104  ⁿBless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, ^oyou are very great!

You are ^pclothed with splendor and majesty,

2  ^qcovering yourself with light as with a garment,

^rstretching out the heavens like a tent.

3  He lays the beams of his ^schambers on the waters;

he makes the clouds his chariot;

he rides on the wings of the wind;

4  ^the makes his messengers winds,

his ministers a flaming fire.

5  He set the earth on its foundations,

so that it should never be moved.

6  You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood ^uabove the mountains.

7  At your rebuke they fled;

at the ^vsound of your thunder they took to flight.

8  ^wThe mountains rose, the valleys sank down

to the place that you appointed for them.

9  You ^xset a boundary that they may not pass,

^yso that they might not again cover the earth.

10  You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills;

11  they ^zgive drink to every beast of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12  Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;

they sing among the branches.

13  From your lofty abode you water the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14  You cause the grass to grow for the livestock

and ^aplants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth food from the earth

15  and wine to gladden the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine

and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

16  The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17  In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has her home in the fir trees.

18  The high mountains are for the wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19  He made the moon ^bto mark the seasons;¹

the sun knows its time for setting.

20  You make darkness, and it is night,

when all the beasts of the forest creep about.

21  The young lions roar for their prey,

^cseeking their food from God.

22  When the sun rises, they steal away

and lie down in their dens.

23  Man goes out to his work

and to his ^dlabor until the evening.

24  O Lord, how manifold are your works!

^eIn wisdom have you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

25  Here is the sea, great and wide,

which teems with creatures innumerable,

living things both small and ^fgreat.

26  There go the ships,

and ^gLeviathan, which you formed to play in it.²

27  ^hThese all look to you,

to give them their food in due season.

28  When you give it to them, they gather it up;

when you ⁱopen your hand, they are ^jfilled with good things.

29  When you ^khide your face, they are dismayed;

when you ^ltake away their breath, they die

and ^mreturn to their dust.

30  When you send forth your Spirit,³ they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground.

31  May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

may the Lord ⁿrejoice in his works,

32  who looks on the earth and it trembles,

who ^otouches the mountains and they smoke!

33  I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

^pI will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34  ^qMay my meditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the Lord.

35  Let sinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more!

^rBless the Lord, O my soul!

Praise the Lord!

105  ^sOh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!

2  Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wondrous works!

3  ^tGlory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord ^urejoice!

4  Seek the Lord and his strength;

^vseek his presence continually!

5  ^wRemember the wondrous works that he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

6  O offspring of Abraham, his servant,

children of Jacob, ^xhis chosen ones!

7  He is the Lord our God;

his judgments are in all the earth.

8  He ^yremembers his covenant ^zforever,

the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

9  ^athe covenant that he made with Abraham,

^bhis sworn promise to Isaac,

10  which he ^cconfirmed to Jacob as a statute,

to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

11  saying, “To you I will give the ^dland of Canaan

as your portion for an inheritance.”

12  When they were few in number,

of little account, and sojourners in it,

13  wandering from nation to nation,

from one kingdom to another people,

14  ^ehe allowed no one to oppress them;

^fhe rebuked kings on their account,

15  saying, ^g“Touch not my anointed ones,

do my prophets no harm!”

16  When he ^hsummoned a famine on the land

and broke all supply¹ of bread,

17  ⁱhe had sent a man ahead of them,

Joseph, who was ^jsold as a slave.

18  ^kHis feet were hurt with fetters;

his neck was put in a collar of iron;

19  ^luntil what he had said came to pass,

the word of the Lord tested him.

20  ^mThe king sent and released him;

the ruler of the peoples set him free;

21  ⁿhe made him lord of his house

and ruler of all his possessions,

22  ^oto bind² his princes at his pleasure

and to teach his elders wisdom.

23  Then ^pIsrael came to Egypt;

Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

24  And ^qthe Lord made his people very fruitful

and made them stronger than their foes.

25  ^rHe turned their hearts to hate his people,

to deal craftily with his servants.

26  He ^ssent Moses, his servant,

and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

27  ^tThey performed his ^usigns among them

and miracles in the land of Ham.

28  ^vHe sent darkness, and made the land dark;

they did not rebel³ against his words.

29  ^wHe turned their waters into blood

and caused their fish to die.

30  ^xTheir land swarmed with frogs,

even in the chambers of their kings.

31  He spoke, and ^ythere came swarms of flies,

and ^zgnats throughout their country.

32  ^aHe gave them hail for rain,

and ^bfiery lightning bolts through their land.

33  He struck down their vines and fig trees,

and shattered the trees of their country.

34  He spoke, and ^cthe locusts came,

young locusts without number,

35  which devoured all the vegetation in their land

and ate up the fruit of their ground.

36  ^dHe struck down all the firstborn in their land,

^ethe firstfruits of all their strength.

37  ^fThen he brought out Israel with silver and gold,

and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.

38  ^gEgypt was glad when they departed,

for dread of them had fallen upon it.

39  He spread a ^hcloud for a covering,

and fire to give light by night.

40  They asked, and ⁱhe brought quail,

and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.

41  ^jHe opened the rock, and water gushed out;

it flowed through the desert like a river.

42  For he remembered his holy promise,

and Abraham, his servant.

43  So he brought his people out with joy,

his chosen ones ^kwith singing.

44  And he gave them the lands of the nations,

and ^lthey took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil,

45  that they might keep his statutes

and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord!

106  Praise the Lord!

Oh ^mgive thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

2  Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,

or declare all his praise?

3  ⁿBlessed are they who observe justice,

who do righteousness at all times!

4  Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;

help me when you save them,¹

5  that I may look upon the prosperity of ^oyour chosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that I may glory with your inheritance.

6  Both ^pwe and our fathers have sinned;

we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.

7  Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,

did not consider your wondrous works;

they did not remember the ^qabundance of your steadfast love,

but ^rrebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

8  Yet ^she saved them ^tfor his name’s sake,

that he might ^umake known his mighty power.

9  ^vHe rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,

and he ^wled them through the deep as through a desert.

10  So he saved them from the hand of the foe

and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.

11  And the waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left.

12  Then they believed his words;

^xthey sang his praise.

13  But they soon forgot his works;

they did not wait for his ^ycounsel.

14  ^zBut they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,

and put God to the test in the desert;

15  he gave them what they asked,

but sent a wasting disease among them.

16  ^aWhen men in the camp were jealous of Moses

and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,

17  the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the company of Abiram.

18  Fire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.

19  ^bThey ^cmade a calf in Horeb

and worshiped a ^dmetal image.

20  They ^eexchanged the glory of God²

for the ^fimage of an ox that eats grass.

21  They ^gforgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,

22  wondrous works in the land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

23  ^hTherefore he said he would destroy them—

had not Moses, his chosen one,

ⁱstood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

24  Then they despised the pleasant land,

^jhaving no faith in his promise.

25  They ^kmurmured in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

26  Therefore he raised his hand and ^lswore to them

^mthat he would make them fall in the wilderness,

27  and would make their offspring fall among the nations,

ⁿscattering them among the lands.

28  ^oThen they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

29  they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

30  Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,

and the plague was stayed.

31  And ^pthat was ^qcounted to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

32  ^rThey angered him at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account,

33  for they made his spirit bitter,³

and he spoke rashly with his lips.

34  ^sThey did not destroy the peoples,

^tas the Lord commanded them,

35  ^ubut they mixed with the nations

and learned to do as they did.

36  They served their idols,

which became a ^vsnare to them.

37  ^wThey sacrificed their sons

and their daughters ^xto the demons;

38  they poured out innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

and the land was ^ypolluted with blood.

39  Thus they became unclean by their acts,

and played the ^zwhore in their deeds.

40  Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his heritage;

41  he gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that ^athose who hated them ruled over them.

42  Their enemies ^boppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

43  Many times he ^cdelivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes

and were brought low through their iniquity.

44  Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,

when he heard their ^dcry.

45  For their sake he ^eremembered his covenant,

and ^frelented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

46  He caused them to be ^gpitied

by all those who held them captive.

47  ^hSave us, O Lord our God,

and ⁱgather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

48  ^jBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord!

107  Oh ^kgive thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

2  Let ^lthe redeemed of the Lord say so,

whom he has ^mredeemed from trouble¹

3  and ⁿgathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

4  Some ^owandered in desert wastes,

finding no way to a city to dwell in;

5  hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted within them.

6  ^pThen they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

7  He led them by a straight way

till they reached a city to dwell in.

8  ^qLet them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

9  For he ^rsatisfies the longing soul,

and ^sthe hungry soul he fills with good things.

10  Some ^tsat in ^udarkness and in the shadow of death,

prisoners in affliction and in irons,

11  for they had rebelled against the words of God,

and spurned the ^vcounsel of the Most High.

12  So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;

they fell down, with ^wnone to help.

13  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

14  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,

and burst their bonds apart.

15  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

16  For he ^xshatters the doors of bronze

and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17  Some were fools through their sinful ways,

and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

18  they ^yloathed any kind of food,

and they drew near to the gates of death.

19  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

20  He sent out his word and healed them,

and delivered them from their destruction.

21  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

22  And let them offer ^zsacrifices of thanksgiving,

and ^atell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23  Some went down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the great waters;

24  they saw the deeds of the Lord,

his wondrous works in the deep.

25  For ^bhe commanded and raised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;

^ctheir courage melted away in their evil plight;

27  they reeled and staggered like drunken men

and were at their wits’ end.²

28  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

29  ^dHe made the ^estorm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

30  Then they were glad that the waters³ were quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

31  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

32  Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,

and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33  He turns rivers into a desert,

springs of water into thirsty ground,

34  a fruitful land into a salty waste,

because of the evil of its inhabitants.

35  He turns a desert into pools of water,

a parched land into springs of water.

36  And there he lets the hungry dwell,

and they establish a city to live in;

37  they sow fields and plant vineyards

and get a fruitful yield.

38  By his ^fblessing they multiply greatly,

and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39  When they are diminished and brought low

through oppression, evil, and sorrow,

40  ^ghe pours contempt on princes

and ^hmakes them wander in trackless wastes;

41  but he raises up the needy out of affliction

and makes their families like flocks.

42  ⁱThe upright see it and are glad,

and ^jall wickedness shuts its mouth.

43  Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;

let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

108  ^kMy heart is steadfast, O God!

^lI will sing and make melody with all my being!¹

2  Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

3  ^mI will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

4  For your steadfast love is great ⁿabove the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

5  ^oBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

6  ^pThat your beloved ones may be delivered,

give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

7  God has promised in his holiness:²

“With exultation I will divide up Shechem

and portion out the Valley of Succoth.

8  Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet,

Judah my ^qscepter.

9  Moab is my washbasin;

upon Edom I cast my shoe;

over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

10  Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

11  Have you not ^rrejected us, O God?

^sYou do not go out, O God, with our armies.

12  Oh grant us help against the foe,

for vain is the salvation of man!

13  With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes.