Psalms 104
1 To David himself. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are exceedingly great. You have clothed yourself with confession and beauty;
Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great, clad in awful splendour,
2 you are dressed with light like a garment, while you stretch out heaven like a tent.
covered with robe of light. You stretch out the heavens like the cloth of a tent.
3 You cover its heights with water. You set the clouds as your stairs. You walk upon the wings of the winds.
He lays the beams of his chambers on water. He takes dark clouds for his chariot, and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 You make your Angels a breath of life, and your ministers a burning fire.
He takes the winds for his messengers, the fire and the flame for his servants.
5 You founded the earth upon its stable base. It will not be bent from age to age.
He founded the earth upon pillars, to sustain it unshaken forever.
6 The abyss, like a garment, is its clothing. The waters will remain standing above the mountains.
With the garment of ocean he covered it, waters towered over the mountains.
7 At your rebuke, they will flee. At the voice of your thunder, they will dread.
But at your rebuke they fled, scared by the roar of your thunder,
8 The mountains ascend, and the plains descend, to the place which you have founded for them.
mountains rose, valleys sank down to the place appointed for them.
9 You have set a limit that they will not cross. And they will not return to cover the earth.
They dared not pass the bounds set for them, or cover the earth any more.
10 You spring forth fountains in steep valleys. The waters will cross through the midst of the mountains.
He sent brooks into the valleys, they meander between the mountains.
11 All the wild beasts of the field will drink. The wild donkeys will anticipate in their thirst.
The wild beasts all drink from them, and the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 Above them, the flying things of the air will dwell. From the midst of the rocks, they will utter voices.
The birds have their home by the banks, and sing in the branches.
13 You irrigate the mountains from your heights. The earth will be satiated from the fruit of your works,
From his chambers above he gives drink to the mountains, and satisfies earth with the vials of heaven.
14 producing grass for cattle and herbs for the service of men. So may you draw bread from the earth,
He makes grass grow for the cattle, and herbs for people. He brings bread out of the earth;
15 and wine, in order to cheer the heart of man. Then he may gladden his face with oil, and bread will confirm the heart of man.
wine, to gladden hearts; oil, to make faces shine; bread, to strengthen hearts.
16 The trees of the field will be saturated, along with the cedars of Lebanon, which he planted.
The trees of the Lord drink their fill the cedars he planted on Lebanon,
17 There, the sparrows will make their nests. The leader of them is the house of the heron.
where the little birds build their nest, and the stork whose home is the cypress.
18 The heights of the hills are for the deer; the rock is a refuge for the hedgehog.
The high hills are for the wild goats, and the rocks are for coneys to hide in.
19 He has made the moon for seasons; the sun knows its setting.
He created the moon to mark seasons, and told the sun when to set.
20 You appointed darkness, and it has become night; all the beasts of the forest will cross through it.
You make it dark: night comes, when all the wild beasts creep out.
21 The young lions will roar, while searching for and seizing their meal from God.
Young lions that roar for their prey, seeking their meat from God.
22 The sun arose, and they were gathered together; and in their dens, they will lie down together.
At sunrise they slink away, and lie down in their dens.
23 Man will go forth to his work and to his activities, until the evening.
Then people go forth to their work, and toil till evening.
24 How great are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in wisdom. The earth has been filled with your possessions.
How many, O Lord, are your works, all of them made in wisdom! The earth is filled with your creatures.
25 This sea is great and its hands are spacious. There are creeping things without number: the small animals with the great.
And there is the great broad sea, where are countless things in motion, living creatures, both great and small.
26 There, the ships will pass by this sea-serpent that you have formed to mock them.
There go the ships, and the Leviathan you made to play there.
27 All these expect you to give them food in due time.
They all look in hope to you, to give them their food in due season.
28 What you give to them, they will gather. When you open your hand, they will all be filled with goodness.
And you give with open hand; they gather and eat to their heart’s desire.
29 But if you turn your face away, they will be disturbed. You will take away their breath, and they will fail, and they will return to their dust.
When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take their breath away, they die and go back to their dust.
30 You will send forth your Spirit, and they will be created. And you will renew the face of the earth.
But a breath from your lips creates them, and renews the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord be for all ages. The Lord will rejoice in his works.
May the glory of the Lord be forever, may the Lord rejoice in his works.
32 He considers the earth, and he makes it tremble. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
A glance of his makes the earth tremble, a touch of his makes the hills smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord with my life. I will sing psalms to my God, as long as I am.
I will sing to the Lord while I live, I will play to my God while I am.
34 May my speech be pleasing to him. Truly, I will take delight in the Lord.
May my musing be sweet to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners fade away from the earth, along with the unjust, so that they may not be. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
But may sinners be swept from the earth, and the wicked vanish forever. O my soul, bless the Lord. Hallelujah.
