Psalm 107
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Book V
(Psalms 107–150)
Psalm 107
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(A)
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble(B)
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.[a](C)
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to an inhabited town;(D)
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;(E)
7 he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.(F)
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.(G)
9 For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.(H)
10 Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,(I)
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.(J)
12 Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
they fell down, with no one to help.(K)
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;(L)
14 he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds apart.(M)
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.(N)
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.(O)
17 Some were sick[b] through their sinful ways
and because of their iniquities endured affliction;(P)
18 they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.(Q)
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
20 he sent out his word and healed them
and delivered them from destruction.(R)
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
22 And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.(S)
23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.(T)
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;(U)
27 they reeled and staggered like drunkards
and were at their wits’ end.(V)
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
29 he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.(W)
30 Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.(X)
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.(Y)
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,(Z)
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(AA)
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.(AB)
36 And there he lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.(AC)
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.(AD)
39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,(AE)
40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes,(AF)
41 but he raises up the needy out of distress
and makes their families like flocks.(AG)
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness stops its mouth.(AH)
43 Let those who are wise pay attention to these things
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.(AI)
Psalm 107
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
107 A canticle of a psalm for David himself.
2 My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and will give praise, with my glory.
3 Arise, my glory; arise, psaltery and harp: I will arise in the morning early.
4 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing unto thee among the populations.
5 For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth even unto the clouds.
6 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory over all the earth:
7 That thy beloved may be delivered. Save with thy right hand and hear me.
8 God hath spoken in his holiness. I will rejoice, and I will divide Sichem and I will mete out the vale of tabernacles.
9 Galaad is mine, and Manasses is mine and Ephraim the protection of my head. Juda is my king:
10 Moab the pot of my hope. Over Edom I will stretch out my shoe: the aliens are become my friends.
11 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
12 Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our armies?
13 O grant us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
14 Through God we shall do mightily: and he will bring our enemies to nothing.
Psalm 107
The Message
107 1-3 Oh, thank God—he’s so good!
His love never runs out.
All of you set free by God, tell the world!
Tell how he freed you from oppression,
Then rounded you up from all over the place,
from the four winds, from the seven seas.
4-9 Some of you wandered for years in the desert,
looking but not finding a good place to live,
Half-starved and parched with thirst,
staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.
Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God.
He got you out in the nick of time;
He put your feet on a wonderful road
that took you straight to a good place to live.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
He poured great drafts of water down parched throats;
the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.
10-16 Some of you were locked in a dark cell,
cruelly confined behind bars,
Punished for defying God’s Word,
for turning your back on the High God’s counsel—
A hard sentence, and your hearts so heavy,
and not a soul in sight to help.
Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
he got you out in the nick of time.
He led you out of your dark, dark cell,
broke open the jail and led you out.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
He shattered the heavy jailhouse doors,
he snapped the prison bars like matchsticks!
17-22 Some of you were sick because you’d lived a bad life,
your bodies feeling the effects of your sin;
You couldn’t stand the sight of food,
so miserable you thought you’d be better off dead.
Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
he got you out in the nick of time.
He spoke the word that healed you,
that pulled you back from the brink of death.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
Offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
tell the world what he’s done—sing it out!
23-32 Some of you set sail in big ships;
you put to sea to do business in faraway ports.
Out at sea you saw God in action,
saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean:
With a word he called up the wind—
an ocean storm, towering waves!
You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out;
your hearts were stuck in your throats.
You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk,
you didn’t know which end was up.
Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
he got you out in the nick of time.
He quieted the wind down to a whisper,
put a muzzle on all the big waves.
And you were so glad when the storm died down,
and he led you safely back to harbor.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
Lift high your praises when the people assemble,
shout Hallelujah when the elders meet!
33-41 God turned rivers into wasteland,
springs of water into sunbaked mud;
Luscious orchards became alkali flats
because of the evil of the people who lived there.
Then he changed wasteland into fresh pools of water,
arid earth into springs of water,
Brought in the hungry and settled them there;
they moved in—what a great place to live!
They sowed the fields, they planted vineyards,
they reaped a bountiful harvest.
He blessed them and they prospered greatly;
their herds of cattle never decreased.
But abuse and evil and trouble declined
as he heaped scorn on princes and sent them away.
He gave the poor a safe place to live,
treated their clans like well-cared-for sheep.
42-43 Good people see this and are glad;
bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks.
If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—
it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson