Psalms 104
1 Bless, O my soul, Jehovah! Jehovah, my God, Thou hast been very great, Honour and majesty Thou hast put on.
[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!
2 Covering himself [with] light as a garment, Stretching out the heavens as a curtain,
You [created/caused] light to be like your robe [MET]. You spread out the sky like [a man sets up] a tent.
3 Who is laying the beam of His upper chambers in the waters, Who is making thick clouds His chariot, Who is walking on wings of wind,
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].
4 Making His messengers — the winds, His ministers — the flaming fire.
You caused the winds to be [like] your messengers [MET], and flames of fire to be [like] your servants.
5 He hath founded earth on its bases, It is not moved to the age and for ever.
You placed the world firmly on its foundation so that it can never be moved/shaken.
6 The abyss! as with clothing Thou hast covered it, Above hills do waters stand.
[Later], you covered the earth with a flood, like a blanket, with the water that covered the mountains.
7 From Thy rebuke they flee, From the voice of Thy thunder haste away.
[But] when you rebuked the water, the oceans receded; your voice spoke like thunder, and then the waters rushed away.
8 They go up hills — they go down valleys, Unto a place Thou hast founded for them.
Mountains rose up [from the water], and the valleys sank down to the levels that you had determined for them.
9 A border Thou hast set, they pass not over, They turn not back to cover the earth.
[Then] you set a boundary for the oceans, a boundary that they cannot cross; their water will never again cover the [whole] earth.
10 Who is sending forth fountains in valleys, Between hills they go on.
You make/cause springs to pour [water] into ravines; their [water] flows down between the mountains.
11 They water every beast of the field, Wild asses break their thirst.
Those [streams] provide water for all the animals [to drink]; the wild donkeys [drink the water and] are no longer thirsty.
12 By them the fowl of the heavens doth dwell, From between the branches They give forth the voice.
Birds make their nests alongside [the streams], and they sing among the branches [of the trees].
13 Watering hills from His upper chambers, From the fruit of Thy works is the earth satisfied.
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.
14 Causing grass to spring up for cattle, And herb for the service of man, To bring forth bread from the earth,
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.
15 And wine — it rejoiceth the heart of man, To cause the face to shine from oil, And bread — the heart of man it supporteth.
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.
16 Satisfied [are] the trees of Jehovah, Cedars of Lebanon that He hath planted,
Yahweh, you [send plenty of rain to] water your trees, the cedar [trees] that you planted in Lebanon.
17 Where birds do make nests, The stork — the firs [are] her house.
Birds make their nests in those [trees]; even storks make their nests in pine/fir trees.
18 The high hills [are] for wild goats, Rocks [are] a refuge for conies,
High up in the mountains the wild goats live, and hyraxes/badgers live in the crags/crevices in the rocks.
19 He made the moon for seasons, The sun hath known his place of entrance.
[Yahweh], you made the moon to indicate the times for our festivals, and you made the sun that knows when to go down.
20 Thou settest darkness, and it is night, In it doth every beast of the forest creep.
You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the animals in the forest prowl around, [looking for food].
21 The young lions are roaring for prey, And to seek from God their food.
At night the young lions roar as they seek their prey, [but] they depend on you to give them food.
22 The sun riseth, they are gathered, And in their dens they crouch.
At dawn, they go back to their dens and lie down.
23 Man goeth forth to his work, And to his service — till evening.
And during the daytime, people go to their work; they work until it is evening.
24 How many have been Thy works, O Jehovah, All of them in wisdom Thou hast made, Full is the earth of thy possessions.
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].
25 This, the sea, great and broad of sides, There [are] moving things — innumerable, Living creatures — small with great.
[We see] the ocean which is very large [DOU]! It is full of many kinds of living creatures, big ones and little ones.
26 There do ships go: leviathan, That Thou hast formed to play in it.
We see the ships which sail along! We see the huge sea monster, which you made to (splash around/play) in the sea.
27 All of them unto Thee do look, To give their food in its season.
All of those creatures depend on you to give them the food that they need.
28 Thou dost give to them — they gather, Thou dost open Thy hand — they [are] satisfied [with] good.
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.
29 Thou hidest Thy face — they are troubled, Thou gatherest their spirit — they expire, And unto their dust they turn back.
[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.
30 Thou sendest out Thy Spirit, they are created, And Thou renewest the face of the ground.
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.
31 The honour of Jehovah is to the age, Jehovah rejoiceth in His works,
I want the glory of Yahweh to last forever. I want him to rejoice about [all] the things that he has created.
32 Who is looking to earth, and it trembleth, He cometh against hills, and they smoke.
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!
33 I sing to Jehovah during my life, I sing praise to my God while I exist.
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.
34 Sweet is my meditation on Him, I — I do rejoice in Jehovah.
I want Yahweh to be pleased by all those things that I have thought [about him], because I rejoice about [knowing] him.
35 Consumed are sinners from the earth, And the wicked are no more. Bless, O my soul, Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah!
[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)!
