Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.

103 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
(B)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and (C)forget not all his benefits,
who (D)forgives all your iniquity,
    who (E)heals all your diseases,
who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
    who (G)crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who (H)satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like (I)the eagle's.

The Lord works (J)righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his (K)ways to Moses,
    his (L)acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is (M)merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
(N)He will not always chide,
    nor will he (O)keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us (P)according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For (Q)as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his (R)steadfast love toward (S)those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he (T)remove our transgressions from us.
13 As (U)a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion (V)to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;[a]
    he (W)remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like (X)grass;
    he flourishes like (Y)a flower of the field;
16 for (Z)the wind passes over it, and (AA)it is gone,
    and (AB)its place knows it no more.
17 But (AC)the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on (AD)those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to (AE)children's children,
18 to those who (AF)keep his covenant
    and (AG)remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has (AH)established his throne in the heavens,
    and his (AI)kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord, O you (AJ)his angels,
    you (AK)mighty ones who (AL)do his word,
    obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his (AM)hosts,
    his (AN)ministers, who do his will!
22 (AO)Bless the Lord, all his works,
    in all places of his dominion.
(AP)Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord My God, You Are Very Great

104 (AQ)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are (AR)very great!
(AS)You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
    covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    (AT)stretching out the heavens (AU)like a tent.
He (AV)lays the beams of his (AW)chambers on the waters;
he makes (AX)the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on (AY)the wings of the wind;
he (AZ)makes his messengers winds,
    his (BA)ministers (BB)a flaming fire.

He (BC)set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
You (BD)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
At (BE)your rebuke they fled;
    at (BF)the sound of your thunder they (BG)took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you (BH)appointed for them.
You set (BI)a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they (BJ)might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
11 they (BK)give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
13 (BL)From your lofty abode you (BM)water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause (BN)the grass to grow for the livestock
    and (BO)plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth (BP)food from the earth
15     and (BQ)wine to gladden the heart of man,
(BR)oil to make his face shine
    and bread to (BS)strengthen man's heart.

16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
    (BT)the cedars of Lebanon (BU)that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for (BV)the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for (BW)the rock badgers.

19 He made the moon to mark the (BX)seasons;[b]
    the sun knows its time for setting.
20 (BY)You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 (BZ)The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their (CA)dens.
23 (CB)Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In (CC)wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
    (CD)which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
    and (CE)Leviathan, which you formed to (CF)play in it.[c]

27 These (CG)all look to you,
    to (CH)give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you (CI)open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you (CJ)hide your face, they are (CK)dismayed;
    when you (CL)take away their breath, they die
    and (CM)return to their dust.
30 When you (CN)send forth your Spirit,[d] they are created,
    and you (CO)renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord (CP)endure forever;
    may the Lord (CQ)rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it (CR)trembles,
    who (CS)touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord (CT)as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my (CU)meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let (CV)sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
(CW)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
(CX)Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 103:14 Or knows how we are formed
  2. Psalm 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14)
  3. Psalm 104:26 Or you formed to play with
  4. Psalm 104:30 Or breath

Sons and Heirs

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,[a] though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, (A)were enslaved to the elementary principles[b] of the world. But (B)when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, (C)born (D)of woman, born (E)under the law, (F)to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive (G)adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent (H)the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then (I)an heir through God.

Paul's Concern for the Galatians

Formerly, when you (J)did not know God, you (K)were enslaved to those that by nature (L)are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather (M)to be known by God, (N)how can you turn back again to (O)the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 (P)You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid (Q)I may have labored over you in vain.

12 Brothers,[c] (R)I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. (S)You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was (T)because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you (U)at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me (V)as an angel of God, (W)as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by (X)telling you the truth?[d] 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and (Y)not only when I am present with you, 19 (Z)my little children, (AA)for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ (AB)is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

Example of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, (AC)one by a slave woman and (AD)one by a free woman. 23 But (AE)the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while (AF)the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two (AG)covenants. (AH)One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;[e] she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But (AI)the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,

(AJ)“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
    than those of the one who has a husband.”

28 Now you,[f] brothers, (AK)like Isaac, (AL)are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh (AM)persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, (AN)so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? (AO)“Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but (AP)of the free woman.

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 4:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 7
  2. Galatians 4:3 Or elemental spirits; also verse 9
  3. Galatians 4:12 Or Brothers and sisters; also verses 28, 31
  4. Galatians 4:16 Or by dealing truthfully with you
  5. Galatians 4:25 Some manuscripts For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia
  6. Galatians 4:28 Some manuscripts we

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