Psalm 66

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!(A)
    Sing the glory of his name;(B)
    make his praise glorious.(C)
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!(D)
    So great is your power
    that your enemies cringe(E) before you.
All the earth bows down(F) to you;
    they sing praise(G) to you,
    they sing the praises of your name.”[a]

Come and see what God has done,
    his awesome deeds(H) for mankind!
He turned the sea into dry land,(I)
    they passed through(J) the waters on foot—
    come, let us rejoice(K) in him.
He rules forever(L) by his power,
    his eyes watch(M) the nations—
    let not the rebellious(N) rise up against him.

Praise(O) our God, all peoples,
    let the sound of his praise be heard;
he has preserved our lives(P)
    and kept our feet from slipping.(Q)
10 For you, God, tested(R) us;
    you refined us like silver.(S)
11 You brought us into prison(T)
    and laid burdens(U) on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;(V)
    we went through fire and water,
    but you brought us to a place of abundance.(W)

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings(X)
    and fulfill my vows(Y) to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
    when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
    and an offering of rams;
    I will offer bulls and goats.(Z)

16 Come and hear,(AA) all you who fear God;
    let me tell(AB) you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
    his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened;(AC)
19 but God has surely listened
    and has heard(AD) my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
    who has not rejected(AE) my prayer
    or withheld his love from me!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.

Psalm 66

For the music leader. A song. A psalm.

66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!
    Sing praises to the glory of God’s name!
        Make glorious his praise!
Say to God:
“How awesome are your works!
    Because of your great strength,
        your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth worships you,
    sings praises to you,
        sings praises to your name!” Selah

Come and see God’s deeds;
    his works for human beings are awesome:
He turned the sea into dry land
    so they could cross the river on foot.
        Right there we rejoiced in him!
God rules with power forever;
    keeps a good eye on the nations.
        So don’t let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

All you nations, bless our God!
    Let the sound of his praise be heard!
God preserved us among the living;
    he didn’t let our feet slip a bit.

10 But you, God, have tested us—
    you’ve refined us like silver,
11     trapped us in a net,
    laid burdens on our backs,
12     let other people run right over our heads—
    we’ve been through fire and water.

But you brought us out to freedom!
13     So I’ll enter your house
        with entirely burned offerings.
    I’ll keep the promises I made to you,
14         the ones my lips uttered,
        the ones my mouth spoke when I was in deep trouble.
15 I will offer the best burned offerings to you
    along with the smoke of sacrificed rams.
    I will offer both bulls and goats. Selah

16 Come close and listen,
    all you who honor God;
    I will tell you what God has done for me:
17 My mouth cried out to him
    with praise on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished evil in my heart,
    my Lord would not have listened.
19 But God definitely listened.
    He heard the sound of my prayer.
20 Bless God! He didn’t reject my prayer;
    he didn’t withhold his faithful love from me.