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...A Place for Personal Communion with Me

National Prayer of the Kingdom of New Kidron

Sirach 36:1–22 (NRSV translation and numbering)[1]

Have mercy upon us, O God of all, and put all the nations in fear of you. Lift up your hand against foreign nations and let them see your might. As you have used us to show your holiness to them, so use them to show your glory to us. Then they will know, as we have known, that there is no God but you, O Lord.

Give new signs, and work other wonders; make your hand and right arm glorious. Rouse your anger and pour out your wrath; destroy the adversary and wipe out the enemy. Hasten the day, and remember the appointed time, let people recount your mighty deeds. Let survivors be consumed in the fiery wrath, and may those who harm your people meet destruction. Crush the heads of hostile rulers who say, There is no one but ourselves. Gather all the tribes of Jacob, and give them their inheritance, as at the beginning. Have mercy, O Lord, on the people called by your name, on Israel, on whom you have named your firstborn. Have pity on the city of your sanctuary, Jerusalem, the place of your dwelling. Fill Zion with your majesty, and your temple with your glory. Bear witness to those whom you created in the beginning, and fulfill the prophecies spoken in your name. Reward those who wait for you and let your prophets be found trustworthy. Hear, O Lord, the prayer of your servants, according to your goodwill toward your people, and all who are on the earth will know that you are the Lord, the God of the ages.

Description

I've adopted this prayer from Sirach (or "Ecclesiasticus") as a national prayer for the Kingdom of New Kidron. As I wanted to have a prayer which was both Biblically grounded and reflective of the purpose of New Kidron, I chose this just in time for World Missions Day (July 10), 2009. Both the short version (the first section) and long version (both sections) are frequently used here in New Kidron. Since the NRSV has one of the most complete renderings of this passage, I often use this translation for the prayer.[2]

Authorship

The prayer itself is said to be written by the son of Sirach. However, the NRSV translation of this prayer has serious copy restrictions, and is copyrighted in many jurisdictions; I have used it here only with permission.[3]

I created this metadata on June 26, 2011 and last modified it on June 30, 2013.

Footnotes

  1. 1. Because of differences in Bible numberings, this prayer may occur in a different chapter and take up a different number of verses in other translations.
  2. 2. Other translations, such as Sir Lancelot Brenton's, have what I would consider a better translation, but either lack the full prayer or have more distracting wording.
  3. 2. See the summary of the NRSV copyright and usage restrictions. Available via http://www.nrsv.net/contact/licensing-permissions/

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