Discovery BoxPsalms 105:27-45 
Context105:27 They executed his miraculous signs among them, 1
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
they did not disobey his orders. 3
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; 4
gnats invaded their whole territory.
105:32 He sent hail along with the rain; 5
there was lightning in their land. 6
105:33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
105:34 He ordered locusts to come, 7
innumerable grasshoppers.
105:35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,
and devoured the crops of their fields. 8
105:36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power. 9
105:37 He brought his people 10 out enriched 11 with silver and gold;
none of his tribes stumbled.
105:38 Egypt was happy when they left,
for they were afraid of them. 12
105:39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, 13
and provided a fire to light up the night.
105:40 They asked for food, 14 and he sent quails;
he satisfied them with food from the sky. 15
105:41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
105:42 Yes, 16 he remembered the sacred promise 17
he made to Abraham his servant.
105:43 When he led his people out, they rejoiced;
his chosen ones shouted with joy. 18
105:44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, 19
105:45 so that they might keep his commands
and obey 20 his laws.
Praise the Lord!
1 tn Apparently the pronoun refers to “his servants” (i.e., the Israelites, see v. 25).
2 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).
3 tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.
4 tn Heb “he spoke and flies came.”
5 tn Heb “he gave their rains hail.”
6 tn Heb “fire of flames [was] in their land.”
7 tn Heb “he spoke and locusts came.”
8 tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”
9 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.
10 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the
11 tn The word “enriched” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
12 tn Heb “for fear of them had fallen upon them.”
13 tn Or “curtain.”
14 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).
15 tn Or “bread of heaven.” The reference is to manna (see Exod 16:4, 13-15).
16 tn Or “for.”
17 tn Heb “his holy word.”
18 tn Heb “and he led his people out with joy, with a ringing cry, his chosen ones.”
19 tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”
20 tn Heb “guard.”
