Psalm 103

The Forgiving God

Of David.

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

He forgives all your iniquity;(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 good things;(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 abounding 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 iniquities.(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 Bless the Lord,
all his angels of great strength,
who do his word,
obedient to his command.(X)
21 Bless the Lord, all his armies,
his servants who do his will.(Y)
22 Bless the Lord, all his works
in all the places where he rules.(Z)
My soul, bless the Lord!

Footnotes

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

Davidic

Praise God, who Forgives

103 Bless the Lord, my soul,
    and all that is within me, bless[a] his holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul,
    and never forget any of his benefits:
He continues to forgive all your sins,
    he continues to heal all your diseases,
he continues to redeem your life from the Pit,[b]
    and he continuously surrounds you
        with gracious love and compassion.
He keeps satisfying you with good things,
    and he keeps renewing your youth like the eagle’s.

The Lord continuously does what is right,
    executing justice for all who are being oppressed.
He revealed his plans[c] to Moses
    and his deeds to the people of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    patient,[d] and abundantly rich in gracious love.
He does not maintain a dispute[e] continuously
    or remain angry for all time.
10 He neither deals with us according to our sins,
    nor repays us equivalent to our iniquity.

11 As high as heaven rises above earth,
    so his gracious love strengthens[f] those who fear him.
12 As distant as the east is from the west,
    that is how far he has removed our sins from us.
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
    so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were formed,
    aware that we were made from dust.

15 A person’s life is like grass—
    it blossoms like wild flowers,
16 but when the wind blows through it,
    it withers away and no one remembers where it was.
17 Yet the Lord’s gracious love remains
    throughout eternity for those who fear him
        and his righteous acts extend to their children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
    and to those who remember to observe his precepts.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven
    and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord, you angels who belong to him,
    you mighty warriors who carry out his commands,
        who are obedient to the sound of his words.[g]
21 Bless the Lord, all his heavenly armies,
    his ministers who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his creation,[h]
    in all the places of his dominion.

Bless the Lord, my soul.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 103:1 The Heb. lacks bless
  2. Psalm 103:4 I.e. the place of punishment in the afterlife
  3. Psalm 103:7 Lit. ways
  4. Psalm 103:8 Lit. slow of anger
  5. Psalm 103:9 Or not rebuke
  6. Psalm 103:11 MT phrase high as sounds like MT verb strengthens
  7. Psalm 103:20 So LXX 4QPsb; MT LXX read word
  8. Psalm 103:22 Lit. works; or deeds