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. 1
104:13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace; 2
the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow. 3
104:14 He provides grass 4 for the cattle,
and crops for people to cultivate, 5
so they can produce food from the ground, 6
104:27 All of your creatures 7 wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis. 8
104:28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food. 9
104:29 When you ignore them, they panic. 10
When you take away their life’s breath, they die
and return to dust.
1 tn Heb “among the thick foliage they give a sound.”
2 tn Heb “from his upper rooms.”
3 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).
4 tn Heb “causes the grass to sprout up.”
5 tn Heb “for the service of man” (see Gen 2:5).
6 tn Heb “to cause food to come out from the earth.”
7 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.
8 tn Heb “to give their food in its time.”
9 tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] good.”
10 tn Heb “you hide your face, they are terrified.”