Psalm 103

The Forgiving God

Davidic.

My soul, praise Yahweh,
and all that is within me, praise His holy name.(A)
My soul, praise the Lord,
and do not forget all His benefits.(B)

He forgives all your sin;(C)
He heals all your diseases.(D)
He redeems your life from the Pit;(E)
He crowns you with faithful love and compassion.(F)
He satisfies you[a] with goodness;(G)
your youth is renewed like the eagle.(H)

The Lord executes acts of righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.(I)
He revealed His ways to Moses,(J)
His deeds to the people of Israel.(K)
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love.(L)
He will not always accuse us
or be angry forever.(M)
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve
or repaid us according to our offenses.(N)

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His faithful love
toward those who fear Him.(O)
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed
our transgressions from us.(P)
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.(Q)
14 For He knows what we are made of,
remembering that we are dust.(R)

15 As for man, his days are like grass—
he blooms like a flower of the field;(S)
16 when the wind passes over it, it vanishes,
and its place is no longer known.[b](T)
17 But from eternity to eternity
the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear Him,
and His righteousness toward the grandchildren(U)
18 of those who keep His covenant,
who remember to observe His precepts.(V)
19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
and His kingdom rules over all.(W)

20 Praise the Lord,
all His angels of great strength,
who do His word,
obedient to His command.(X)
21 Praise the Lord, all His armies,
His servants who do His will.(Y)
22 Praise the Lord, all His works
in all the places where He rules.(Z)
My soul, praise Yahweh!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 103:5 Lit satisfies your ornament; Hb obscure
  2. Psalm 103:16 Lit place no longer knows it

Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Compassion

Of David.[a]

103 Bless Yahweh, O my soul,
and all within me, bless his holy name.
Bless Yahweh, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits:
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with loyal love and mercies,
who satisfies your life with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Yahweh does deeds of justice
and judgments for all who are oppressed,
who made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people[b] of Israel.
Yahweh is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger[c] and abundant in loyal love.
He does not dispute continually,
nor keep his anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor repaid us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so his loyal love prevails over those who fear him.
12 As far as east is from west,
so he has removed far from us the guilt of our transgressions.
13 As a father pities[d] his children,
so Yahweh pities[e] those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame.[f]
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like the grass.
As the flower of the field, so he blossoms.
16 When the wind passes over it, it is no more,
and its place knows it no longer.
17 But the loyal love of Yahweh
is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to their children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his precepts.
19 Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless Yahweh, you his angels,
you mighty heroes who do his word
by obeying[g] the sound of his word.
21 Bless Yahweh, all you his hosts,
you his attendants who do his will.
22 Bless Yahweh, all his works,[h]
in all the places of his dominion.
Bless Yahweh, O my soul.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 103:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
  2. Psalm 103:7 Literally “sons”
  3. Psalm 103:8 Literally “long of nostrils”
  4. Psalm 103:13 Or “shows compassion to”
  5. Psalm 103:13 Or “shows compassion to”
  6. Psalm 103:14 That is, how we are formed
  7. Psalm 103:20 Literally “hearing”
  8. Psalm 103:22 That is, created things