Psalms 104
104
Psalm 104
1Praise the Lord, my soul!
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2You cover yourself with light as though it were a robe.
You stretch out the heavens as though they were curtains.
3You lay the beams of your home in the water.
You use the clouds for your chariot.
You move on the wings of the wind.
4You make your angels winds
and your servants flames of fire.
5You set the earth on its foundations
so that it can never be shaken.
6You covered the earth with an ocean as though it were a robe.
Water stood above the mountains
7and fled because of your threat.
Water ran away at the sound of your thunder.
8The mountains rose and the valleys sank
to the place you appointed for them.
9Water cannot cross the boundary you set
and cannot come back to cover the earth.
10You make water gush from springs into valleys.
It flows between the mountains.
11Every wild animal drinks ⌞from them⌟.
Wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12The birds live by the streams.
They sing among the branches.
13You water the mountains from your home above.
You fill the earth with the fruits of your labors.
14You make grass grow for cattle
and make vegetables for humans to use
in order to get food from the ground.
15You make wine to cheer human hearts,
olive oil to make faces shine,
and bread to strengthen human hearts.
16The Lord’s trees, the cedars in Lebanon which he planted,
drink their fill.
17Birds build their nests in them.
Storks make their homes in fir trees.
18The high mountains are for wild goats.
The rocks are a refuge for badgers.
19He created the moon, which marks the seasons,
and the sun, which knows when to set.
20He brings darkness, and it is nighttime,
when all the wild animals in the forest come out.
21The young lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.
22When the sun rises,
they gather and lie down in their dens.
23Then people go to do their work,
to do their tasks until evening.
24What a large number of things you have made, O Lord!
You made them all by wisdom.
The earth is filled with your creatures.
25The sea is so big and wide with countless creatures,
living things both large and small.
26Ships sail on it,
and Leviathan, which you made, plays in it.
27All of them look to you to give them their food at the right time.
28You give it to them, and they gather it up.
You open your hand, and they are filled with blessings.
29You hide your face, and they are terrified.
You take away their breath, and they die and return to dust.
30You send out your Spirit, and they are created.
You renew the face of the earth.
31May the glory of the Lord endure forever.
May the Lord find joy in what he has made.
32He looks at the earth, and it trembles.
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33I will sing to the Lord throughout my life.
I will make music to praise my God as long as I live.
34May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
I will find joy in the Lord.
35May sinners vanish from the world.
May there no longer be any wicked people.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
Hallelujah!
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Psalms 104: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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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