< Psalms 105 >
1 Give thanks to Yahweh, and tell others that he is very great! Tell everyone in the world what he has done!
O give praise to the Lord; give honour to his name, talking of his doings among the peoples.
2 Sing to him; praise him as you sing to him; tell others about his wonderful miracles.
Let your voice be sounding in songs and melody; let all your thoughts be of the wonder of his works.
3 Be happy because [you know that] he [MTY] is holy! You people who worship Yahweh, rejoice!
Have glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who are searching after the Lord be glad.
4 Ask Yahweh to help you and give you his strength, and continue to ask him!
Let your search be for the Lord and for his strength; let your hearts ever be turned to him.
5 You people who are descendants of God’s servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, the man God chose, think about [all] the wonderful things that he has done: He performed miracles, and he punished [all our enemies].
Keep in mind the great works which he has done; his wonders, and the decisions of his mouth;
O you seed of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his loved ones.
7 He is Yahweh, our God. He rules and judges [people] throughout the earth.
He is the Lord our God: he is judge of all the earth.
8 He never forgets the agreement that he made; he made a promise that will last for 1,000 generations;
He has kept his agreement in mind for ever, the word which he gave for a thousand generations;
9 that is the agreement that he made with Abraham, and he repeated that agreement with Isaac.
The agreement which he made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac;
10 [Later] he confirmed it [again] to Jacob as an agreement for the Israeli [people] that would last forever.
And he gave it to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an eternal agreement;
11 What he said was, “I will give you the Canaan region; it will belong to you [and your descendants forever].”
Saying, To you will I give the land of Canaan, the measured line of your heritage:
12 [He said that to them] when there were only a few of them, a tiny group of people who were living in that land like strangers.
When they were still small in number, and strange in the land;
13 They continued to wander from one place to another, from one kingdom to another.
When they went about from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another people.
14 But he did not allow others to oppress them. He warned those kings by saying to them,
He would not let anyone do them wrong; he even kept back kings because of them,
15 “Do not do harm the [people] whom I have chosen! Do not harm my prophets!”
Saying, Put not your hand on those who have been marked with my holy oil, and do my prophets no wrong.
16 He sent a famine to Canaan, and [as a result all the people] had no food to eat.
And he took away all food from the land, so that the people were without bread.
17 So his people went to Egypt, but first he sent someone there. He sent Joseph, who had been sold to be a slave.
He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was given as a servant for a price:
18 [Later, while Joseph was in prison in Egypt], they put his legs in shackles that bruised his feet, and they put an iron collar around his neck.
His feet were fixed in chains; his neck was put in iron bands;
19 There, Yahweh (refined Joseph’s character/tested Joseph to see if Joseph would continue to trust him), until what Joseph predicted would happen (came true/happened).
Till the time when his word came true; he was tested by the word of the Lord.
20 The king [of Egypt] summoned him, and he set Joseph free; this ruler of many people-groups released Joseph [from prison].
The king sent men to take off his chains; even the ruler of the people, who let him go free.
21 [Then] he appointed him to take care of everything in the king’s household, to take care of everything that the king possessed.
He made him lord of his house, and ruler over everything he had;
22 (Joseph was permitted/He permitted Joseph) to command the king’s servants to do anything that Joseph wanted them to do, and [even] to tell the king’s advisors the things that they should do [for the people of Egypt].
To give his chiefs teaching at his pleasure, and so that his law-givers might get wisdom from him.
23 Later, [Joseph’s father] Jacob arrived in Egypt. He lived like a foreigner in the land that belonged to the descendants of Ham.
Then Israel came into Egypt, and Jacob was living in the land of Ham.
24 And [years later] Yahweh caused the descendants of Jacob to become very numerous. [As a result], their enemies, [the Egyptians], considered that the Israelis were too strong.
And his people were greatly increased, and became stronger than those who were against them.
25 [So] Yahweh caused the rulers of Egypt to (turn against/hate) the Israeli people, and they planned ways to get rid of his people.
Their hearts were turned to hate against his people, so that they made secret designs against them.
26 [But then] Yahweh sent his servant Moses along with [Moses’ older brother] Aaron, whom Yahweh had [also] chosen [to be his servant].
He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, the man of his selection.
27 Those two performed amazing miracles among the people of Egypt, in that land where the descendants of Ham lived.
He let his signs be seen among the people, and his wonders in the land of Ham.
28 Yahweh sent darkness, so that the people of Egypt could not see anything [DOU], but the rulers of Egypt refused [RHQ] to obey when [Moses and Aaron] commanded [them to let the Israeli people leave Egypt].
He sent black night and made it dark; and they did not go against his word.
29 Yahweh caused [all] the water in Egypt to become (blood/[red like] blood), and [his doing that] caused all the fish to die.
At his word their waters were turned to blood, and he sent death on all their fish.
30 [Then he caused] the land to become full of frogs; the king and his officials even had frogs in their bedrooms.
Their land was full of frogs, even in the rooms of the king.
31 [Then] Yahweh commanded that flies come, and swarms of them descended [on the people of Egypt], and gnats [also] swarmed across the whole country.
He gave the word, and there came the dog-fly, and insects over all the land.
32 Instead of sending rain, Yahweh sent [terrible] hail, and lightning flashed throughout the land.
He gave them ice for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
33 The hail ruined their grapevines and fig trees and shattered all the [other] trees.
He gave their vines and their fig-trees to destruction, and the trees of their land were broken down.
34 He commanded locusts to come, and swarms of them came; [so many that] they could not be counted.
At his word the locusts came, and young locusts more than might be numbered,
35 The locusts ate every green plant in the land, ruining all the crops.
And put an end to all the plants of their land, taking all the fruit of the earth for food.
36 [Then] Yahweh killed the oldest son in every house [of the people of Egypt] [DOU].
He put to death the first child of every family in the land, the first-fruits of their strength.
37 Then he brought the Israeli [people] out [from Egypt]; they were carrying loads of [jewelry made of] silver and gold [that the women of Egypt had given to them]. No one was left behind because of being sick.
He took his people out with silver and gold: there was not one feeble person among them.
38 [The people of] Egypt were glad when the Israeli people left, because they had become very afraid of the Israelis.
Egypt was glad when they went; for the fear of them had come down on them.
39 [Then] Yahweh spread a cloud to cover the Israelis; and [at night it became] a big fire [in the sky] to give them light.
A cloud was stretched over them for a cover; and he sent fire to give light in the night.
40 [Later] the Israelis asked for [meat to eat], and Yahweh sent [flocks of] quail to them, and he gave them plenty of manna [food] from the sky [each morning].
At the people's request he sent birds, and gave them the bread of heaven for food.
41 [One day] he caused a rock to open up and water poured out [for them to drink]; it was like a river flowing in that desert.
His hand made the rock open, and the waters came streaming out; they went down through the dry places like a river.
42 [He did that] because he kept thinking about the sacred promise [that he had given] to his servant, Abraham.
For he kept in mind his holy word, and Abraham, his servant.
43 So his people were joyful as he brought them out from Egypt; those people whom he had chosen were shouting joyfully as they went.
And he took his people out with joy, the men of his selection with glad cries:
44 He gave to them the land that belonged to the people-groups [that lived there in Canaan], and the Israelis harvested crops that [other] people had planted.
And gave them the lands of the nations; and they took the work of the peoples for a heritage;
45 [Yahweh did all these things] in order that his people would do all the things that he had commanded them to do [DOU]. Praise Yahweh!
So that they might keep his orders, and be true to his laws. Give praise to the Lord.