Psalm 103-104

New International Version

Psalm 103

Of David.

¹Praise the Lord,^(A) my soul;^(B)
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.^(C)
²Praise the Lord,^(D) my soul,
    and forget not^(E) all his benefits—
³who forgives all your sins^(F)
    and heals^(G) all your diseases,
⁴who redeems your life^(H) from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,^(I)
⁵who satisfies^(J) your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed^(K) like the eagle’s.^(L)

⁶The Lord works righteousness^(M)
and justice for all the oppressed.^(N)

⁷He made known^(O) his ways^(P) to Moses,
    his deeds^(Q) to the people of Israel:
⁸The Lord is compassionate and gracious,^(R)
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;^(S)
¹⁰he does not treat us as our sins deserve^(T)
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love^(U) for those who fear him;^(V)
¹²as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions^(W) from us.

¹³As a father has compassion^(X) on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴for he knows how we are formed,^(Y)
    he remembers that we are dust.^(Z)
¹⁵The life of mortals is like grass,^(AA)
    they flourish like a flower^(AB) of the field;
¹⁶the wind blows^(AC) over it and it is gone,
    and its place^(AD) remembers it no more.
¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children^(AE)—
¹⁸with those who keep his covenant^(AF)
    and remember^(AG) to obey his precepts.^(AH)

¹⁹The Lord has established his throne^(AI) in heaven,
and his kingdom rules^(AJ) over all.

²⁰Praise the Lord,^(AK) you his angels,^(AL)
    you mighty ones^(AM) who do his bidding,^(AN)
    who obey his word.
²¹Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,^(AO)
    you his servants^(AP) who do his will.
²²Praise the Lord, all his works^(AQ)
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.^(AR)

Psalm 104

¹Praise the Lord, my soul.^(AS)

Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.^(AT)

²The Lord wraps^(AU) himself in light^(AV) as with a garment;
    he stretches^(AW) out the heavens^(AX) like a tent^(AY)
³    and lays the beams^(AZ) of his upper chambers on their waters.^(BA)
He makes the clouds^(BB) his chariot^(BC)
    and rides on the wings of the wind.^(BD)
⁴He makes winds his messengers,^[a]^(BE)
    flames of fire^(BF) his servants.

⁵He set the earth^(BG) on its foundations;^(BH)
    it can never be moved.
⁶You covered it^(BI) with the watery depths^(BJ) as with a garment;
    the waters stood^(BK) above the mountains.
⁷But at your rebuke^(BL) the waters fled,
    at the sound of your thunder^(BM) they took to flight;
⁸they flowed over the mountains,
    they went down into the valleys,
    to the place you assigned^(BN) for them.
⁹You set a boundary^(BO) they cannot cross;
    never again will they cover the earth.

¹⁰He makes springs^(BP) pour water into the ravines;
    it flows between the mountains.
¹¹They give water^(BQ) to all the beasts of the field;
    the wild donkeys^(BR) quench their thirst.
¹²The birds of the sky^(BS) nest by the waters;
    they sing among the branches.^(BT)
¹³He waters the mountains^(BU) from his upper chambers;^(BV)
    the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.^(BW)
¹⁴He makes grass grow^(BX) for the cattle,
    and plants for people to cultivate—
    bringing forth food^(BY) from the earth:
¹⁵wine^(BZ) that gladdens human hearts,
    oil^(CA) to make their faces shine,
    and bread that sustains^(CB) their hearts.
¹⁶The trees of the Lord^(CC) are well watered,
    the cedars of Lebanon^(CD) that he planted.
¹⁷There the birds^(CE) make their nests;
    the stork has its home in the junipers.
¹⁸The high mountains belong to the wild goats;^(CF)
    the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.^(CG)

¹⁹He made the moon to mark the seasons,^(CH)
    and the sun^(CI) knows when to go down.
²⁰You bring darkness,^(CJ) it becomes night,^(CK)
    and all the beasts of the forest^(CL) prowl.
²¹The lions roar for their prey^(CM)
    and seek their food from God.^(CN)
²²The sun rises, and they steal away;
    they return and lie down in their dens.^(CO)
²³Then people go out to their work,^(CP)
    to their labor until evening.^(CQ)

²⁴How many are your works,^(CR) Lord!
    In wisdom you made^(CS) them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.^(CT)
²⁵There is the sea,^(CU) vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small.^(CV)
²⁶There the ships^(CW) go to and fro,
    and Leviathan,^(CX) which you formed to frolic^(CY) there.^(CZ)

²⁷All creatures look to you
    to give them their food^(DA) at the proper time.
²⁸When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied^(DB) with good things.
²⁹When you hide your face,^(DC)
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.^(DD)
³⁰When you send your Spirit,^(DE)
    they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

³¹May the glory of the Lord^(DF) endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works^(DG)—
³²he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,^(DH)
who touches the mountains,^(DI) and they smoke.^(DJ)

³³I will sing^(DK) to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³⁴May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    as I rejoice^(DL) in the Lord.
³⁵But may sinners vanish^(DM) from the earth
    and the wicked be no more.^(DN)

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.^[b]^(DO)

Footnotes

Psalm 104:4 Or angels
Psalm 104:35 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; in the Septuagint this line stands at the beginning of Psalm 105.

Galatians 4

New International Version

4 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. ²The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. ³So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery^(A) under the elemental spiritual forces^[a] of the world.^(B) ⁴But when the set time had fully come,^(C) God sent his Son,^(D) born of a woman,^(E) born under the law,^(F) ⁵to redeem^(G) those under the law, that we might receive adoption^(H) to sonship.^[b]^(I) ⁶Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son^(J) into our hearts,^(K) the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,^[c] Father.”^(L) ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.^(M)

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

⁸Formerly, when you did not know God,^(N) you were slaves^(O) to those who by nature are not gods.^(P) ⁹But now that you know God—or rather are known by God^(Q)—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces^[d]? Do you wish to be enslaved^(R) by them all over again?^(S) ¹⁰You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!^(T) ¹¹I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.^(U)

¹²I plead with you, brothers and sisters,^(V) become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. ¹³As you know, it was because of an illness^(W) that I first preached the gospel to you, ¹⁴and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.^(X) ¹⁵Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?^(Y)

¹⁷Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.^(Z) ¹⁸It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.^(AA) ¹⁹My dear children,^(AB) for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,^(AC) ²⁰how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

Hagar and Sarah

²¹Tell me, you who want to be under the law,^(AD) are you not aware of what the law says? ²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman^(AE) and the other by the free woman.^(AF) ²³His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh,^(AG) but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.^(AH)

²⁴These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. ²⁵Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶But the Jerusalem that is above^(AI) is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷For it is written:

“Be glad, barren woman,
    you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
    you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
    than of her who has a husband.”^[e]^(AJ)

²⁸Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.^(AK) ²⁹At that time the son born according to the flesh^(AL) persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.^(AM) It is the same now. ³⁰But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”^[f]^(AN) ³¹Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman,^(AO) but of the free woman.^(AP)

Footnotes

Galatians 4:3 Or under the basic principles
Galatians 4:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture.
Galatians 4:6 Aramaic for Father
Galatians 4:9 Or principles
Galatians 4:27 Isaiah 54:1
Galatians 4:30 Gen. 21:10