Psalm 103-107

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

⁶ The Lord works vindication
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
    his acts to the people of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.^(D)
9 He will not always accuse,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.^(E)
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.^(F)
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;^(G)
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far he removes our transgressions from us.^(H)
13 As a father has compassion for his children,
    so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.^(I)
14 For he knows how we were made;
    he remembers that we are dust.^(J)

¹⁵ As for mortals, their days are like grass;
    they flourish like a flower of the field;^(K)
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
    and its place knows it no more.
¹⁷ But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
    on those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to children’s children,
¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant
    and remember to do his commandments.^(L)

¹⁹ The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
    and his kingdom rules over all.^(M)
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    obedient to his spoken word.^(N)
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
    his ministers who do his will.^(O)
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
    in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.

⁵ You set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it shall never be shaken.^(T)
6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.^(U)
7 At your rebuke they flee;
    at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
⁸ They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys,
    to the place that you appointed for them.^(V)
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.^(W)

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

¹⁴ You cause the grass to grow for the cattle
    and plants for people to cultivate,
to bring forth food from the earth^(AB)
15     and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine
    and bread to strengthen the human heart.^(AC)
16 The trees of the field^[g] 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.^(AD)
19 You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
    the sun knows its time for setting.^(AE)
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.^(AF)
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.^(AG)
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.^(AH)

²⁴ O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom you have made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.^(AI)
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.^(AJ)

²⁷ These all look to you
    to give them their food in due season;^(AK)
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.^(AL)
30 When you send forth your spirit,^[h] they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.^(AM)

³¹ May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
    may the Lord rejoice in his works—^(AN)
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
    who touches the mountains and they smoke.^(AO)
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.^(AP)
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!^(AQ)

⁷ He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.^(AW)
8 He is mindful of his covenant forever,
    of the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
⁹ the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,^(AX)
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,^(AY)
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as your portion for an inheritance.”^(AZ)

¹² When they were few in number,
    of little account and strangers in it,^(BA)
13 wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
¹⁴ he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,^(BB)
15 saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets no harm.”

¹⁶ When he summoned famine against the land
    and cut off every supply of bread,^[j](BC)
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
    Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.^(BD)
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
    his neck was put in a collar of iron;^(BE)
19 until what he had said came to pass,
    the word of the Lord kept testing him.^(BF)
20 The king sent and released him;
    the ruler of the peoples set him free.^(BG)
21 He made him lord of his house
    and ruler of all his possessions,^(BH)
22 to instruct^[k] his officials at his pleasure
    and to teach his elders wisdom.

²³ Then Israel came to Egypt;
    Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.^(BI)
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
    and made them stronger than their foes,^(BJ)
25 whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
    to deal craftily with his servants.^(BK)

²⁶ He sent his servant Moses
    and Aaron, whom he had chosen.^(BL)
27 They performed his signs among them
    and miracles in the land of Ham.^(BM)
28 He sent darkness and made the land dark;
    they rebelled^[l] against his words.^(BN)
29 He turned their waters into blood
    and caused their fish to die.^(BO)
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
    even in the chambers of their kings.^(BP)
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies
    and gnats throughout their country.^(BQ)
32 He gave them hail for rain
    and lightning that flashed through their land.^(BR)
33 He struck their vines and fig trees
    and shattered the trees of their country.
³⁴ He spoke, and the locusts came,
    and young locusts without number;^(BS)
35 they devoured all the vegetation in their land
    and ate up the fruit of their ground.
³⁶ He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the first issue of all their strength.^(BT)

³⁷ Then he brought Israel^[m] out with silver and gold,
    and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.^(BU)
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it.^(BV)
39 He spread a cloud for a covering
    and fire to give light by night.^(BW)
40 They asked, and he brought quails
    and gave them food from heaven in abundance.^(BX)
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.^(BY)
42 For he remembered his holy promise
    and Abraham, his servant.^(BZ)

⁴³ So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing.
⁴⁴ He gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,^(CA)
45 that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!^(CB)

⁴ Remember us,^[n] O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    help us^[o] when you deliver them,^(CF)
5 that we may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
    that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that we may glory in your heritage.^(CG)

⁶ Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.^(CH)
7 Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love
    but rebelled against the Most High^[p] at the Red Sea.^[q](CI)
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
    so that he might make known his mighty power.^(CJ)
9 He rebuked the Red Sea,^[r] and it became dry;
    he led them through the deep as through a desert.^(CK)
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
    and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.^(CL)
11 The waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.^(CM)
12 Then they believed his words;
    they sang his praise.^(CN)

¹³ But they soon forgot his works;
    they did not wait for his counsel.^(CO)
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness
    and put God to the test in the desert;^(CP)
15 he gave them what they asked
    but sent a wasting disease among them.^(CQ)

¹⁶ They were jealous of Moses in the camp
    and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.^(CR)
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan
    and covered the faction of Abiram.^(CS)
18 Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.^(CT)

¹⁹ They made a calf at Horeb
    and worshiped a cast image.^(CU)
20 They exchanged the glory of God^[s]
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.^(CV)
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,^(CW)
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.^[t](CX)
23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.^(CY)

²⁴ Then they despised the pleasant land,
    having no faith in his promise.^(CZ)
25 They grumbled in their tents
    and did not obey the voice of the Lord.^(DA)
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness^(DB)
27 and would disperse^[u] their descendants among the nations,
    scattering them over the lands.^(DC)

²⁸ Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;^(DD)
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
    and the plague was stopped.^(DE)
31 And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.^(DF)

³² They angered the Lord^[v] at the waters of Meribah,
    and it went ill with Moses on their account,^(DG)
33 for they made his spirit bitter,
    and he spoke words that were rash.^(DH)

³⁴ They did not destroy the peoples,
    as the Lord had commanded them,^(DI)
35 but they mingled with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.^(DJ)
36 They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.^(DK)
37 They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;^(DL)
38 they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was polluted with blood.^(DM)
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts
    and prostituted themselves in their doings.^(DN)

⁴⁰ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;^(DO)
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.^(DP)
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
⁴³ Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes
    and were brought low through their iniquity.^(DQ)
44 Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
    when he heard their cry.^(DR)
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant
    and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.^(DS)
46 He caused them to be pitied
    by all who held them captive.^(DT)

⁴⁷ Save us, O Lord our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.^(DU)

⁴⁸ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen.”
    Praise the Lord!^(DV)

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to an inhabited town;^(DZ)
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;^(EA)
7 he led them by a straight way,
    until they reached an inhabited town.^(EB)
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wonderful works to humankind.^(EC)
9 For he satisfies the thirsty,
    and the hungry he fills with good things.^(ED)

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
    prisoners in misery and in irons,^(EE)
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God
    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.^(EF)
12 Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
    they fell down, with no one to help.^(EG)
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress;^(EH)
14 he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
    and broke their bonds apart.^(EI)
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wonderful works to humankind.^(EJ)
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
    and cuts in two the bars of iron.^(EK)

¹⁷ Some were sick^[x] through their sinful ways
    and because of their iniquities endured affliction;^(EL)
18 they loathed any kind of food,
    and they drew near to the gates of death.^(EM)
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.^(EN)
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.^(EO)

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.^(EP)
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their calamity;^(EQ)
27 they reeled and staggered like drunkards
    and were at their wits’ end.^(ER)
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.^(ES)
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.^(ET)
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people
    and praise him in the assembly of the elders.^(EU)

³³ He turns rivers into a desert,
    springs of water into thirsty ground,^(EV)
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
    because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.^(EW)
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
    a parched land into springs of water.^(EX)
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.^(EY)
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
    and he does not let their cattle decrease.^(EZ)

³⁹ When they are diminished and brought low
    through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,^(FA)
40 he pours contempt on princes
    and makes them wander in trackless wastes,^(FB)
41 but he raises up the needy out of distress
    and makes their families like flocks.^(FC)
42 The upright see it and are glad,
    and all wickedness stops its mouth.^(FD)
43 Let those who are wise pay attention to these things
    and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.^(FE)