Chapter 104
This psalm tells of the beauty of creation, describing that which was created on each of the six days of creation. It proclaims the awesomeness of God Who sustains it all-from the horns of the wild ox to the eggs of the louse.
1My soul, bless the Lord! Lord my God, You are greatly exalted; You have garbed Yourself with majesty and splendor.
2You enwrap [Yourself] with light as with a garment; You spread the heavens as a curtain.
3He roofs His heavens with water; He makes the clouds His chariot, He moves [them] on the wings of the wind.
4He makes the winds His messengers, the blazing fire His servants.
5He established the earth on its foundations, that it shall never falter.
6The depths covered it as a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7At Your exhortation they fled; at the sound of Your thunder they rushed away.
8They ascended mountains, they flowed down valleys, to the place which You have assigned for them.
9You set a boundary which they may not cross, so that they should not return to engulf the earth.
10He sends forth springs into streams; they flow between the mountains.
11They give drink to all the beasts of the field; the wild animals quench their thirst.
12The birds of the heavens dwell beside them; they raise their voice from among the foliage.
13He irrigates the mountains from His clouds above; the earth is satiated from the fruit of Your works.
14He makes grass grow for the cattle, and vegetation requiring the labor of man to bring forth food from the earth;
15and wine that gladdens man's heart, oil that makes the face shine, and bread that sustains man's heart.
16The trees of the Lord drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17wherein birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the cypress.
18The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rabbits.
19He made the moon to calculate the festivals; the sun knows its time of setting.
20You bring on darkness and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
21The young lions roar for prey, and seek their food from God.
22When the sun rises, they return and lie down in their dens.
23Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.
24How manifold are Your works, O Lord! You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions.
25This sea, vast and wide, where there are countless creeping creatures, living things small and great;
26there ships travel, there is the Leviathan that You created to frolic therein.
27They all look expectantly to You to give them their food at the proper time.
28When You give it to them, they gather it; when You open Your hand, they are satiated with goodness.
29When You conceal Your countenance, they are terrified; when You take back their spirit, they perish and return to their dust.
30When You will send forth Your spirit they will be created anew, and You will renew the face of the earth.
31May the glory of the Lord be forever; may the Lord find delight in His works.
32He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33I will sing to the Lord with my soul; I will chant praise to my God with my [entire] being.
34May my prayer be pleasant to Him; I will rejoice in the Lord.
35May sinners cease from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!
Chapter 105
When David brought the Holy Ark up to the City of David, he composed this psalm and sang it before the Ark. He recounts all the miracles that God performed for the Jews in Egypt: sending before them Joseph, who was imprisoned, only to be liberated by God, eventually attaining the status of one who could imprison the princes of Egypt without consulting Pharaoh.
1Offer praise to the Lord, proclaim His Name; make His deeds known among the nations.
2Sing to Him, chant praises to Him, speak of all His wonders.
3Glory in His holy Name; may the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4Search for the Lord and His might; seek His countenance always.
5Remember the wonders that He has wrought, His miracles, and the judgements of His mouth.
6O descendants of Abraham His servant, children of Jacob, His chosen ones:
7He is the Lord our God; His judgements extend over the entire earth.
8He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He has commanded to a thousand generations;
9the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac.
10He established it for Jacob as a statute, for Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11stating, "To you I shall give the land of Canaan"-the portion of your inheritance,
12when they were but few, very few, and strangers in it.
13They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
14He permitted no one to wrong them, and admonished kings for their sake:
15"Do not touch My anointed ones, and do not harm My prophets.”
16He called for a famine upon the land; He broke every source of bread.
17He sent a man before them; Joseph was sold as a slave.
18They afflicted his foot with chains, his soul was put into iron;
19until the time that His words came, the decree of the Lord purified him.
20The king sent [word] and released him, the ruler of nations set him free.
21He appointed him master of his house and ruler of all his possessions,
22to imprison his princes at will, and to enlighten his elders.
23Thus Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham (Egypt).
24He multiplied His nation greatly, and made it mightier than its adversaries.
25He turned their hearts to hate His nation, to conspire against His servants.
26He sent Moses, His servant; Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27They placed among them the words of His signs, miracles in the land of Ham.
28He sent darkness and made it dark, and they did not defy His word.
29He transformed their waters to blood, and killed their fish.
30Their land swarmed with frogs in the chambers of their kings.
31He spoke, and hordes of wild beasts came, and lice throughout their borders.
32He turned their rains to hail, flaming fire in their land;
33it struck their vine and fig tree, it broke the trees of their borders.
34He spoke, and grasshoppers came, locusts without number;
35and it consumed all grass in their land, it ate the fruit of their soil.
36Then He smote every firstborn in their land, the first of all their potency.
37And He took them out with silver and gold, and none among His tribes stumbled.
38Egypt rejoiced at their leaving, for the fear [of Israel] had fallen upon them.
39He spread out a cloud for shelter, and a fire to illuminate the night.
40[Israel] asked, and He brought quail, and with the bread of heaven He satisfied them.
41He opened a rock and waters flowed; they streamed through dry places like a river,
42for He remembered His holy word to Abraham His servant.
43And He brought out His nation with joy, His chosen ones with song.
44He gave them the lands of nations, they inherited the toil of peoples,
45so that they might keep His statutes and observe His laws. Praise the Lord!
