Psalm 103-104

New International Version

Psalm 103

Of David.

¹Praise the Lord,^(A) my soul;^(B)
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.^(C)
²Praise the Lord,^(D) my soul,
    and forget not^(E) all his benefits—
³who forgives all your sins^(F)
    and heals^(G) all your diseases,
⁴who redeems your life^(H) from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,^(I)
⁵who satisfies^(J) your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed^(K) like the eagle’s.^(L)

⁶The Lord works righteousness^(M)
and justice for all the oppressed.^(N)

⁷He made known^(O) his ways^(P) to Moses,
    his deeds^(Q) to the people of Israel:
⁸The Lord is compassionate and gracious,^(R)
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;^(S)
¹⁰he does not treat us as our sins deserve^(T)
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love^(U) for those who fear him;^(V)
¹²as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions^(W) from us.

¹³As a father has compassion^(X) on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴for he knows how we are formed,^(Y)
    he remembers that we are dust.^(Z)
¹⁵The life of mortals is like grass,^(AA)
    they flourish like a flower^(AB) of the field;
¹⁶the wind blows^(AC) over it and it is gone,
    and its place^(AD) remembers it no more.
¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children^(AE)—
¹⁸with those who keep his covenant^(AF)
    and remember^(AG) to obey his precepts.^(AH)

¹⁹The Lord has established his throne^(AI) in heaven,
and his kingdom rules^(AJ) over all.

²⁰Praise the Lord,^(AK) you his angels,^(AL)
    you mighty ones^(AM) who do his bidding,^(AN)
    who obey his word.
²¹Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,^(AO)
    you his servants^(AP) who do his will.
²²Praise the Lord, all his works^(AQ)
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.^(AR)

Psalm 104

¹Praise the Lord, my soul.^(AS)

Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.^(AT)

²The Lord wraps^(AU) himself in light^(AV) as with a garment;
    he stretches^(AW) out the heavens^(AX) like a tent^(AY)
³    and lays the beams^(AZ) of his upper chambers on their waters.^(BA)
He makes the clouds^(BB) his chariot^(BC)
    and rides on the wings of the wind.^(BD)
⁴He makes winds his messengers,^[a]^(BE)
    flames of fire^(BF) his servants.

⁵He set the earth^(BG) on its foundations;^(BH)
    it can never be moved.
⁶You covered it^(BI) with the watery depths^(BJ) as with a garment;
    the waters stood^(BK) above the mountains.
⁷But at your rebuke^(BL) the waters fled,
    at the sound of your thunder^(BM) they took to flight;
⁸they flowed over the mountains,
    they went down into the valleys,
    to the place you assigned^(BN) for them.
⁹You set a boundary^(BO) they cannot cross;
    never again will they cover the earth.

¹⁰He makes springs^(BP) pour water into the ravines;
    it flows between the mountains.
¹¹They give water^(BQ) to all the beasts of the field;
    the wild donkeys^(BR) quench their thirst.
¹²The birds of the sky^(BS) nest by the waters;
    they sing among the branches.^(BT)
¹³He waters the mountains^(BU) from his upper chambers;^(BV)
    the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.^(BW)
¹⁴He makes grass grow^(BX) for the cattle,
    and plants for people to cultivate—
    bringing forth food^(BY) from the earth:
¹⁵wine^(BZ) that gladdens human hearts,
    oil^(CA) to make their faces shine,
    and bread that sustains^(CB) their hearts.
¹⁶The trees of the Lord^(CC) are well watered,
    the cedars of Lebanon^(CD) that he planted.
¹⁷There the birds^(CE) make their nests;
    the stork has its home in the junipers.
¹⁸The high mountains belong to the wild goats;^(CF)
    the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.^(CG)

¹⁹He made the moon to mark the seasons,^(CH)
    and the sun^(CI) knows when to go down.
²⁰You bring darkness,^(CJ) it becomes night,^(CK)
    and all the beasts of the forest^(CL) prowl.
²¹The lions roar for their prey^(CM)
    and seek their food from God.^(CN)
²²The sun rises, and they steal away;
    they return and lie down in their dens.^(CO)
²³Then people go out to their work,^(CP)
    to their labor until evening.^(CQ)

²⁴How many are your works,^(CR) Lord!
    In wisdom you made^(CS) them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.^(CT)
²⁵There is the sea,^(CU) vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small.^(CV)
²⁶There the ships^(CW) go to and fro,
    and Leviathan,^(CX) which you formed to frolic^(CY) there.^(CZ)

²⁷All creatures look to you
    to give them their food^(DA) at the proper time.
²⁸When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied^(DB) with good things.
²⁹When you hide your face,^(DC)
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.^(DD)
³⁰When you send your Spirit,^(DE)
    they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

³¹May the glory of the Lord^(DF) endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works^(DG)—
³²he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,^(DH)
who touches the mountains,^(DI) and they smoke.^(DJ)

³³I will sing^(DK) to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³⁴May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    as I rejoice^(DL) in the Lord.
³⁵But may sinners vanish^(DM) from the earth
    and the wicked be no more.^(DN)

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.^[b]^(DO)

Footnotes

Psalm 104:4 Or angels
Psalm 104:35 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; in the Septuagint this line stands at the beginning of Psalm 105.

2 Samuel 13

New International Version

Amnon and Tamar

13 In the course of time, Amnon^(A) son of David fell in love with Tamar,^(B) the beautiful sister of Absalom^(C) son of David.

²Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.

³Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah,^(D) David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. ⁴He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?”

Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

⁵“Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’”

⁶So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.”

⁷David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” ⁸So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. ⁹Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat.

“Send everyone out of here,”^(E) Amnon said. So everyone left him. ¹⁰Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. ¹¹But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed^(F) her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”^(G)

¹²“No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel!^(H) Don’t do this wicked thing.^(I) ¹³What about me?^(J) Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” ¹⁴But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.^(K)

¹⁵Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”

¹⁶“No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.”

But he refused to listen to her. ¹⁷He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” ¹⁸So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate^[a] robe,^(L) for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. ¹⁹Tamar put ashes^(M) on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.

²⁰Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman.

²¹When King David heard all this, he was furious.^(N) ²²And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad;^(O) he hated^(P) Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.

Absalom Kills Amnon

²³Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers^(Q) were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there. ²⁴Absalom went to the king and said, “Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his attendants please join me?”

²⁵“No, my son,” the king replied. “All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.

²⁶Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.”

The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?” ²⁷But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king’s sons.

²⁸Absalom^(R) ordered his men, “Listen! When Amnon is in high^(S) spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.^(T)” ²⁹So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.

³⁰While they were on their way, the report came to David: “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons; not one of them is left.” ³¹The king stood up, tore^(U) his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his attendants stood by with their clothes torn.

³²But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom’s express intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. ³³My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”

³⁴Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.

Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, “I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill.”^[b]

³⁵Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.”

³⁶As he finished speaking, the king’s sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his attendants wept very bitterly.

³⁷Absalom fled and went to Talmai^(V) son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son.

³⁸After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. ³⁹And King David longed to go to Absalom,^(W) for he was consoled^(X) concerning Amnon’s death.