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Psalm 104

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

O Lord my God, how great you are!
    You are robed with honor and majesty.
    You are dressed in a robe of light.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
    you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot;
    you ride upon the wings of the wind.
The winds are your messengers;
    flames of fire are your servants.[a]

You placed the world on its foundation
    so it would never be moved.
You clothed the earth with floods of water,
    water that covered even the mountains.
At your command, the water fled;
    at the sound of your thunder, it hurried away.
Mountains rose and valleys sank
    to the levels you decreed.
Then you set a firm boundary for the seas,
    so they would never again cover the earth.

10 You make springs pour water into the ravines,
    so streams gush down from the mountains.
11 They provide water for all the animals,
    and the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds nest beside the streams
    and sing among the branches of the trees.
13 You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home,
    and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor.
14 You cause grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for people to use.
You allow them to produce food from the earth—
15     wine to make them glad,
olive oil to soothe their skin,
    and bread to give them strength.
16 The trees of the Lord are well cared for—
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests,
    and the storks make their homes in the cypresses.
18 High in the mountains live the wild goats,
    and the rocks form a refuge for the hyraxes.[b]

19 You made the moon to mark the seasons,
    and the sun knows when to set.
20 You send the darkness, and it becomes night,
    when all the forest animals prowl about.
21 Then the young lions roar for their prey,
    stalking the food provided by God.
22 At dawn they slink back
    into their dens to rest.
23 Then people go off to their work,
    where they labor until evening.

24 O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
    In wisdom you have made them all.
    The earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
    teeming with life of every kind,
    both large and small.
26 See the ships sailing along,
    and Leviathan,[c] which you made to play in the sea.

27 They all depend on you
    to give them food as they need it.
28 When you supply it, they gather it.
    You open your hand to feed them,
    and they are richly satisfied.
29 But if you turn away from them, they panic.
    When you take away their breath,
    they die and turn again to dust.
30 When you give them your breath,[d] life is created,
    and you renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
    The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!
32 The earth trembles at his glance;
    the mountains smoke at his touch.

33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
    I will praise my God to my last breath!
34 May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth;
    let the wicked disappear forever.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. 104:4 Greek version reads He sends his angels like the winds, / his servants like flames of fire. Compare Heb 1:7.
  2. 104:18 Or coneys, or rock badgers.
  3. 104:26 The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.
  4. 104:30 Or When you send your Spirit.

Psalm 104

God the Creator and Provider

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
    O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty,(A)
    wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent;(B)
    you set the beams of your[a] chambers on the waters;
you make the clouds your[b] chariot;
    you ride on the wings of the wind;(C)
you make the winds your[c] messengers,
    fire and flame your[d] ministers.(D)

You set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it shall never be shaken.(E)
You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.(F)
At your rebuke they flee;
    at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys,
    to the place that you appointed for them.(G)
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.(H)

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills,(I)
11 giving drink to every wild animal;
    the wild asses quench their thirst.(J)
12 By the streams[e] the birds of the air have their habitation;
    they sing among the branches.(K)
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.(L)

14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle
    and plants for people to cultivate,
to bring forth food from the earth(M)
15     and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine
    and bread to strengthen the human heart.(N)
16 The trees of the field[f] are watered abundantly,
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.(O)
19 You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
    the sun knows its time for setting.(P)
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.(Q)
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.(R)
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
    and lie down in their dens.
23 People go out to their work
    and to their labor until the evening.(S)

24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom you have made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.(T)
25 There is the sea, great and wide;
    creeping things innumerable are there,
    living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships
    and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.(U)

27 These all look to you
    to give them their food in due season;(V)
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
    when you take away their breath, they die
    and return to their dust.(W)
30 When you send forth your spirit,[g] they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.(X)

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

Footnotes

  1. 104.3 Heb his
  2. 104.3 Heb his
  3. 104.4 Heb his
  4. 104.4 Heb his
  5. 104.12 Heb By them
  6. 104.16 Gk: Heb trees of the Lord
  7. 104.30 Or your breath