  |   |   |
| | |
1 Praise Yahweh, for he is good,
for his covenant faithfulness endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so,
whom he has redeemed from the hand of the foe
3 and gathered them out of the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the sea.
4 They wandered in the wilderness on a desert road.
They did not find a way to a city to inhabit.
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble;
he delivered them out of their distresses.
7 He led them also by a straight road,
that they might walk to a city to inhabit.
for his covenant faithfulness
and for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
9 For he satisfies the thirsty soul,
and he fills the hungry soul with what is good.
10 Those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death
are prisoners in affliction and iron chains
11 because they rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Therefore he humbled their heart with labor;
they stumbled and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble
and he delivered them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death
and he tore apart their fetters.
for his covenant faithfulness
and for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
16 For he has shattered gates of bronze
and he has cut iron bars.
because of their road of transgression and because of their iniquities.
18 Their soul abhors all kinds of food,
and they have arrived at the gates of death.
19 Then they cry out to Yahweh in their trouble;
he delivers them out of their distresses.
20 He sends his word, and heals them,
and delivers them from their pits.
for his covenant faithfulness
and for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
22 Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving
and declare his works with a cry of jubilation.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
who do business in great waters,
24 these have seen the works of Yahweh
and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commands and raises the stormy wind,
and it lifts up its waves.
26 They rise up to the heavens; they go down to the deeps.
Their soul melts away in misery.
27 They stagger and totter like a drunken man,
and all of their wisdom is confused.
28 Then they cry out to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he brings them out of their distresses.
29 He makes the tempest a calm
so that its waves are silent.
30 Then they rejoice because they are quiet,
so he guided them to their desired harbor.
31 Let them praise Yahweh for his covenant faithfulness
and for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people
and let them praise him at the seat of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a wilderness
and springs of water into a thirsty ground;
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste
because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He turns a wilderness into a pool of water,
and a dry land into springs of water.
36 And there he makes the hungry to dwell,
that they may establish a city to inhabit,
37 and sow fields and plant vineyards
and reap a fruitful harvest.
38 He also blesses them so that they multiply greatly
and their cattle will not decrease.
39 And when the people are diminished and bowed down
through oppression, misery, and sorrow,
40 he pours out contempt upon nobles,
and causes them to wander in a roadless waste.
41 Yet he lifts the needy securely from their affliction
and he makes the families like flocks.
42 The upright will see it and will rejoice;
but all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Who is wise? Let him keep watch over these things
and let him discern Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness!
| top | |