Psalms 103:1--105:45 
ContextBy David.
103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
With all that is within me, praise 2 his holy name!
103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Do not forget all his kind deeds! 3
103:3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases, 4
103:4 who delivers 5 your life from the Pit, 6
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, 7
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. 8
103:6 The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed. 9
103:7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts 10 to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.
103:8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient 11 and demonstrates great loyal love. 12
103:9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry. 13
103:10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; 14
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve. 15
103:11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers 16 over his faithful followers. 17
103:12 As far as the eastern horizon 18 is from the west, 19
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions 20 from us.
103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, 21
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. 22
103:14 For he knows what we are made of; 23
he realizes 24 we are made of clay. 25
103:15 A person’s life is like grass. 26
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
103:16 but when the hot wind 27 blows by, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, 28
and is faithful to their descendants, 29
103:18 to those who keep his covenant,
who are careful to obey his commands. 30
103:19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom extends over everything. 31
103:20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,
you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees
and obey his orders! 32
103:21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his, 33
you servants of his who carry out his desires! 34
103:22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made, 35
in all the regions 36 of his kingdom!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
104:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent. 38
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
104:2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
104:3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. 39
He makes the clouds his chariot,
and travels along on the wings of the wind. 40
104:4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant. 41
104:5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be upended.
104:6 The watery deep covered it 42 like a garment;
the waters reached 43 above the mountains. 44
104:7 Your shout made the waters retreat;
at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off –
104:8 as the mountains rose up,
and the valleys went down –
to the place you appointed for them. 45
104:9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,
so that they would not cover the earth again. 46
104:10 He turns springs into streams; 47
they flow between the mountains.
104:11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
104:12 The birds of the sky live beside them;
they chirp among the bushes. 48
104:13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace; 49
the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow. 50
104:14 He provides grass 51 for the cattle,
and crops for people to cultivate, 52
so they can produce food from the ground, 53
104:15 as well as wine that makes people feel so good, 54
and so they can have oil to make their faces shine, 55
as well as food that sustains people’s lives. 56
104:16 The trees of the Lord 57 receive all the rain they need, 58
the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,
104:17 where the birds make nests,
near the evergreens in which the herons live. 59
104:18 The wild goats live in the high mountains; 60
the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.
104:19 He made the moon to mark the months, 61
and the sun sets according to a regular schedule. 62
104:20 You make it dark and night comes, 63
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
104:21 The lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God. 64
104:22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and sleep 65 in their dens.
104:23 Men then go out to do their work,
and labor away until evening. 66
104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! 67
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; 68
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
104:25 Over here is the deep, wide sea, 69
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, 70
living things both small and large.
104:26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale 71 you made to play in it.
104:27 All of your creatures 72 wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis. 73
104:28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food. 74
104:29 When you ignore them, they panic. 75
When you take away their life’s breath, they die
and return to dust.
104:30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
104:31 May the splendor of the Lord endure! 76
May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made! 77
104:32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes;
he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.
104:33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist! 78
104:34 May my thoughts 79 be pleasing to him!
I will rejoice in the Lord.
104:35 May sinners disappear 80 from the earth,
and the wicked vanish!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
105:1 Give thanks to the Lord!
Call on his name!
Make known his accomplishments among the nations!
105:2 Sing to him!
Make music to him!
Tell about all his miraculous deeds!
105:3 Boast about his holy name!
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
105:4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives!
Seek his presence continually!
105:5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed, 82
105:6 O children 83 of Abraham, 84 God’s 85 servant,
you descendants 86 of Jacob, God’s 87 chosen ones!
105:7 He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth. 88
105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,
the promise he made 89 to a thousand generations –
105:9 the promise 90 he made to Abraham,
the promise he made by oath to Isaac!
105:10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise, 91
105:11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
105:12 When they were few in number,
just a very few, and resident aliens within it,
105:13 they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another. 92
105:14 He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
105:15 saying, 93 “Don’t touch my chosen 94 ones!
Don’t harm my prophets!”
105:16 He called down a famine upon the earth;
he cut off all the food supply. 95
105:17 He sent a man ahead of them 96 –
Joseph was sold as a servant.
105:18 The shackles hurt his feet; 97
his neck was placed in an iron collar, 98
105:19 until the time when his prediction 99 came true.
The Lord’s word 100 proved him right. 101
105:20 The king authorized his release; 102
the ruler of nations set him free.
105:21 He put him in charge of his palace, 103
and made him manager of all his property,
105:22 giving him authority to imprison his officials 104
and to teach his advisers. 105
105:23 Israel moved to 106 Egypt;
Jacob lived for a time 107 in the land of Ham.
105:24 The Lord 108 made his people very fruitful,
and made them 109 more numerous than their 110 enemies.
105:25 He caused them 111 to hate his people,
and to mistreat 112 his servants.
105:26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
105:27 They executed his miraculous signs among them, 113
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
they did not disobey his orders. 115
105:29 He turned their water into blood,
and killed their fish.
105:30 Their land was overrun by frogs,
which even got into the rooms of their kings.
105:31 He ordered flies to come; 116
gnats invaded their whole territory.
105:32 He sent hail along with the rain; 117
there was lightning in their land. 118
105:33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
105:34 He ordered locusts to come, 119
innumerable grasshoppers.
105:35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,
and devoured the crops of their fields. 120
105:36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power. 121
105:37 He brought his people 122 out enriched 123 with silver and gold;
none of his tribes stumbled.
105:38 Egypt was happy when they left,
for they were afraid of them. 124
105:39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, 125
and provided a fire to light up the night.
105:40 They asked for food, 126 and he sent quails;
he satisfied them with food from the sky. 127
105:41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
105:42 Yes, 128 he remembered the sacred promise 129
he made to Abraham his servant.
105:43 When he led his people out, they rejoiced;
his chosen ones shouted with joy. 130
105:44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, 131
105:45 so that they might keep his commands
and obey 132 his laws.
Praise the Lord!
1 sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.
2 tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).
3 tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the
4 tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).
5 tn Or “redeems.”
6 tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24.
7 tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (’ed’ekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (’odekhiy, “your duration; your continuance”) that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).
8 sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.
9 tn Heb “the
10 tn Heb “made known his ways.” God’s “ways” in this context are his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 18:30; 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 138:5; 145:17).
11 tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15).
12 tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).
13 tn The Hebrew verb נָטַר (natar) is usually taken to mean “to keep; to guard,” with “anger” being understood by ellipsis. The idiom “to guard anger” is then understood to mean “to remain angry” (see Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2). However, it is possible that this is a homonymic root meaning “to be angry” (see HALOT 695 s.v. נטר).
14 tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”
15 tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”
16 tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.
17 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
18 tn Heb “sunrise.”
19 tn Or “sunset.”
20 tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.
21 tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.
22 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
23 tn Heb “our form.”
24 tn Heb “remembers.”
25 tn Heb “we [are] clay.”
26 tn Heb “[as for] mankind, like grass [are] his days.” The Hebrew noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here generically of human beings. What is said is true of all mankind.
27 tn Heb “[the] wind.” The word “hot” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
28 tn Heb “but the loyal love of the
29 tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”
30 tn Heb “to those who remember his precepts to do them.”
31 tn Heb “his kingdom rules over all.”
32 tn Heb “[you] mighty ones of strength, doers of his word, by listening to the voice of his word.”
33 tn Heb “all his hosts.”
34 tn Heb “his attendants, doers of his desire.”
35 tn Heb “all his works,” which includes mankind.
36 tn Heb “places.”
37 sn Psalm 104. The psalmist praises God as the ruler of the world who sustains all life.
38 tn Heb “very great.”
39 tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.
40 sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.
41 tc Heb “and his attendants a flaming fire.” The lack of agreement between the singular “fire” and plural “attendants” has prompted various emendations. Some read “fire and flame.” The present translation assumes an emendation to “his attendant” (יו in the Hebrew text being virtually dittographic).
sn In Ugaritic mythology Yam’s messengers appear as flaming fire before the assembly of the gods. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 42.
42 tc Heb “you covered it.” The masculine suffix is problematic if the grammatically feminine noun “earth” is the antecedent. For this reason some emend the form to a feminine verb with feminine suffix, כִּסַּתָּה (kisattah, “[the watery deep] covered it [i.e., the earth]”), a reading assumed by the present translation.
43 tn Heb “stood.”
44 sn Verse 6 refers to the condition described in Gen 1:2 (note the use of the Hebrew term תְּהוֹם [tÿhom, “watery deep”] in both texts).
45 tn Heb “from your shout they fled, from the sound of your thunder they hurried off.”
sn Verses 7-8 poetically depict Gen 1:9-10.
46 tn Heb “a boundary you set up, they will not cross, they will not return to cover the earth.”
47 tn Heb “[the] one who sends springs into streams.” Another option is to translate, “he sends streams [i.e., streams that originate from springs] into the valleys” (cf. NIV).
48 tn Heb “among the thick foliage they give a sound.”
49 tn Heb “from his upper rooms.”
50 tn Heb “from the fruit of your works the earth is full.” The translation assumes that “fruit” is literal here. If “fruit” is understood more abstractly as “product; result,” then one could translate, “the earth flourishes as a result of your deeds” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB).
51 tn Heb “causes the grass to sprout up.”
52 tn Heb “for the service of man” (see Gen 2:5).
53 tn Heb “to cause food to come out from the earth.”
54 tn Heb “and wine [that] makes the heart of man happy.”
55 tn Heb “to make [the] face shine from oil.” The Hebrew verb צָהַל (tsahal, “to shine”) occurs only here in the OT. It appears to be an alternate form of צָהַר (tsahar), a derivative from צָהָרִים (tsaharim, “noon”).
56 tn Heb “and food [that] sustains the heart of man.”
57 sn The trees of the
58 tn Heb “are satisfied,” which means here that they receive abundant rain (see v. 13).
59 tn Heb “[the] heron [in the] evergreens [is] its home.”
sn The cedars and evergreens of the Lebanon forest are frequently associated (see, for example, 2 Chr 2:8; Isa 14:8; 37:24; Ezek 31:8).
60 tn Heb “the high mountains [are] for the goats.”
61 tn Heb “he made [the] moon for appointed times.” The phrase “appointed times” probably refers to the months of the Hebrew lunar calendar.
62 tn Heb more metaphorically, “knows its setting.”
63 tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”
64 sn The lions’ roaring is viewed as a request for food from God.
65 tn Heb “lie down.”
66 tn Heb “man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening.”
67 tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O
68 tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”
69 tn Heb “this [is] the sea, great and broad of hands [i.e., “sides” or “shores”].”
70 tn Heb “where [there are] swimming things, and without number.”
71 tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.
72 tn Heb “All of them.” The pronoun “them” refers not just to the sea creatures mentioned in vv. 25-26, but to all living things (see v. 24). This has been specified in the translation as “all of your creatures” for clarity.
73 tn Heb “to give their food in its time.”
74 tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] good.”
75 tn Heb “you hide your face, they are terrified.”
76 tn Heb “be forever.”
77 tn Or “rejoice in his works.”
78 tn Heb “in my duration.”
79 tn That is, the psalmist’s thoughts as expressed in his songs of praise.
80 tn Or “be destroyed.”
81 sn Psalm 105. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God because he delivered his people from Egypt in fulfillment of his covenantal promises to Abraham. A parallel version of vv. 1-15 appears in 1 Chr 16:8-22.
82 tn Heb “and the judgments of his mouth.”
83 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
84 tc Some
85 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
86 tn Heb “sons.”
87 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
88 tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”
89 tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.
90 tn Heb “which.”
91 tn Or “eternal covenant.”
92 tn Heb “and from a kingdom to another nation.”
93 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
94 tn Heb “anointed.”
95 tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).
96 tn After the reference to the famine in v. 16, v. 17 flashes back to events that preceded the famine (see Gen 37).
97 tn Heb “they afflicted his feet with shackles.”
98 tn Heb “his neck came [into] iron.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with the suffix could mean simply “he” or “his life.” But the nuance “neck” makes good sense here (note the reference to his “feet” in the preceding line). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 38.
99 tn Heb “word,” probably referring to Joseph’s prediction about the fate of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (see Gen 41:9-14).
100 tn This line may refer to Joseph’s prediction of the famine in response to Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph emphasized to Pharaoh that the interpretation of the dream came from God (see Gen 41:16, 25, 28, 32, 39).
101 tn Heb “refined him.”
102 tn Heb “[the] king sent and set him free.”
103 tn Heb “he made him master of his house.”
104 tn Heb “to bind his officials by his will.”
105 tn Heb “and his elders he taught wisdom.”
106 tn Heb “entered.”
107 tn Heb “lived as a resident alien.”
108 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
109 tn Heb “him,” referring to “his people.”
110 tn Heb “his,” referring to “his people.”
111 tn Heb “their heart.”
112 tn Or “to deal deceptively.” The Hitpael of נָכַל (nakhal) occurs only here and in Gen 37:18, where it is used of Joseph’s brothers “plotting” to kill him.
113 tn Apparently the pronoun refers to “his servants” (i.e., the Israelites, see v. 25).
114 tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”
sn He made it dark. The psalmist begins with the ninth plague (see Exod 10:21-29).
115 tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.
116 tn Heb “he spoke and flies came.”
117 tn Heb “he gave their rains hail.”
118 tn Heb “fire of flames [was] in their land.”
119 tn Heb “he spoke and locusts came.”
120 tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”
121 tn Heb “the beginning of all their strength,” that is, reproductive power (see Ps 78:51).
sn Verses 28-36 recall the plagues in a different order than the one presented in Exodus: v. 28 (plague 9), v. 29 (plague 1), v. 30 (plague 2), v. 31a (plague 4), v. 31b (plague 3), vv. 32-33 (plague 7), vv. 34-35 (plague 8), v. 36 (plague 10). No reference is made in Ps 105 to plagues 5 and 6.
122 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the
123 tn The word “enriched” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
124 tn Heb “for fear of them had fallen upon them.”
125 tn Or “curtain.”
126 tn Heb “he [i.e., his people] asked.” The singular form should probably be emended to a plural שָׁאֲלוּ (sha’alu, “they asked”), the vav (ו) having fallen off by haplography (note the vav at the beginning of the following form).
127 tn Or “bread of heaven.” The reference is to manna (see Exod 16:4, 13-15).
128 tn Or “for.”
129 tn Heb “his holy word.”
130 tn Heb “and he led his people out with joy, with a ringing cry, his chosen ones.”
131 tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”
132 tn Heb “guard.”
