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Book IV

Psalms 90–106

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90 Lord, from the very beginning
    you have been like a home to us.
Before you created the whole world and the mountains were made,
    from the beginning to the end you are God.

You turn human beings back to dust.
    You say to them, “Return to dust.”
To you a thousand years
    are like a day that has just gone by.
    They are like a few hours of the night.
Yet you sweep people away, and they die.
    They are like new grass that grows in the morning.
In the morning it springs up new,
    but by evening it’s all dried up.

Your anger destroys us.
    Your burning anger terrifies us.
You have put our sins right in front of you.
    You have placed our secret sins where you can see them clearly.
You have been angry with us all of our days.
    We groan as we come to the end of our lives.
10 We live to be about 70.
    Or we may live to be 80, if we stay healthy.
But even our best days are filled with trouble and sorrow.
    The years quickly pass, and we are gone.

11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
    It’s as great as the respect we should have for you.
12 Teach us to realize how short our lives are.
    Then our hearts will become wise.

13 Lord, please stop punishing us!
    How long will you keep it up?
    Be kind to us.
14 Satisfy us with your faithful love every morning.
    Then we can sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have made us suffer.
    Give us joy for as many years as we’ve had trouble.
16 Show us your mighty acts.
    Let our children see your glorious power.

17 May the Lord our God always be pleased with us.
    Lord, make what we do succeed.
    Please make what we do succeed.

91 Whoever rests in the shadow of the Most High God
    will be kept safe by the Mighty One.
I will say about the Lord,
    “He is my place of safety.
He is like a fort to me.
    He is my God. I trust in him.”

He will certainly save you from hidden traps
    and from deadly sickness.
He will cover you with his wings.
    Under the feathers of his wings you will find safety.
    He is faithful. He will keep you safe like a shield or a tower.
You won’t have to be afraid of the terrors that come during the night.
    You won’t have to fear the arrows that come at you during the day.
You won’t have to be afraid of the sickness that attacks in the darkness.
    You won’t have to fear the plague that destroys at noon.
A thousand may fall dead at your side.
    Ten thousand may fall near your right hand.
    But no harm will come to you.
You will see with your own eyes
    how God punishes sinful people.

Suppose you say, “The Lord is the one who keeps me safe.”
    Suppose you let the Most High God be like a home to you.
10 Then no harm will come to you.
    No terrible plague will come near your tent.
11 The Lord will command his angels
    to take good care of you.
12 They will lift you up in their hands.
    Then you won’t trip over a stone.
13 You will walk on lions and cobras.
    You will crush mighty lions and poisonous snakes.

14 The Lord says, “I will save the one who loves me.
    I will keep him safe, because he trusts in me.
15 He will call out to me, and I will answer him.
    I will be with him in times of trouble.
    I will save him and honor him.
16 I will give him a long and full life.
    I will save him.”

A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.

92 Lord, it is good to praise you.
    Most High God, it is good to make music to honor you.
It is good to sing every morning about your love.
    It is good to sing every night about how faithful you are.
I sing about it to the music of the lyre that has ten strings.
    I sing about it to the music of the harp.

Lord, you make me glad by your deeds.
    I sing for joy about what you have done.
Lord, how great are the things you do!
    How wise your thoughts are!
Here is something that people without sense don’t know.
    Here is what foolish people don’t understand.
Those who are evil spring up like grass.
    Those who do wrong succeed.
    But they will be destroyed forever.

But Lord, you are honored forever.

Lord, your enemies will certainly die.
    All those who do evil will be scattered.
10 You have made me as strong as a wild ox.
    You have poured the finest olive oil on me.
11 I’ve seen my evil enemies destroyed.
    I’ve heard that they have lost the battle.

12 Those who do what is right will grow like a palm tree.
    They will grow strong like a cedar tree in Lebanon.
13 Their roots will be firm in the house of the Lord.
    They will grow strong and healthy in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they get old, they will still bear fruit.
    Like young trees they will stay fresh and strong.
15 They will say to everyone, “The Lord is honest.
    He is my Rock, and there is no evil in him.”

93 The Lord rules.
    He puts on majesty as if it were clothes.
    The Lord puts on majesty and strength.
Indeed, the world has been set in place.
    It is firm and secure.
Lord, you began to rule a long time ago.
    You have always existed.

Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice.
    They have lifted up their pounding waves.
But Lord, you are more powerful than the roar of the ocean.
    You are stronger than the waves of the sea.
    Lord, you are powerful in heaven.

Your laws do not change, Lord.
    Your temple will be holy
    for all time to come.

94 The Lord is a God who punishes.
    Since you are the one who punishes, come and show your anger.
Judge of the earth, rise up.
    Pay back proud people for what they have done.
Lord, how long will those who are evil be glad?
    How long will they be full of joy?

Proud words pour out of their mouths.
    All those who do evil are always bragging.
Lord, they crush your people.
    They treat badly those who belong to you.
They kill outsiders. They kill widows.
    They murder children whose fathers have died.
They say, “The Lord doesn’t see what’s happening.
    The God of Jacob doesn’t pay any attention to it.”

You who aren’t wise, pay attention.
    You foolish people, when will you become wise?
Does he who made the ear not hear?
    Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who corrects nations not punish?
    Does he who teaches human beings not know anything?
11 The Lord knows what people think.
    He knows that their thoughts don’t amount to anything.

12 Lord, blessed is the person you correct.
    Blessed is the person you teach from your law.
13 You give them rest from times of trouble,
    until a pit is dug to trap sinners.
14 The Lord won’t say no to his people.
    He will never desert those who belong to him.
15 He will again judge people in keeping with what is right.
    All those who have honest hearts will follow the right way.

16 Who will rise up for me against sinful people?
    Who will stand up for me against those who do evil?
17 Suppose the Lord had not helped me.
    Then I would soon have been lying quietly in the grave.
18 I said, “My foot is slipping.”
    But Lord, your faithful love kept me from falling.
19 I was very worried.
    But your comfort brought me joy.

20 Can you have anything to do with rulers who aren’t fair?
    Can those who make laws that cause suffering be friends of yours?
21 Evil people join together against those who do what is right.
    They sentence to death those who aren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.
22 But the Lord has become like a fort to me.
    My God is my rock. I go to him for safety.
23 He will pay them back for their sins.
    He will destroy them for their evil acts.
    The Lord our God will destroy them.

95 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
    Let us give a loud shout to the Rock who saves us.
Let us come to him and give him thanks.
    Let us praise him with music and song.

The Lord is the great God.
    He is the greatest King.
    He rules over all the gods.
He owns the deepest parts of the earth.
    The mountain peaks belong to him.
The ocean is his, because he made it.
    He formed the dry land with his hands.

Come, let us bow down and worship him.
    Let us fall on our knees in front of the Lord our Maker.
He is our God.
    We are the sheep belonging to his flock.
    We are the people he takes good care of.

If only you would listen to his voice today.
    He says, “Don’t be stubborn as you were at Meribah.
    Don’t be stubborn as you were that day at Massah in the desert.
There your people of long ago really tested me.
    They did it even though they had seen what I had done for them.
10 For 40 years I was angry with them.
    I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray.
    They do not know how I want them to live.’
11 So when I was angry, I made a promise.
    I said, ‘They will never enjoy the rest I planned for them.’ ”

96 Sing a new song to the Lord.
    All you people of the earth, sing to the Lord.
Sing to the Lord. Praise him.
    Day after day tell about how he saves us.
Tell the nations about his glory.
    Tell all people about the wonderful things he has done.

The Lord is great. He is really worthy of praise.
    People should have respect for him as the greatest God of all.
All the gods of the nations are like their statues.
    They can’t do anything.
    But the Lord made the heavens.
Glory and majesty are all around him.
    Strength and glory can be seen in his temple.

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
    Praise the Lord for his glory and strength.
Praise the Lord for the glory that belongs to him.
    Bring an offering and come into the courtyards of his temple.
Worship the Lord because of his beauty and holiness.
    All you people of the earth, tremble when you are with him.

10 Say to the nations, “The Lord rules.”
    The world is firmly set in place. It can’t be moved.
    The Lord will judge the people of the world fairly.
11 Let the heavens be full of joy. Let the earth be glad.
    Let the ocean and everything in it roar.
12     Let the fields and everything in them be glad.
Let all the trees in the forest sing for joy.
13     Let all creation be full of joy in front of the Lord,
    because he is coming to judge the earth.
He will faithfully judge the people of the world
    in keeping with what is right.

97 The Lord rules. Let the earth be glad.
    Let countries that are far away be full of joy.

Clouds and thick darkness surround him.
    His rule is built on what is right and fair.
The Lord sends fire ahead of him.
    It burns up his enemies all around him.
His lightning lights up the world.
    The earth sees it and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax when the Lord is near.
    He is the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens announce that what he does is right.
    All people everywhere see his glory.

All who worship statues of gods or brag about them are put to shame.
    All you gods, worship the Lord!

Zion hears about it and is filled with joy.
    Lord, the villages of Judah are glad
    because of how you judge.
Lord, you are the Most High God.
    You rule over the whole earth.
    You are honored much more than all gods.

10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil.
    He guards the lives of those who are faithful to him.
    He saves them from the power of sinful people.
11 Good things come to those who do what is right.
    Joy comes to those whose hearts are honest.
12 You who are godly, be glad because of what the Lord has done.
    Praise him, because his name is holy.

A psalm.

98 Sing a new song to the Lord.
    He has done wonderful things.
By the power of his right hand and his holy arm
    he has saved his people.
The Lord has made known his power to save.
    He has shown the nations that he does what is right.
He has shown his faithful love
    to the people of Israel.
People from one end of the earth to the other
    have seen that our God has saved us.

Shout for joy to the Lord, everyone on earth.
    Burst into joyful songs and make music.
Make music to the Lord with the harp.
    Sing and make music with the harp.
Blow the trumpets. Give a blast on the ram’s horn.
    Shout for joy to the Lord. He is the King.

Let the ocean and everything in it roar.
    Let the world and all who live in it shout.
Let the rivers clap their hands.
    Let the mountains sing together with joy.
Let them sing to the Lord,
    because he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the nations of the world
    in keeping with what is right and fair.

99 The Lord rules.
    Let the nations tremble.
He sits on his throne between the cherubim.
    Let the earth shake.
Great is the Lord in Zion.
    He is honored over all the nations.
Let them praise his great and wonderful name.
    He is holy.

The King is mighty and loves justice.
    He has set up the rules for fairness.
He has done what is right and fair
    for the people of Jacob.
Honor the Lord our God.
    Worship at his feet.
    He is holy.

Moses and Aaron were two of his priests.
    Samuel was one of those who worshiped him.
They called out to the Lord.
    And he answered them.
He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud.
    They obeyed his laws and the orders he gave them.

Lord our God, you answered them.
    You showed Israel that you are a God who forgives.
    But when they did wrong, you punished them.
Honor the Lord our God.
    Worship at his holy mountain.
    The Lord our God is holy.

A psalm for giving grateful praise.

100 Shout for joy to the Lord, everyone on earth.
    Worship the Lord with gladness.
    Come to him with songs of joy.
Know that the Lord is God.
    He made us, and we belong to him.
We are his people.
    We are the sheep belonging to his flock.

Give thanks as you enter the gates of his temple.
    Give praise as you enter its courtyards.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name.
The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever.
    It will last for all time to come.

A psalm of David.

101 I will sing about your love and fairness.
    Lord, I will sing praise to you.
I will be careful to lead a life
    that is without blame.
    When will you come and help me?

In my own home I will lead a life
    that is without blame.
    I won’t look at anything that is evil and call it good.

I hate the acts of people who aren’t faithful to you.
    I won’t have anything to do with those things.
I will stay away from those whose hearts are twisted.
    I won’t have anything to do with what is evil.

I will get rid of anyone
    who tells lies about their neighbor in secret.
I won’t put up with anyone
    whose eyes and heart are proud.

I will look with favor on the faithful people in the land.
    They will live with me.
    Those whose lives are without blame will serve me.

No one who lies and cheats
    will live in my house.
No one who tells lies
    will serve me.

Every morning I will get rid of
    all the sinful people in the land.
I will remove from the city of the Lord
    everyone who does what is evil.

A prayer of a suffering person who has become weak. They pour out their problems to the Lord.

102 Lord, hear my prayer.
    Listen to my cry for help.
Don’t turn your face away from me
    when I’m in trouble.
Pay attention to me.
    When I call out for help, answer me quickly.

My days are disappearing like smoke.
    My body burns like glowing coals.
My strength has dried up like grass.
    I even forget to eat my food.
I groan out loud because of my suffering.
    I’m nothing but skin and bones.
I’m like a desert owl.
    I’m like an owl among destroyed buildings.
I can’t sleep. I’ve become
    like a bird alone on a roof.
All day long my enemies laugh at me.
    Those who make fun of me use my name as a curse.
I eat ashes as my food.
    My tears fall into what I’m drinking.
10 You were very angry with me.
    So you picked me up and threw me away.
11 The days of my life are like an evening shadow.
    I dry up like grass.

12 But Lord, you are seated on your throne forever.
    Your fame will continue for all time to come.
13 You will rise up and show deep concern for Zion.
    The time has come for you to help Zion.
14 The stones of your destroyed city are priceless to us.
    Even its dust brings deep concern to us.
15 The nations will worship the Lord.
    All the kings on earth will respect his glorious power.
16 The Lord will build Zion again.
    He will appear in his glory.
17 He will answer the prayer of those who don’t have anything.
    He won’t say no to their cry for help.

18 Let this be written down for those born after us.
    Then people who are not yet born can praise the Lord.
19 Here is what should be written.
    “The Lord looked down from his temple in heaven.
    From heaven he viewed the earth.
20 He heard the groans of the prisoners.
    He set free those who were sentenced to death.”
21 So people will talk about him in Zion.
    They will praise him in Jerusalem.
22 Nations and kingdoms
    will gather there to worship the Lord.

23 When I was still young, he took away my strength.
    He wasn’t going to let me live much longer.
24 So I said, “My God, don’t let me die in the middle of my life.
    You will live for all time to come.
25 In the beginning you made the earth secure.
    You placed it on its foundations.
    Your hands created the heavens.
26 They will pass away. But you will remain.
    They will all wear out like a piece of clothing.
You will make them like clothes
    that are taken off and thrown away.
27 But you remain the same.
    Your years will never end.
28 Our children will live with you.
    Their sons and daughters will be safe in your care.”

A psalm of David.

103 I will praise the Lord.
    Deep down inside me, I will praise him.
    I will praise him, because his name is holy.
I will praise the Lord.
    I won’t forget anything he does for me.
He forgives all my sins.
    He heals all my sicknesses.
He saves my life from going down into the grave.
    His faithful and tender love makes me feel like a king.
He satisfies me with the good things I desire.
    Then I feel young and strong again, just like an eagle.

The Lord does what is right and fair
    for all who are treated badly.

He told Moses all about his plans.
    He let the people of Israel see his mighty acts.
The Lord is tender and kind. He is gracious.
    He is slow to get angry. He is full of love.
He won’t keep bringing charges against us.
    He won’t stay angry with us forever.
10 He doesn’t punish us for our sins as much as we should be punished.
    He doesn’t pay us back in keeping with the evil things we’ve done.
11 He loves those who have respect for him.
    His love is as high as the heavens are above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins from us.
    He has removed them as far as the east is from the west.
13 A father is tender and kind to his children.
    In the same way, the Lord is tender and kind
    to those who have respect for him.
14 He knows what we are made of.
    He remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of human beings is like grass.
    People grow like the flowers in the field.
16 When the wind blows on them, they are gone.
    No one can tell that they had ever been there.
17 But the Lord’s love
    for those who have respect for him
    lasts for ever and ever.
Their children’s children will know
    that he always does what is right.
18 He always loves those who keep his covenant.
    He always does what is right for those who remember to obey his commands.

19 The Lord has set up his throne in heaven.
    His kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his.
    Praise him, you mighty ones
    who carry out his orders and obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all you angels in heaven.
    Praise him, all you who serve him and do what he wants.
22 Let everything the Lord has made praise him
    everywhere in his kingdom.

I will praise the Lord.

104 I will praise the Lord.

Lord my God, you are very great.
    You are dressed in glory and majesty.
The Lord wraps himself in light as if it were a robe.
    He spreads out the heavens like a tent.
    He builds his palace high in the heavens.
He makes the clouds serve as his chariot.
    He rides on the wings of the wind.
He makes the winds serve as his messengers.
    He makes flashes of lightning serve him.

He placed the earth on its foundations.
    It can never be moved.
You, Lord, covered it with the oceans like a blanket.
    The waters covered the mountains.
But you commanded the waters, and they ran away.
    At the sound of your thunder they rushed off.
They flowed down the mountains.
    They went into the valleys.
    They went to the place you appointed for them.
You drew a line they can’t cross.
    They will never cover the earth again.

10 The Lord makes springs pour water into the valleys.
    It flows between the mountains.
11 The springs give water to all the wild animals.
    The wild donkeys satisfy their thirst.
12 The birds in the sky build nests by the waters.
    They sing among the branches.
13 The Lord waters the mountains from his palace high in the clouds.
    The earth is filled with the things he has made.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle
    and plants for people to take care of.
    That’s how they get food from the earth.
15 There is wine to make people glad.
    There is olive oil to make their skin glow.
    And there is bread to make them strong.
16 The cedar trees of Lebanon belong to the Lord.
    He planted them and gave them plenty of water.
17 There the birds make their nests.
    The stork has its home in the juniper trees.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats.
    The cliffs are a safe place for the rock badgers.

19 The Lord made the moon to mark off the seasons.
    The sun knows when to go down.
20 You, Lord, bring darkness, and it becomes night.
    Then all the animals of the forest prowl around.
21 The lions roar while they hunt.
    All their food comes from God.
22 The sun rises, and they slip away.
    They return to their dens and lie down.
23 Then people get up and go to work.
    They keep working until evening.

24 Lord, you have made so many things!
    How wise you were when you made all of them!
    The earth is full of your creatures.
25 Look at the ocean, so big and wide!
    It is filled with more creatures than people can count.
    It is filled with living things, from the largest to the smallest.
26 Ships sail back and forth on it.
    Leviathan, the sea monster you made, plays in it.

27 All creatures depend on you
    to give them their food when they need it.
28 When you give it to them,
    they eat it.
When you open your hand,
    they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you turn your face away from them,
    they are terrified.
When you take away their breath,
    they die and turn back into dust.
30 When you send your Spirit,
    you create them.
    You give new life to the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord continue forever.
    May the Lord be happy with what he has made.
32 When he looks at the earth, it trembles.
    When he touches the mountains, they pour out smoke.

33 I will sing to the Lord all my life.
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May these thoughts of mine please him.
    I find my joy in the Lord.
35 But may sinners be gone from the earth.
    May evil people disappear.

I will praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

105 Give praise to the Lord and announce who he is.
    Tell the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him.
    Tell about all the wonderful things he has done.
Praise him, because his name is holy.
    Let the hearts of those who trust in the Lord be glad.
Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
    Always seek him.

Remember the wonderful things he has done.
    Remember his miracles and how he judged our enemies.
Remember what he has done, you children of his servant Abraham.
    Remember it, you people of Jacob, God’s chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God.
    He judges the whole earth.

He will keep his covenant forever.
    He will keep his promise for all time to come.
He will keep the covenant he made with Abraham.
    He will keep the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He made it stand as a law for Jacob.
    He made it stand as a covenant for Israel that will last forever.
11 He said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
    It will belong to you.”

12 At first there weren’t very many of God’s people.
    There were only a few, and they were strangers in the land.
13 They wandered from nation to nation.
    They wandered from one kingdom to another.
14 But God didn’t allow anyone to treat them badly.
    To keep them safe, he gave a command to kings.
15 He said to them, “Do not touch my anointed ones.
    Do not harm my prophets.”

16 He made the people in the land go hungry.
    He destroyed all their food supplies.
17 He sent a man ahead of them into Egypt.
    That man was Joseph. He had been sold as a slave.
18 The Egyptians put his feet in chains.
    They put an iron collar around his neck.
19 He was in prison until what he said would happen came true.
    The word of the Lord proved that he was right.
20 The king of Egypt sent for Joseph and let him out of prison.
    The ruler of many nations set him free.
21 He put Joseph in charge of his palace.
    He made him ruler over everything he owned.
22 Joseph was in charge of teaching the princes.
    He taught the elders how to think and live wisely.

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