Psalms 104
1 [I tell] myself that I should praise Yahweh. Yahweh, my God, you are very great! Like a king has on his royal robes [MET], you have honor and majesty/greatness all around you!
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God! thou art very great! Thou art clothed with glory and majesty!
2 You [created/caused] light to be like your robe [MET]. You spread out the sky like [a man sets up] a tent.
He covereth himself with light as with a garment; He spreadeth out the heavens like a curtain;
3 You made/put your home [in heaven], above the rain clouds in the sky, [like a man puts the] rafters of his house in place [MET]. You made/caused the clouds to be like chariots [to carry you].
He layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; He maketh the clouds his chariot; He rideth upon the wings of the wind.
4 You caused the winds to be [like] your messengers [MET], and flames of fire to be [like] your servants.
He maketh the winds his messengers, The flaming lightnings his ministers.
5 You placed the world firmly on its foundation so that it can never be moved/shaken.
He established the earth on its foundations; It shall not be removed for ever.
6 [Later], you covered the earth with a flood, like a blanket, with the water that covered the mountains.
Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains!
7 [But] when you rebuked the water, the oceans receded; your voice spoke like thunder, and then the waters rushed away.
At thy rebuke they fled; At the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
8 Mountains rose up [from the water], and the valleys sank down to the levels that you had determined for them.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank, In the place which thou didst appoint for them.
9 [Then] you set a boundary for the oceans, a boundary that they cannot cross; their water will never again cover the [whole] earth.
Thou hast established a bound which the waters may not pass, That they may not return, and cover the earth.
10 You make/cause springs to pour [water] into ravines; their [water] flows down between the mountains.
He sendeth forth the springs in brooks; They run among the mountains;
11 Those [streams] provide water for all the animals [to drink]; the wild donkeys [drink the water and] are no longer thirsty.
They give drink to all the beasts of the forest; In them the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 Birds make their nests alongside [the streams], and they sing among the branches [of the trees].
About them the birds of heaven have their habitation; They sing among the branches.
13 From (your home in heaven/the sky) you send rain down on the mountains, and you fill the earth with many good things that you create.
He watereth the hills from his chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works!
14 You make/cause grass to grow for the cattle [to eat], and you make/cause plants to grow for people. In that way [animals and people] get their food from [what grows in] the soil.
He causeth grass to spring up for cattle, And herbage for the service of man, To bring forth food out of the earth,
15 We get [grapes to make] [MTY] wine to [drink and] make us cheerful, and we get [olives to make] [MTY] olive oil to [put on our] skin and cause it to shine, and we get [grain to make] [MTY] bread to give us strength.
And wine that gladdeneth the heart of man, Making his face to shine more than oil, And bread that strengtheneth man's heart.
16 Yahweh, you [send plenty of rain to] water your trees, the cedar [trees] that you planted in Lebanon.
The trees of the LORD are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
17 Birds make their nests in those [trees]; even storks make their nests in pine/fir trees.
There the birds build their nests; In the cypresses the stork hath her abode.
18 High up in the mountains the wild goats live, and hyraxes/badgers live in the crags/crevices in the rocks.
The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, And the rocks for the conies.
19 [Yahweh], you made the moon to indicate the times for our festivals, and you made the sun that knows when to go down.
He appointed the moon to mark seasons; The sun knoweth when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the animals in the forest prowl around, [looking for food].
Thou makest darkness, and it is night, When all the beasts of the forest go forth!
21 At night the young lions roar as they seek their prey, [but] they depend on you to give them food.
The young lions roar for prey, And seek their food from God.
22 At dawn, they go back to their dens and lie down.
When the sun ariseth, they withdraw themselves, And lie down in their dens.
23 And during the daytime, people go to their work; they work until it is evening.
Man goeth forth to his work, And to his labor, until the evening.
24 Yahweh, you have made so many different kinds of things! You were [very] wise as you made them all. The earth is full of the creatures that you [made].
O LORD! how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all! The earth is full of thy riches!
25 [We see] the ocean which is very large [DOU]! It is full of many kinds of living creatures, big ones and little ones.
Lo! this great and wide sea! In it are moving creatures without number, Animals small and great.
26 We see the ships which sail along! We see the huge sea monster, which you made to (splash around/play) in the sea.
There go the ships; There is the leviathan, which thou hast made to play therein.
27 All of those creatures depend on you to give them the food that they need.
All these wait on thee To give them their food in due season.
28 When you give them the food that they need, they gather it. You give them what you have in your hand, and they [eat it and] are satisfied.
Thou givest it to them, they gather it; Thou openest thine hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 [But] if you refuse to give food to them, they become terrified. And when you cause them to stop breathing, they die; their bodies [decay and] become soil again.
Thou hidest thy face, they are confounded; Thou takest away their breath, they die, And return to the dust.
30 When you cause newborn creatures to begin to breathe, they start to live; you give new life to all the living creatures on the earth.
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created, And thou renewest the face of the earth.
31 I want the glory of Yahweh to last forever. I want him to rejoice about [all] the things that he has created.
The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever; The LORD shall rejoice in his works;
32 He causes the earth to shake [just] by looking at it! By [merely] touching the mountains he makes/causes them to pour out fire and smoke!
He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth; He toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to Yahweh (as long as I live/throughout my entire life). I will praise my God until the day that I die.
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live, I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 I want Yahweh to be pleased by all those things that I have thought [about him], because I rejoice about [knowing] him.
May my meditation be acceptable to him! I will rejoice in the LORD.
35 [But] I desire that sinners will disappear from the earth, so that there will be no more wicked [people]! [But as for] me, I will praise Yahweh! (Praise him/Hallelujah)!
May sinners perish from the earth, And the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise ye the LORD!
