WEEKENDS ARE FOR FUN 39

News Flash—PRAYER OF JABEZ FOUND

PHILIPPE SCHWARTZ
Associated Press Writer

Bethlehem, Israel—Archaeologists working among ruins on the outskirts of this ancient Jewish city have unearthed the famed “Prayer of Jabez.” The prayer, found in First Chronicles 4:10, is short, but powerful:

And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!” And God granted him that which he requested.

The prayer, actually one of twenty-seven copies, was found engraved on small plaques with notches on the back. Archaeologists speculate they were made to hang on the living room walls of devout Jews. Senior archaeologist Merle Puckerd expressed puzzlement that the original prayer was written in standard King James English, rather than the normally expected, ancient Hebrew.