the true God, and they did not have priests or God’s laws. 4 But when they experienced trouble, they turned to Yahweh our God, and requested him to help them. And he helped them. 5 At that time, people were not safe when they traveled, because all the people who lived in the nearby countries were experiencing many difficulties. 6 The people of various nations were thoroughly defeated by armies of other nations, and people in some cities were crushed by armies from other cities, because God was allowing them to experience many difficulties. 7 But you people, you must be strong and do not become discouraged, because God will reward you for what you do to please him."

8 When Asa heard what the prophet Azariah said, he was encouraged. He commanded his workers to remove all the detestable idols from everywhere in the land of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and from the towns that his soldiers had captured in the hills of the tribe of Ephraim. Asa’s workers repaired the altar where people offered sacrifices to Yahweh that was in front of the entrance to the temple in Jerusalem. 9 Then he gathered all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and many people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them. He was able to do that because many people from those tribes in Israel had come to me to Judah when they realized that Yahweh, the God that Asa worshiped, was helping him.

10 After Asa had been ruling for almost 15 years, in May of that year, those people gathered in Jerusalem. 11 At that time they sacrificed to Yahweh 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats, from the animals that they had captured when they defeated the army of Ethiopia/Sudan. 12 They solemnly made an agreement to very sincerely worship Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors worshiped. 13 They promised to execute all those who would not worship Yahweh, including those who were important and those who were not important, both men and women. 14 They shouted and blew trumpets and other horns while they solemnly promised to do that. 15 All the people who were living in Judah were happy with the agreement because they had solemnly and very sincerely promised to keep it. They eagerly requested help from Yahweh, and he helped them. So he enabled them to have peace throughout their country.

16 King Asa’s grandmother Maacah had made a disgusting pole for worshiping the goddess Asherah. So Asa commanded his workers to cut down that pole and chop it into pieces and burn it in the Kidron Valley. He then did not allow Maacah to continue to influence the people because of her being the mother of the previous king. 17 Although Asa’s workers did not get rid of the shrines on the hilltops in Israel, he was very determined to do what pleased Yahweh all his life. 18 He ordered his workers to bring into God’s temple all the silver and gold and other valuable items that he and his father had dedicated to God.

19 There were no more wars in Judah until Asa had been ruling Judah almost 35 years.

13 If you earnestly desire for me to bless you, you will experience me blessing you.

13 If you earnestly desire for me to bless you, you will experience me blessing you.

29 It is as though my messages burn like a fire; they strike people’s inner beings like someone strikes a rock with a hammer and smashes it into pieces.

29 But while you are there, if you will try to know Yahweh your God, and if you try with your entire inner being to know him, he will ◄answer/reveal himself to► you.

2 Yahweh is pleased with those who ◄obey his requirements/do what he has instructed them to do►,

those who request him with their entire inner beings to help them to do that.

2 Yahweh is pleased with those who ◄obey his requirements/do what he has instructed them to do►,

those who request him with their entire inner beings to help them to do that.

10 I try to serve you with my entire inner being;

do not allow me to ◄wander away from obeying/disobey► ◄your commands/what you have commanded►.

28 I am very sad/sorrowful [IDM], with the result that I have no strength;

enable me to be strong again, like you promised me that you would do.

45 I will be free from ◄affliction/my enemies’ attacks►,

because I have tried to obey ◄your principles of behavior/what you have declared that we should do►.

4 Ask Yahweh to help you and give you his strength,

and continue to ask him!

4 Ask Yahweh to help you and give you his strength,

and continue to ask him!

8 I sensed that I heard you say, "Come and worship me [IDM],"

so, Yahweh, I will worship you.

1 God, you are the God whom I worship.

I greatly desire to be with you

like [SIL] a person in a dry hot desert greatly desires some cool water.

7 "Keep asking God for what you need. If you do that, he will give it to you. Confidently keep expecting God to give you the things that you need, and he will give them to you. It will be like [MET] looking for what you need and finding it. Keep on praying persistently to God. Then God will answer you. It will be like [MET] knocking on a door in order to enter a room. And the way will be opened {God will open the way} for you to get what you pray for.

9 So I tell you this: Keep asking God for what you need. If you do that, he will give it to you (pl). Confidently keep expecting God to give you the things that you need, and he will give them to you [MET]. It will be like looking for what you need and finding it. Keep on praying urgently to God. Then God will answer you. It will be like knocking on a door so that God will open the way for you to get what you pray for. 10 Remember that God will give things to everyone who continues to ask him for them. He will give things to whoever confidently keeps asking. He will open the way for people to get the things that they keep urgently praying for.

9 So I tell you this: Keep asking God for what you need. If you do that, he will give it to you (pl). Confidently keep expecting God to give you the things that you need, and he will give them to you [MET]. It will be like looking for what you need and finding it. Keep on praying urgently to God. Then God will answer you. It will be like knocking on a door so that God will open the way for you to get what you pray for.

31 Instead, be concerned about letting God completely direct your life. Then he will also give you enough of the things you need.

10 Remember this: I, the one who came from heaven, came to seek and save people like you(sg) who have gone astray from God, just like a shepherd who searches for his lost sheep."

10 Those who know Yahweh [MTY] trust in him;

he never abandons those who come to him ◄for help/to worship him►.

10 Those who know Yahweh [MTY] trust in him;

he never abandons those who come to him ◄for help/to worship him►.

4 I prayed to Yahweh, and he ◄answered my prayer/did what I asked him to do►;

he rescued me from all those who caused me to be afraid.

10 Lions are usually very strong, but sometimes even young lions are hungry and become weak,

but those who trust in Yahweh will ◄have everything/not lack any good thing► [LIT] that they need.

4 Be delighted with all that Yahweh does for you;

if you do that, he will give you the things that you desire most.

2 Yahweh looks down from heaven and sees humans;

he looks to see if anyone is very wise,

with the result that he desires to know God.

1 Yahweh, you have examined me,

and you know everything about me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up.

Even though you are far away from me,

you know what I am thinking.

5 ◄They will be blessed by Yahweh/Yahweh will bless them►.

When God judges them, he, who has saved them, will say that they ◄have done nothing wrong/are without fault►.

6 They are the ones who approach God,

they are the ones who may worship God, the one we Israelis worship.

(Think about that!)

4 Yahweh continues to say to the people [MTY] of Israel:

"You Israeli people, return to me!

If you do that, you will continue to remain alive.

4 Yahweh continues to say to the people [MTY] of Israel:

"You Israeli people, return to me!

If you do that, you will continue to remain alive.

14 In order to remain alive,

you must stop doing what is wrong, and start doing what is right.

If you do that, the Commander of the armies of angels will be with you

like you claim that he always is.

16 I pray that, using his unlimited resources, he will cause you to be strengthened by his Spirit {cause his Spirit to strengthen you} in your ◄inner beings/hearts► with all God’s power.

10 Finally, at all times rely/depend completely on the Lord Jesus to strengthen you spiritually by his own mighty power.

11 And we pray that God will greatly strengthen you spiritually with the mighty power that he has shown to people, in order that you will always be steadfast and patient when you experience difficulties, while at the same time you will be rejoicing.

7 Remember that God has put his Spirit within us. His Spirit does not cause us to be afraid. Instead, he causes us to be powerful to work for God, and he helps us to love others and to control what we say and do.

6 It is possible for people to please God only if they trust God, because anyone who wants to come to God must first believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek to know him.

6 It is possible for people to please God only if they trust God, because anyone who wants to come to God must first believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek to know him.

8 But you do need to know that the Holy Spirit will make you spiritually strong when he comes to live in you. Then you will powerfully tell people about me in Jerusalem and in all the other places in Judea district, in Samaria district, and in places far away all over [IDM] the world."

12 I hope/desire that Yahweh will repay you for what you have done. You have put yourself in the care of Yahweh, like a little bird puts itself under its mother’s wings [MET]. I desire that he will reward you very greatly."

6 Then Yahweh’s Spirit came upon Samson powerfully, with the result that he tore the lion apart with his hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat. But he did not tell his mother and father about it.

28 Then Samson prayed, saying, "Yahweh, my Lord, think about me again! Please give me strength one more time, so that I may get revenge on the Philistines for gouging out my eyes!"

8 It is better to trust in Yahweh

than to ◄depend on/trust in► people.

9 It is better to trust Yahweh to protect us

than to trust that influential/important people will protect us.

22 If you marry a good woman, that is like finding a wonderful thing;

it shows that Yahweh is pleased with you.

14 Similarly, being wise is good for your soul;

if you become wise,

you will be happy in the future,

and God will certainly do for you what you are confidently expecting him to do [LIT].