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, my soul. The LORD, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honour 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 covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches 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 lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on 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 makes his messengers winds, and his servants flames of fire.
5 You placed the world firmly on its foundation so that it can never be moved/shaken.
He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.
6 [Later], you covered the earth with a flood, like a blanket, with the water that covered the mountains.
You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. 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 your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried 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 down, to the place which you had assigned to 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.
You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they don’t turn again to cover the earth.
10 You make/cause springs to pour [water] into ravines; their [water] flows down between the mountains.
He sends springs into the valleys. They run amongst 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 every animal of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Birds make their nests alongside [the streams], and they sing among the branches [of the trees].
The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing amongst 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 waters the mountains from his rooms. The earth is filled with the fruit of your 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 causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may produce 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.
wine that makes the heart of man glad, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.
16 Yahweh, you [send plenty of rain to] water your trees, the cedar [trees] that you planted in Lebanon.
The LORD’s trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted,
17 Birds make their nests in those [trees]; even storks make their nests in pine/fir trees.
where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the cypress trees.
18 High up in the mountains the wild goats live, and hyraxes/badgers live in the crags/crevices in the rocks.
The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
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 for seasons. The sun knows when to set.
20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the animals in the forest prowl around, [looking for food].
You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl.
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 after their prey, and seek their food from God.
22 At dawn, they go back to their dens and lie down.
The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens.
23 And during the daytime, people go to their work; they work until it is evening.
Man goes out to his work, to his labour 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].
LORD, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your 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.
There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals.
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 the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
27 All of those creatures depend on you to give them the food that they need.
These all wait for you, that you may 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.
You give to them; they gather. You open your 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.
You hide your face; they are troubled. You take 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.
You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground.
31 I want the glory of Yahweh to last forever. I want him to rejoice about [all] the things that he has created.
Let the LORD’s glory endure forever. Let the LORD 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 looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, 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 any being.
34 I want Yahweh to be pleased by all those things that I have thought [about him], because I rejoice about [knowing] him.
Let my meditation be sweet 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)!
Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD!
