Then the man said, “Your name will not be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel. [191] I give you this name because you have fought with God and with men, and you have not been defeated.”
Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor\par belong to you!\par Why? Because everything in heaven and on earth\par belong to you;\par The kingdom belongs to you, Lord!\par You are the Head,\par the Ruler over everything.\par
Then David said to all the group of people gathered together, “Now give praise to the Lord your God.” So all the people gave praise to the Lord God, the God their ancestors {\cf2\super [325]} worshiped. They bowed to the ground to give honor to the Lord and to the king.
The people were very happy because their leaders were happy to give so much. The leaders were happy to give freely from good hearts. King David was also very happy.
Solomon said, “Give praise to the Lord God of Israel! The Lord has done what he promised to do when he talked to David my father. This is what the Lord God said:
{\cf2\super [52]} Blessed is the Lord,\par the God of our ancestors.\par God put the idea into the king’s heart\par to honor the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem.\par
Ezra praised the Lord, the great God. And all the people held up their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” Then all the people bowed down and put their faces low to the ground and they worshiped the Lord.
Poor people, come eat and be satisfied. {\cf2\super [134]} \par You people who came looking for the Lord, praise him!\par May your hearts be happy {\cf2\super [135]} forever!\par
Look! You are our father!\par Abraham doesn’t know us.\par Israel (Jacob) does not recognize us.\par Lord, you are our father!\par You are the One who has always saved us!\par
Then the wind {\cf2\super [24]} lifted me up and I heard a voice behind me. It was very loud, like thunder. \{It said,\} “Blessed is the Glory of the Lord!”
Then at the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven. And I was in my right mind again. Then I gave praise to God Most High. I gave honor and glory to him who lives forever.
The Spirit {\cf2\super [65]} that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we say, “Abba, {\cf2\super [66]} Father.”
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. This new life brings us a living hope through Jesus Christ’s rising from death.