Psalm 66

Praise for God’s Mighty Acts

For the choir director. A song. A psalm.

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!(A)
Sing about the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.(B)
Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are Your works!
Your enemies will cringe before You
because of Your great strength.(C)
All the earth will worship You
and sing praise to You.
They will sing praise to Your name.”(D)Selah

Come and see the wonders of God;(E)
His acts for humanity are awe-inspiring.
He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the river on foot.(F)
There we rejoiced in Him.(G)
He rules forever by His might;
He keeps His eye on the nations.(H)
The rebellious should not exalt themselves.(I)Selah
Praise our God, you peoples;
let the sound of His praise be heard.(J)
He keeps us alive[a]
and does not allow our feet to slip.(K)

10 For You, God, tested us;
You refined us as silver is refined.(L)
11 You lured us into a trap;
You placed burdens on our backs.(M)
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but You brought us out to abundance.[b](N)

13 I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my vows(O)
14 that my lips promised
and my mouth spoke during my distress.(P)
15 I will offer You fattened sheep as burnt offerings,
with the fragrant smoke of rams;
I will sacrifice oxen with goats.(Q)Selah

16 Come and listen, all who fear God,
and I will tell what He has done for me.(R)
17 I cried out to Him with my mouth,
and praise was on my tongue.(S)
18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.(T)
19 However, God has listened;
He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.(U)
20 May God be praised!
He has not turned away my prayer
or turned His faithful love from me.(V)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 66:9 Lit He sets our soul in life
  2. Psalm 66:12 Or a place of satisfaction

Thanksgiving to God for His Works

For the music director. A song. A psalm.[a]

66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth.
Sing the glory of his name.
Set forth his glorious praise.[b]
Say to God, “How awesome are your works!
Because of the greatness of your strength,
your enemies will cringe before you.
All the earth will bow in worship to you,
and sing praise to you.
They will sing the praise of your name.” Selah
Come and consider[c] the works of God;
he is awesome in his dealings[d] with the children of humankind.
He turned the sea into dry ground;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
He rules by his might forever;
his eyes keep watch on the nations.
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.[e] Selah
Bless our God, O peoples,
and cause the sound of his praise to be heard,
the one who has kept our soul among the living,
and has not allowed our foot to slip.
10 For you have tested us, O God;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net;
you placed a heavy burden[f] on our backs.
12 You let men[g] ride over our heads.
We went through fire and through water,
but you have brought us out to the place of abundance.[h]
13 I will come into your house[i] with burnt offerings.
I will pay to you my vows
14 that my lips uttered,
and my mouth spoke in my distress.
15 Burnt offerings of fat animals I will offer to you,
with the smoke of rams.
I will do[j] cattle with rams. Selah
16 Come and hear, all you God-fearers, and I will tell
what he has done for me.[k]
17 I called to him with my mouth,
and he was extolled with my tongue.[l]
18 If I had considered evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God has listened;
he has attended to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
who has not turned aside my prayer,
or his loyal love from me.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 66:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
  2. Psalm 66:2 Literally “set for glory—his praise”
  3. Psalm 66:5 Literally “see”
  4. Psalm 66:5 Hebrew “dealing”
  5. Psalm 66:7 According to the reading tradition (Qere)
  6. Psalm 66:11 Literally “oppression”
  7. Psalm 66:12 Hebrew “man”
  8. Psalm 66:12 A slightly different Hebrew word yields “a broad place”
  9. Psalm 66:13 Or “temple”
  10. Psalm 66:15 That is, “offer”
  11. Psalm 66:16 Hebrew “my soul”
  12. Psalm 66:17 A slightly different Hebrew word yields “his exaltation was under my tongue”