10
How come you are never here when I need you, dear God? Why have you hidden yourself, O Yahweh? Now all the wicked people are saying to me: “O believer, you were a fool to worship Yahweh as your god; for he is absent. He never existed in the first place. You only imagined him. Now we shall slaughter you, because you are weak, and your god will never help you.”
Bad people are too prideful. They puff themselves up, and their heart is empty; they curse ineffectively and they are frivolous.
Those ruffians try to sneak up on the poor and murder them. They think that God is sleeping in an alley and will not see their crime. Therefore, wake up, God! Look at what is happening right under your nose. Why do you let the wicked people get away with this behavior? Do not forget to help the orphans. Be a real hero and step up to help the needy.
11
I trust God. I will fly to his mountain like a bird, and lodge my soul there. God lives in heaven, on his throne. God rides in his vortex with fire and smoke. He rains down brimstone on the cruel countries that lack hospitality.
12
Everyone is out of control. Neighbors talk to neighbors too fast for me to understand: they are always in a rush; their energy is wasted on daily nonsense; everyone is a motor-mouth. They are all concerned with money and markets. They say: “Who cares about Lord Yahweh? When is the last time he appeared on earth? I don’t believe he will punish me for dabbling in the amoral world of finance.
“For the sake of the poor who need a protector, I will now wake up,” says the Lord Yahweh.
And the wicked walk on every side, and the vilest men are exalted.
13
Why do you remain asleep, O Yahweh God? Why do you never return to earth, dear Jesus? Daily horrors increase, life continues to grow more sorrowful, and you are nowhere to be found. Listen to my cries, wherever you are, O gods of the olden days. Why would you let my enemies rejoice over my dead body? Rescue me! Oh, my heart shall leap up and praise you, when I see my enemies lying dead at my feet.
14
Narrowminded people say: “There is no volcano of potential.” They act like the world is just one big crime scene.
Meanwhile, Lord Yahweh God looks down from heaven, to see if he can find any humans who still believe in him. But they are all ignorant of Yahweh’s great power: every single one has turned selfish and cruel.
Will the oppressors ever become compassionate? They eat up the wayfarers like bread; they never meditate on the Volcano.
O how I yearn to see the day when God shall turn the tables on those cruel creditors. Maybe Jesus will come blasting out of the sky someday, too, and throw lightning beams at them. Ah, that would make me glad.
15
Yahweh, who is going to live in your tent? Who shall occupy your holy hill? Answer: whoever acts in accordance with lovingkindness. Not the stubborn criminals; not the vile people with hard hearts. Only the man who does not loan money at interest; only he who does not take advantage of the poor. Whoever acts with compassion will remain here permanently.
16
Let me live forever, Yahweh. Preserve me. I will not offer cups of blood as sacrifices to savage deities who work for Mammon, the Money-god. I will act with lovingkindness and compassion, and I will trust that you will take me out of the underworld of Sheol, the place where the dead go, when I expire, and wake me back up, and forbid my body to putrefy: stop the process of decomposition, and sit me next to you at the dinner table. Let us eat together. We will enjoy life as friends for the rest of eternity.
17
Jesus, God, help me: judge me correctly. Look at my soul: it has done no wrong. I have never sinned or done anything that you prohibited. Therefore, keep me in your nest, flutter over me, bear me on your wings. All my predators have enclosed me, they are fat and proud: cast them down, slice them into pieces with your sword.
Deliver me from men of the world, from the Christians and churchgoers who have much treasure in this life, whose belly you fill with abundance: they have many children, to whom they leave a large inheritance. Let them have their reward here and now, and then descend to Hades afterwards; but, as for me, I will be satisfied with the sight of your face: I will be happy, when I awake from this nightmare, to behold your likeness.
18
(Here is a som about David when he
escaped from Saul who was chasing him.)
O God you are my stronghold, my fortress, my high tower. You are my buckler and my rescue vehicle.
Enormous fireballs of death and hell came flying my way. I cried out for help. And you, dear God, were in the smoke-filled back room of your headquarters, but you heard me from there: you lifted your head and said: “Who is calling?” And I cried: “Help me escape the fireballs of death and hell!”
Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of the hills moved and were shaken, because you were angry. Smoke went up out of your nostrils. And fire came out of your mouth. The coals were kindled by your breath. The heavens bowed and you came down: darkness was under your feet. You rode on a cherub: you flew on the wings of the wind. You built a secret place out of darkness, and made a pavilion around yourself out of black waters and thick clouds, which you tore out of the sky. And you blasted out brightness before you, as you passed, with hailstones and coals of fire. Yahweh thundered in the skies, and the Highest God uttered his groan: and there were more flames and ice. You shot arrows at them, and jagged bolts of lightning, and you made tidal waves in the ocean by blowing hard. Then you came and picked me up, and brought me away from my enemies, who were too strong for me. You were pleased with my company, because I had clean hands and a cheerful spirit, so you rewarded me for being righteous.
To those who are kind, you will show yourself kind. And to those who are cruel and abusive, you will be cruel and abusive.
You brought me a candle, to light up my darkness. You were very sweet-natured and accommodating. With your aid, I was able to run through a whole army of shock-troops; you helped me jump over a wall.
Who is better than my god? I have never heard of any other deity doing such things. Shooting lighting and ice-balls at my enemies, and helping me escape from trouble: my god’s ways are perfect. He made my feet like deer hoofs, so that I could stand more surely.
He let me use his bow and arrows, and I broke the bow in my arms, because he gave me so much strength. All my enemies fell under my feet, and I trampled over them with my hoofs as I ran. I stepped on their necks and snuffed out their spirits, I left them dead. All the strangers saw my great brave heroic deeds, and they bowed to me: they submitted to my rule, and offered to pay me taxes. Ah! I have defeated all the nations. They were violent, but I killed them. Now I compel all the strangers to sing praises to my god. This is the new reality forever after.
19
God built the world. He crafted it. He designed and constructed it. He gave the sun and moon a common language, so that they could understand each other. God pitched a tent for the sun. Now look: the sun emerges from his tent like an Olympic champion who just spent the night with his loveliest concubine. He goes back and forth in the sky, from one end to the other: nothing can escape his heat.
The wisdom of Yahweh is more desirable than gold, and sweeter than honey in the honeycomb.
If you listen to God, he will warn you away from danger, and help you sidestep traps and snares. I cannot locate any flaw or fault in my god. Can you understand his errors?
Let my words be the right ones to give you satisfaction, O Yahweh my redeemer. Steer me away from the giant pit.
20
May the Lord Yahweh hear me when I call to him for help. I hope he remembers all the times that I grilled steaks and prayed to him before eating.
I will rejoice when you come and make everything right for your admirers, dear God. Some trust in armored tanks and airplanes and rocket launchers, but I trust in your name: Yahweh Peor. And some call you Jesus. And some say that Jesus is your son. But the people who doubt you, and who dislike you; those who shoot their bullets up at heaven, to war against you; they will be surprised when you come out of the clouds of the sky with your right hand raised. With a shout, you will cause distress to those assailants. What happened to the foes who attacked our god? They got brought down to the ground: they are fallen. But we are risen: we stand upright. Always take the side of Allah.
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