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Psalm 65

Thanksgiving for Earth’s Bounty

To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Praise is due to you,
    O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed,(A)
    O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.(B)
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
    you forgive our transgressions.(C)
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
    to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
    your holy temple.(D)

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
    O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas.(E)
By your[a] strength you established the mountains;
    you are girded with might.(F)
You silence the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    the tumult of the peoples.(G)
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it;
    you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
    you provide the people with grain,
    for so you have prepared it.(H)
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
    settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
    and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
    your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills gird themselves with joy;(I)
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks;
    the valleys deck themselves with grain;
    they shout and sing together for joy.(J)

Footnotes

  1. 65.6 Gk Jerome: Heb his

Psalm 65[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

Praise awaits[b] you, our God, in Zion;(A)
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.(B)
You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.(C)
When we were overwhelmed by sins,(D)
    you forgave[c] our transgressions.(E)
Blessed are those you choose(F)
    and bring near(G) to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,(H)
    of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,(I)
    God our Savior,(J)
the hope of all the ends of the earth(K)
    and of the farthest seas,(L)
who formed the mountains(M) by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,(N)
who stilled the roaring of the seas,(O)
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.(P)
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.(Q)

You care for the land and water it;(R)
    you enrich it abundantly.(S)
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,(T)
    for so you have ordained it.[d]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers(U) and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,(V)
    and your carts overflow with abundance.(W)
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;(X)
    the hills are clothed with gladness.(Y)
13 The meadows are covered with flocks(Z)
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;(AA)
    they shout for joy and sing.(AB)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 65:1 In Hebrew texts 65:1-13 is numbered 65:2-14.
  2. Psalm 65:1 Or befits; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Psalm 65:3 Or made atonement for
  4. Psalm 65:9 Or for that is how you prepare the land

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.(A) 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake.(B) 16 Say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, “Let my people go, so that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But until now you have not listened.(C) 17 Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord.” See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood.(D) 18 The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.’ ”(E) 19 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water—so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.”(F)

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of his officials he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile; all the water in the river was turned into blood,(G) 21 and the fish in the river died. The river stank so that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt.(H) 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.(I) 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.

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The Plague of Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding;(A) he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river.(B) Confront him on the bank of the Nile,(C) and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship(D) me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.(E) 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord:(F) With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.(G) 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink;(H) the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”(I)

19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff(J) and stretch out your hand(K) over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels[a] of wood and stone.”

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.(L) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,(M) and all the water was changed into blood.(N) 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

22 But the Egyptian magicians(O) did the same things by their secret arts,(P) and Pharaoh’s heart(Q) became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water(R), because they could not drink the water of the river.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 7:19 Or even on their idols

The Storm at Sea

13 When a moderate south wind began to blow, they thought they could achieve their purpose; so they weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a violent wind, called the northeaster, rushed down from Crete.[a](A) 15 Since the ship was caught and could not be turned head-on into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven. 16 By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda[b] we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control. 17 After hoisting it up they took measures to undergird the ship; then, fearing that they would run on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and so were driven.(B) 18 We were being pounded by the storm so violently that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard,(C) 19 and on the third day with their own hands they threw the ship’s tackle overboard. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss.(D) 22 I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.(E) 23 For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship,(F) 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor, and, indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’(G) 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.(H) 26 But we will have to run aground on some island.”(I)

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on they took soundings again and found fifteen fathoms. 29 Fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 But when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea on the pretext of putting out anchors from the bow,(J) 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and set it adrift.

33 Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive, for none of you will lose a hair from your heads.”(K) 35 After he had said this, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat.(L) 36 Then all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves.(M) 37 (We were in all two hundred seventy-six[c] persons in the ship.) 38 After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. 27.14 Gk it
  2. 27.16 Other ancient authorities read Clauda
  3. 27.37 Other ancient authorities read about seventy-six

The Storm

13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force,(A) called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat(B) secure, 17 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground(C) on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor[a] and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.(D) 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice(E) not to sail from Crete;(F) then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage,(G) because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel(H) of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve(I) stood beside me(J) 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar;(K) and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’(L) 25 So keep up your courage,(M) men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.(N) 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground(O) on some island.”(P)

The Shipwreck

27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic[b] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet[c] deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet[d] deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat(Q) down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”(R) 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.

33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.”(S) 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it(T) and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged(U) and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.(V)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 27:17 Or the sails
  2. Acts 27:27 In ancient times the name referred to an area extending well south of Italy.
  3. Acts 27:28 Or about 37 meters
  4. Acts 27:28 Or about 27 meters