Psalms 104
104
Praise of God the Creator
I
1Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and splendor,
2robed in light as with a cloak.
You spread out the heavens like a tent;#Prv 8:27–28; Jb 9:8; Is 40:22; Gn 1:6–7; Am 9:6.
3setting the beams of your chambers upon the waters.#Your chambers upon the waters: God’s heavenly dwelling above the upper waters of the sky, cf. Gn 1:6–7; Ps 29:10.
You make the clouds your chariot;
traveling on the wings of the wind.
4You make the winds your messengers;
flaming fire, your ministers.#Heb 1:7.
II
5#God places the gigantic disk of the earth securely on its foundation and then, as a warrior, chases away the enveloping waters and confines them under, above, and around the earth.You fixed the earth on its foundation,
so it can never be shaken.
6The deeps covered it like a garment;
above the mountains stood the waters.
7At your rebuke they took flight;
at the sound of your thunder they fled.#Ps 29:3.
8They rushed up the mountains, down the valleys
to the place you had fixed for them.
9You set a limit they cannot pass;
never again will they cover the earth.#Jer 5:22; Gn 9:11–15.
III
10You made springs flow in wadies
that wind among the mountains.
11They give drink to every beast of the field;#Ps 147:8–9.
here wild asses quench their thirst.
12Beside them the birds of heaven nest;
among the branches they sing.
13You water the mountains from your chambers;
from the fruit of your labor the earth abounds.
14You make the grass grow for the cattle
and plants for people’s work
to bring forth food from the earth,
15wine to gladden their hearts,
oil to make their faces shine,
and bread to sustain the human heart.
16#Even the exotic flora and fauna of the high mountains of the Lebanon range receive adequate water.The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
the cedars of Lebanon, which you planted.
17There the birds build their nests;
the stork in the junipers, its home.#Ez 31:6.
18The high mountains are for wild goats;
the rocky cliffs, a refuge for badgers.
IV
19You made the moon to mark the seasons,#Sir 43:6.
the sun that knows the hour of its setting.
20You bring darkness and night falls,
then all the animals of the forest wander about.
21Young lions roar for prey;
they seek their food from God.#Jb 38:39.
22When the sun rises, they steal away
and settle down in their dens.
23People go out to their work,
to their labor till evening falls.
V
24How varied are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.#Ps 92:6; Sir 39:16.
25There is the sea, great and wide!
It teems with countless beings,
living things both large and small.#Sir 43:26.
26There ships ply their course
and Leviathan,#Leviathan: a sea monster symbolizing primeval chaos, cf. Ps 74:14; Is 27:1; Jb 40:25. God does not destroy chaos but makes it part of the created order. whom you formed to play with.#Jb 3:8; 40:25, 29.
VI
27All of these look to you
to give them food in due time.#Ps 136:25; 145:15–16.
28When you give it to them, they gather;
when you open your hand, they are well filled.
29#On one level, the spirit (or wind) of God is the fall and winter rains that provide food for all creatures. On another, it is the breath (or spirit) of God that makes beings live.When you hide your face, they panic.
Take away their breath, they perish
and return to the dust.#Ps 90:3; Jb 34:14–15; Eccl 3:20.
30Send forth your spirit, they are created
and you renew the face of the earth.
VII
31May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord be glad in his works!
32Who looks at the earth and it trembles,
touches the mountains and they smoke!#Ps 144:5.
33I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.#Ps 146:2.
34May my meditation be pleasing to him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35May sinners vanish from the earth,
and the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, my soul! Hallelujah!#Hallelujah: a frequent word in the last third of the Psalter. The word combines the plural imperative of praise (hallelu) with an abbreviated form of the divine name Yah(weh).
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Psalms 104: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Psalm 104
104
O Lord My God, You Are Very Great
1 #
Ps. 103:1, 2, 22 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are #See 2 Sam. 7:22 very great!
#
Ps. 93:1; Job 40:10; [Job 37:22] You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2covering yourself with light as with a garment,
# See Job 9:8 stretching out the heavens #Isa. 40:22like a tent.
3He #Amos 9:6 lays the beams of his #ver. 13 chambers on the waters;
he makes #Isa. 19:1 the clouds his chariot;
he rides on #Ps. 18:10; 2 Sam. 22:11the wings of the wind;
4he #Cited Heb. 1:7; [Ps. 148:8] makes his messengers winds,
his #Ps. 103:21 ministers #[2 Kgs. 1:10; 2:11]a flaming fire.
5He #Ps. 24:2; 89:11; 136:6; See Job 38:4set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6You #Gen. 7:19covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7At #Ps. 18:15; [Ps. 106:9; Gen. 1:9; 8:1, 5; Matt. 8:26] your rebuke they fled;
at #Ps. 77:18 the sound of your thunder they #Ps. 48:5took to flight.
8The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you #[Job 38:8, 10, 11]appointed for them.
9You set #See Job 26:10 a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they #See Gen. 9:11-16might not again cover the earth.
10You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11they #[ver. 13]give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 # ver. 3 From your lofty abode you #[Ps. 65:9; 147:8; Deut. 11:11; Job 5:10; Jer. 10:13; 14:22]water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14You cause #Ps. 147:8, 9 the grass to grow for the livestock
and #Gen. 1:11, 29, 30; 3:18; 9:3 plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth #Job 28:5; [Ps. 136:25; 147:9]food from the earth
15and #Judg. 9:13; Eccles. 10:19; [Prov. 31:6, 7] wine to gladden the heart of man,
# [Ps. 23:5; Judg. 9:9] oil to make his face shine
and bread to #[Gen. 18:5]strengthen man’s heart.
16The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
# See Judg. 9:15 the cedars of Lebanon #[Num. 24:6]that he planted.
17In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18The high mountains are for #See Job 39:1 the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for #Lev. 11:5; Prov. 30:26the rock badgers.
19He made the moon to mark the #Gen. 1:14; Lev. 23:4seasons;#104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14)
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 #
Isa. 45:7
You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 #
Job 38:39
The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their #Job 37:8dens.
23 # [Gen. 3:19] Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In #Prov. 3:19wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25Here is the sea, great and wide,
#
Ps. 69:34
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26There go the ships,
and #See Job 41:1 Leviathan, which you formed to #[Job 40:20]play in it.#104:26 Or you formed to play with
27These #Ps. 145:15 all look to you,
to #[ver. 14]; See Job 36:31give them their food in due season.
28When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you #Ps. 145:16open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29When you #Ps. 30:7; [Deut. 31:17] hide your face, they are #Job 23:15 dismayed;
when you #See Job 34:14 take away their breath, they die
and #See Job 10:9return to their dust.
30When you #See Job 33:4 send forth your Spirit,#104:30 Or breath they are created,
and you #[Rev. 21:5]renew the face of the ground.
31May the glory of the Lord #Ps. 72:17 endure forever;
may the Lord #[Gen. 1:31; Prov. 8:31]rejoice in his works,
32who looks on the earth and it #[Hab. 3:10] trembles,
who #Ps. 144:5; Ex. 19:18; [Amos 9:5]touches the mountains and they smoke!
33I will sing to the Lord #See Ps. 63:4as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34May my #Job 15:4meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35Let #See Ps. 37:38 sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
# See ver. 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
#
Ps. 105:45; 106:48; 113:9; 150:6 Praise the Lord!
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