Psalm 104:1–106:23
Praise to Yahweh for His Creation and Providence
104 Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
O Yahweh my God, you are very great.
You clothe yourself with splendor and majesty,
2 you who cover yourself with light as with a garment,
who stretch out the heavens like a tent curtain,
3 the one who sets beams in the waters for his upper chambers,
who makes clouds his chariot,
who ridesa on the wings of the wind,
4 who makes his messengers the winds,
his attendants a flame of fire.
5 He established the earth on her foundations,
so that it will not be moved forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment.
The waters stood above the mountains.
at the sound of your thunder they ran off.
8 They ascended the mountains and drained through the valleys
to the place that you establishedb for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not cross over,
so that they would not return to cover the earth.
10 You are the one who sends forth springs into the valleys;
they flow between the mountains.
11 They give drink for every beast of the field.
The wild donkeys ⌊quench⌋c their thirst.
12 Along them the birds of the heavens abide.
From among the branches they ⌊sing⌋.d
13 You are the one who ⌊waters⌋e the mountains
from his upper chambers.
The earth is fullf with the fruit of your labors:
14 who causes grass to grow for the cattle
and herbs for the service of humankind,
to bring forth food from the earth,
15 and wine that makes glad the heart of man,
so that their faces shine from oil,
and bread that strengthens the heart of man.
16 The trees of Yahweh drink their fill,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,
17 where birds make their nest.
The stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He made the moon for appointed times;
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
wheng all the animals of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions are roaring for the prey
and seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they gather together
and lie down in their dens.
23 Humankind goes out to its work,
and to its labor until evening.
24 How many are your works, O Yahweh;
all of them you have done in wisdom.
The earth is full of your creatures.
25 This is the great and ⌊wide⌋h sea,
in which are moving animals without number,
living things small and great.
Leviathan is there that you formed to play with.i
to give them their food ⌊at the proper time⌋.j
28 You give to them; they gather it.
You open your hand, they are filled with what is good.
29 You hide your face, they are terrified.
You take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 You send forth your Spirit,k they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of Yahweh endure forever.
May Yahweh be glad in his works,
32 the one who looks at the earth and it quakes,
and touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to Yahweh throughout my life;
I will sing praise to my God while ⌊I remain alive⌋.l
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him.
I will be glad in Yahweh.
35 Let sinners perish completely from the earth,
and the wicked ⌊not remain alive⌋.m
Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
Praise Yah.n
Praise to Yahweh for His Work on Behalf of Israel
105 Give thanks to Yahweh; proclaim his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him; sing praises concerning him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
4 Make supplication to Yahweh and his might;
seek his face continually.
5 Remember his wonders that he has done,
his signs and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
you descendantsa of Jacob, his chosen ones.
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded
for a thousand generations,
and by his oath swore to Isaac.
10 He then confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the allotment that is yourb inheritance.”
12 When they were ⌊few in number⌋c—
a trifle—and were sojourners in it,
13 and they wandered about ⌊among the nations⌋,d
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them,
and he rebuked kings on account of them,
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones,
nor harm my prophets.”
16 Then he called for a famine upon the land;
he broke every ⌊supply⌋e of bread.
17 He sent a man on ahead of them;
Joseph was sold as a slave.
18 They clampedf his feet in fetters.g
19 Until the time his word came about,
the word of Yahweh testedj him.
20 The king sent and he freed him;
the ruler of the peoples sent and let him loose.
21 He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to obligatek his officials ⌊as he saw fit⌋l
and teach his elders wisdom.
and Jacob was a sojourner in the land of Ham.
24 And hem made his people very fruitful.
He also made themn stronger than theiro enemies.
25 He turned their heart to hate his people,
to deal deceitfully against his servants.
together with Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 They set before them the words concerning his signs
and portents in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made it dark,
and they did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
and it killed their fish.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came flies
and gnats throughout all their territory.p
32 He gave hail for their rains
and the fire of lightning in their land.
33 And he struck their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their territory.
34 He spoke and there came locusts
and young locusts without number.
35 And they ate up all the vegetation in their land,
and they ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 And he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first of all their virility.
37 Then he brought them out with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
because the fear of themq had fallen upon them.
39 He spread out a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light at night.
40 Theyr asked, and he brought quail,
and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock and waters flowed;
they courseds through the dry places like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy ⌊promise⌋;t
he remembered Abraham his servant.
43 And so he brought out his people with joy,
his chosen ones with rejoicing.
44 And he gave to them the lands of the nations,
and they inherited the labor of the peoples,
45 so that they might observe his statutes,
and keep his laws.
Praise Yah.u
Praise to Yahweh for His Faithfulness in Israel’s History
106 Praise Yah.a Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love is forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of Yahweh,
or proclaim all his praise?
3 Blessed are those who observe justice,
he who does righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O Yahweh, when you show favor to your people.
Look after me when you deliver,
5 that I may see the good done your chosen ones,
to be glad in the joy of your nation,
to glory together with your inheritance.
6 We have sinned along with our ancestors.b
We have committed iniquity; we have incurred guilt.
7 Our ancestorsc in Egypt did not understand your wonderful works.
They did not remember your many acts of loyal love,
and so they rebelled by the sea at ⌊the Red Sea⌋.d
8 Yet he saved them for the sake of his name,
to make known his might.
9 So he rebuked ⌊the Red Sea⌋,e and it dried up,
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 Thus he saved them from the hand of the hater
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 But waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.
13 They quickly forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
14 And they ⌊craved intensely⌋f in the wilderness,
and tested God in the desert.
15 So he gave to them their request,
but he sent leanness into their souls.g
16 And they were jealous of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of Yahweh.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and it covered over the gang of Abiram.
18 Also fire burned in their assembly;
the flame devoured the wicked.
and bowed down to a cast image.
20 And so they exchanged their glory
for an image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,
awesome deeds by ⌊the Red Sea⌋.h
23 So he said he would exterminate them,
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to reverse his wrath from destroying them.