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BOOK 5

107 Give thanks to Yahweh,[a] for he is good,
    for his loving kindness endures forever.
Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so,
    whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
    and gathered out of the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way.
    They found no city to live in.
Hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted in them.
Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble,
    and he delivered them out of their distresses,
he led them also by a straight way,
    that they might go to a city to live in.
Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
    for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

For he satisfies the longing soul.
    He fills the hungry soul with good.

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    being bound in affliction and iron,
11     because they rebelled against the words of God,[b]
    and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labor.
    They fell down, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble,
    and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
    and broke away their chains.
15 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
    for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

16 For he has broken the gates of bronze,
    and cut through bars of iron.

17 Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience,
    and because of their iniquities.
18 Their soul abhors all kinds of food.
    They draw near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble,
    he saves them out of their distresses.
20 He sends his word, and heals them,
    and delivers them from their graves.
21 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
    for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!

22 Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
    and declare his deeds with singing.

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
    who do business in great waters;
24     These see Yahweh’s deeds,
    and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commands, and raises the stormy wind,
    which lifts up its waves.
26 They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths.
    Their soul melts away because of trouble.
27 They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man,
    and are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble,
    and he brings them out of their distress.
29 He makes the storm a calm,
    so that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because it is calm,
    so he brings them to their desired haven.
31 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness,
    for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!

32 Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people,
    and praise him in the seat of the elders.

33 He turns rivers into a desert,
    water springs into a thirsty ground,
34     and a fruitful land into a salt waste,
    for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water,
    and a dry land into water springs.
36 There he makes the hungry live,
    that they may prepare a city to live in,
37     sow fields, plant vineyards,
    and reap the fruits of increase.
38 He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly.
    He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.
39 Again, they are diminished and bowed down
    through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40 He pours contempt on princes,
    and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41 Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction,
    and increases their families like a flock.
42 The upright will see it, and be glad.
    All the wicked will shut their mouths.
43 Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things.
    They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. 107:1 “Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.
  2. 107:11 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).

BOOK V (Psalms 107-150)

Gratitude for God’s Deliverance

107 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His gracious love exists forever.
Let those who have been redeemed by the Lord declare it—
    those whom he redeemed
        from the power[a] of the enemy,
those whom he gathered from other lands—
    from the east, west, north, and south.[b]

They wandered in desolate wilderness;
    they found no road to a city where they could live.
Hungry and thirsty,
    their spirits[c] failed.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them in a straight way
    to find a city where they could live.
Let them give thanks to the Lord
    for his gracious love
        and his awesome deeds for mankind.
He has satisfied the one who thirsts,
    filling the hungry with what is good.

10 Some sat in deepest darkness,
    shackled with cruel iron,
11 because they had rebelled against the command of God,
    despising the advice of the Most High.
12 He humbled them[d] through suffering,
    as they stumbled without a helper.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
    he delivered them from their distress.
14 And he[e] brought them out from darkness and the shadow of death,[f]
    shattering their chains.

15 Let them give[g] thanks to the Lord for his gracious love,
    and for his awesome deeds to mankind.
16 For he shattered bronze gates
    and cut through iron bars.

17 Because of their rebellious ways,
    fools suffered for their iniquities.
18 They[h] loathed all food,
    and even reached the gates of death.
19 Yet when they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    he delivered them from certain destruction.
20 He issued his command[i] and healed them;
    he delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his gracious love,
    and for his awesome deeds for mankind.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
    and talk about his works with shouts of joy.

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
    who work in the great waters,
24 witnessed the works of the Lord
    his awesome deeds in the ocean’s depth.
25 He spoke and stirred up a windstorm
    that made its waves surge.
26 The people[j] ascended skyward and descended to the depths,
    their courage[k] melting away in their peril.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
    as all their wisdom became useless.
28 Yet when they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    the Lord brought them out of their distress.
29 He calmed the storm
    and its waves[l] quieted down.
30 So they rejoiced that the waves[m] became quiet,
    and he led them to their desired haven.

31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his gracious love
    and for his awesome deeds on behalf of mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
    and praise him in the counsel of the elders.

33 He turns rivers into a desert,
    springs of water into dry ground,
34 and a fruitful land into a salty waste,
    due to the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water,
    dry land into springs of water.
36 There he settled the hungry,
    where they built a city to live in.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
    that yielded a productive harvest.
38 Then he blessed them, and they became numerous;
    he multiplied their cattle.[n]

39 But they became few in number, and humiliated
    by continued oppression, agony, and sorrow.
40 Having poured contempt on their nobles,
    causing them to err aimlessly in the way.
41 Yet he lifted the needy from affliction
    and made them families like a flock.

42 The upright see it and rejoice,
    but the mouth of an evil person is shut.
43 Let whoever is wise observe these things,
    that they may comprehend the gracious love of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 107:2 Lit. hand
  2. Psalm 107:3 Lit. and the sea; i.e. the Reed Sea
  3. Psalm 107:5 Lit. soul
  4. Psalm 107:12 Lit. humbled their hearts
  5. Psalm 107:14 So LXX DSS 4QPsf; MT reads He
  6. Psalm 107:14 So LXX; MT reads and gloom
  7. Psalm 107:15 So MT LXX; DSS 4QPsf reads Give
  8. Psalm 107:18 Lit. their souls
  9. Psalm 107:20 Lit. word
  10. Psalm 107:26 Lit. They
  11. Psalm 107:26 Lit. souls
  12. Psalm 107:29 So MT LXX; DSS 4QPsf reads and the waves of the sea; cf. Psa 107:25
  13. Psalm 107:30 Lit. they
  14. Psalm 107:38 Or he didn’t let their cattle become few