BOOK FIVE

Psalms 107–150

Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance

107 Oh, (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His [a]mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
And (B)gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.

They wandered in (C)the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
(D)Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
And He led them forth by the (E)right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
(F)Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For (G)He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

10 Those who (H)sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
(I)Bound[b] in affliction and irons—
11 Because they (J)rebelled against the words of God,
And [c]despised (K)the counsel of the Most High,
12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was (L)none to help.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
14 (M)He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.
15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For He has (N)broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two.

17 Fools, (O)because of their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 (P)Their soul abhorred all manner of food,
And they (Q)drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
20 (R)He sent His word and (S)healed them,
And (T)delivered them from their destructions.
21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
22 (U)Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And (V)declare His works with [d]rejoicing.

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
24 They see the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
25 For He commands and (W)raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
26 They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
(X)Their soul melts because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And [e]are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
29 (Y)He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
31 (Z)Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt Him also (AA)in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders.

33 He (AB)turns rivers into a wilderness,
And the watersprings into dry ground;
34 A (AC)fruitful land into [f]barrenness,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 (AD)He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
And dry land into watersprings.
36 There He makes the hungry dwell,
That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,
37 And sow fields and plant vineyards,
That they may yield a fruitful harvest.
38 (AE)He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
And He does not let their cattle (AF)decrease.

39 When they are (AG)diminished and brought low
Through oppression, affliction, and sorrow,
40 (AH)He pours contempt on princes,
And causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way;
41 (AI)Yet He sets the poor on high, far from affliction,
And (AJ)makes their families like a flock.
42 (AK)The righteous see it and rejoice,
And all (AL)iniquity stops its mouth.

43 (AM)Whoever is wise will observe these things,
And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 107:1 Heb. same as goodness, vv. 8, 15, 21, 31, and lovingkindness, v. 43
  2. Psalm 107:10 Prisoners
  3. Psalm 107:11 scorned
  4. Psalm 107:22 joyful singing
  5. Psalm 107:27 Lit. all their wisdom is swallowed up
  6. Psalm 107:34 Lit. a salty waste

Thanksgiving to Yahweh for His of Deliverance

107 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love is forever.
Let the redeemed of Yahweh declare[a] it,
those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
and gathered from the lands,
from east and from west, from north and from south.[b]
They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert.
They could find no way[c] to a city to inhabit.
Hungry and thirsty,
their soul grew faint within them.
Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble.
He delivered them from their distresses
and led them by a straight way
to get to a city to inhabit.
Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love,
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
for he satisfies the longing soul,[d]
and the hungry soul he fills with good.
10 Those who sat in darkness and gloom,
prisoners of misery and iron—
11 because they rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the counsel of the Most High,
12 he therefore humbled their heart with trouble.
They stumbled and there was no helper.
13 Then they called to Yahweh for help in their trouble;
he saved them from their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and tore off their bonds.
15 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
16 for he shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts through the bars of iron.
17 Fools, because of their rebellious way
and their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorred all food,
and they approached the gates of death.
19 Then they called to Yahweh for help in their trouble.
He saved them from their distresses.
20 He sent his word and healed them,
and he delivered them from their pits.[e]
21 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love,
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
22 and let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his works with rejoicing.
23 Those who went down to the sea into ships,
doing business on the high seas,[f]
24 they saw the works of Yahweh,
and his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
and it whipped up its waves.
26 They rose to the heavens; they plunged to the depths.
Their soul melted in their calamity.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
and they were at their wits’ end.[g]
28 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distresses.
29 He made the storm be still
and their waves became calm.
30 Then they were glad because they grew silent,
so he guided them to their desired harbor.
31 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
32 and let them exalt him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a wilderness
and springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty place,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a wilderness into a pool of water
and a dry land into springs of water.
36 And he settles the hungry there,
so that they may establish a city to inhabit,
37 and sow fields and plant vineyards,
that they may yield fruit at harvest.[h]
38 And he blesses them and they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle become few.
39 When they become few and they are bent down
from the oppression of calamity and grief,
40 he pours contempt on princes
and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41 But he protects[i] the needy from misery,
and he makes their families like a flock.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, then let him observe these things,
and let them consider Yahweh’s acts of loyal love.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 107:2 Hebrew “say”
  2. Psalm 107:3 Hebrew “sea” (yam), which usually means “west” in a listing of directions. The word “south” is expected (Hebrew yamin). Either the MT was corrupted early (along with Isa 49:12; the LXX reads “sea” in both) or it looks to the bodies of waters to the south (see also the Targum)
  3. Psalm 107:4 The MT reads “way” with the previous line.
  4. Psalm 107:9 Thirst is perhaps in view
  5. Psalm 107:20 This word is only found elsewhere in Lam 4:20 with the sense of “traps”
  6. Psalm 107:23 Literally “many waters”
  7. Psalm 107:27 Literally “all their wisdom was swallowed up”
  8. Psalm 107:37 Hebrew “and make a fruit of produce”
  9. Psalm 107:41 The sense is that of making something inaccessibly high, like a fortress