Psalm 106

Hallelujah, give thanks to Jehovah!
He is good, and his mercy endures always.
Who can proclaim the great deeds of Jehovah
Or give to him his full measure of praise?

Blessed are they who uphold justice
And practice righteousness at all times.
Please remember me, O Jehovah.
When you give favor to your people,
Come to me with your salvation
That I may know the prosperity
Of those who are your chosen ones,
Share in the gladness of your nation,
And celebrate your inheritance.
We have sinned as our fathers have.
We have done wrong, acted wickedly.
Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
Understood not your miracles,
Remembered not your acts of mercy,
But rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.

Yet he saved them for the sake of his name,
That he might make his mighty power known.
He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up;
He led them through its deeps as through a desert.
From the power of their foe he saved them;
From their enemy’s might he rescued them.
The waters covered their adversaries,
So that not one of them was left alive.
Then they believed his word and sang his praise.
But quickly did they forget what he had done
And waited not for his plans to be fulfilled.
In the wilderness they gave way to their lusts;
In the desert they tested God’s patience.
He relented and gave them what they wanted —
But sent them a debilitating disease.
In camp they envied Moses and Aaron,
Who were consecrated by Jehovah.
The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
It covered the company of Abiram.
A fire broke out amid their assembly
And conflagration consumed the wicked.
At Mount Sinai the people made a calf
And worshiped an idol cast of metal.
They traded the magnificence of their god
For an image of a grass-eating bull.
They forgot the god who was their savior,
Who had achieved such great things in Egypt,
Wondrous miracles in the land of Ham,
And awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.
He would have wiped them out had not Moses,
His chosen one, stood before him in the breach,
Averting the wrath that would have destroyed them.
They refused to enter the pleasing land,
Having no faith in the promise he gave them.
Instead they groused and grumbled in their tents
And did not obey the voice of Jehovah.
He lifted up his hand and swore an oath
That he would let them perish in the desert,
Disperse their offspring among foreign nations,
And scatter them throughout the lands of the earth.
They devoted themselves to the baal of Peor
And ate sacrifices made to dead gods.
They aroused the anger of Jehovah
With these acts, and a plague broke out among them.
But Phinehas made a stand and intervened.
The plague was suppressed and he was honored
For his righteousness through the generations.
They, as well, at the waters of Meribah,
Did provoke the anger of Jehovah,
And trouble came to Moses because of them:
Their rebellion made him lose his temper 
And he berated them with rash language.
They did not destroy the heathen nations
As Jehovah commanded them to do;
Instead they mingled with other peoples
And they adopted their pagan customs,
Being tricked into worshiping their idols
And sacrificing their sons and daughters
To be slaughtered before devilish idols.
They shed innocent blood, even the blood
Of their sons and daughters they sacrificed,
So that the land was poluted with their blood.
They defiled themselves with their practices
And prostituted themselves by their acts.
Thus Jehovah was angry with his people
And came to abhor his own inheritance.
He delivered them to heathen nations
To have those who hate them rule over them.
Their foes oppressed and crushed them with their power.
Many times he rescued them, but they rebelled
And were sunk by their own iniquity.
Nevertheless, he took note of their distress
Whenever he did hear their cries for help.
For their sake he remembered his covenant
And because of his kindness, he relented.
He caused their captors to treat them with mercy.

Rescue us, Jehovah, our god!
Bring us back from heathen nations
That we may thank your holy name
And glory in your song of praise.

Blessed is Jehovah, god of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Let all proclaim, “Amen!” and “Hallelujah!”

Psalm 105

Give thanks to Jehovah and proclaim his name.
Make known his achievements among the nations.

Sing to him, yea, sing your praises.
Contemplate all his miracles.
Take glory in his holy name.

Let the hearts of those who seek Jehovah be glad.

Turn to Jehovah and his holy power.
Strive continually to worship him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
His miracles, the judgments he has pronounced,
You, offspring of Abraham, his servant,
You, sons of Jacob, his chosen people.
He is Jehovah, our god.  His divine law
Has jurisdiction over all the earth.
He will keep forever his covenant,
A vow made to a thousand generations,
Pledged to Abraham, an oath swore to Isaac,
Confirmed to Jacob as a divine decree,
An everlasting pact with Israel:
“I set aside for you the land of Canaan,
As the portion of  your inheritance.”
This said when they were but few in number,
Just a few strangers dwelling in the land,
Wandering from one nation to another,
From one kingdom to another people’s land.
But he allowed no one to oppress them,
And he rebuked monarchs on their behalf.
“Lay no hand upon my anointed ones
And do no injury to my prophets.”
He brought famine to the land of Canaan
And brought destruction upon their crops of grain.
He sent someone to Egypt ahead of them,
This was Joseph who was sold as a slave.
His feet bruised with shackles, his neck in irons
Until the time his prophecy came to pass
And Jehovah’s word proved that Joseph was true.
The Pharaoh sent for him and set him free;
The ruler of his people released him.
He made him the master of his household
To be in charge of all that he possessed.
To command officials at his pleasure
And to give instructions to his elders.
The sons of Israel entered Egypt,
And Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
Jehovah made his people prolific,
So they were more numerous than their foes,
Whose hearts he turned to abhor his people
And deviously deal with his servants.

He sent to them his servant Moses
And Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They performed miracles among them
And wonders in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, made the land dark,
For had they not defied his words?
He turned their water into blood
And caused all of their fish to die.
Their land was overrun with frogs
Even the chambers of the Pharaoh.
He spoke and throughout the country
There swarmed midges and stable flies.
He gave them hail instead of rain
And lightning flashed all over the land.
He struck down their vines and fig trees
And splintered the trees of the country.
He spoke and grasshoppers appeared,
Hopping locusts without number
That devoured the vegetation,
Every green thing in the land
And consumed the fruits of the soil.
Then he struck down the land’s firstborn,
Firstfruits of all their manly vigor.
Jehovah then brought out Israel,
Carrying with them silver and gold,
And none from his tribes straggling behind.
Egypt was glad of their going,
For dread of Israel had seized them.
He spread a cloud as a covering
And fire to light up the night sky.
They asked for food, he brought them quails
And filled them with the bread of Heaven.
He split a rock and water gushed out,
Flowing like a desert river.
For he remembered his holy vow
Made to Abraham, his servant.
He brought out his people with joy,
His chosen ones with rejoicing.
He gave them lands in foreign nations,
To claim the fruit of other’s labor
That they might observe his statutes
And keep his laws.  Praise Jehovah!

Psalm 104

Praise Jehovah, O my soul, Jehovah, my god,
You are of greatness, clothed with splendor and majesty.
He wraps himself in light as if it were a robe.
He stretches the heavens as if it were a tent.
He lays the foundations of his upper chambers
In the rain above and makes the cloud his chariot
To ride upon the wings of the wind.  He makes the winds
His messengers and his servants, lightning flashes.

You set the earth upon its foundations
So that, through the ages, it might never move.
You covered it with the sea, like a garment,
The water standing above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters receded,
From your voice of thunder they hurried away.
The mountains rose up and the valleys sank,
Assuming the places you decreed for them. 
You set the boundaries the waters cannot cross. —-
Never again will they cover the earth.
You make springs gush water into the valleys
So that they may flow between the mountains.
They provide water for the beasts of the field;
The wild donkeys are able to quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the sky build nests,
And they sing among the branches of the trees.
He waters the mountains from the heavens;
The earth is filled with the fruit of his making.
He causes the grass to grow for the livestock;
He provides crops for man to cultivate
That he might produce his food from the earth,
Wine to give gladness to the heart of man,
Oil to make the skin of his face glisten,
And bread to give him bodily sustenance.
The trees of Jehovah are well watered —
The cedars of Lebanon he planted.
There the birds find a place to build their nests
And the stork makes its home in the fir trees.
The mountain peaks belong to the wild goats,
And the cliff  gives shelter to the hyraxes.
He made the moon to mark off the seasons
And the sun — it knows when it’s time to set.
You bring the darkness and it becomes night,
When all the creatures of the forest prowl.
 Lions roar for their prey, hunting food from God,
At sunrise, they go back to their dens to rest.
Man goes to work and labors till evening.

How many are your works, Jehovah.
With wisdom did you make them all;
The earth is full of your creatures.
There is the sea so great and wide,
Teeming with creatures numberless,
Living beings both great and small.
There the ships pass and Leviathan,
Which you created to frolic there.
All the creatures depend on you
To give them their food in due season.
Offer it, and they take it in.
Open your hand, they are well filled.
Hide your face, and they are alarmed.
Take away from them the breath of life,
They expire and turn back into dust.
When you breathe, they are created
And the face of the earth you renew.

May the glory of Jehovah forever endure!
May Jehovah rejoice in all his creations!

He looks upon the earth and it trembles.
He touches the mountains and they smolder.

I will sing to Jehovah all of my life.
I will praise my god as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
Because I will rejoice in Jehovah.

Let the sinners vanish from earth
And may the wicked be no more.

May I bless Jehovah, O my soul,
And may I give praise to Jehovah.

Psalm 103

A Psalm of David

With all my heart, with all that is within me,
May I bless Jehovah and his holy name.
Praise Jehovah, my soul, forgetting not
All the kind services he has provided:
He forgives your sins and heals your ailments,
He saves your life from the pit of death
And showers you with kindness and compassion.
He fills your body with vitality
So that your youth is restored — like an eagle’s.

Jehovah judges with an even hand
And brings  justice to all who are oppressed.
He revealed his character to Moses,
His deeds to the people of Israel.
Jehovah is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and full of loving kindness.
He will not constantly admonish us,
Nor will his anger persist forever.
He has not treated us as our sins deserve,
Or punished us according to our guilt.
As high as the heavens are above earth
So great is his love for those who revere him.
As great as is the distance from east to west,
So far has he removed us from our sins.
As a father shows kindness to his children,
Jehovah is kind to those that revere him,
For he knows how we are put together
And is mindful that we are only clay.
As for mortal man, his days are like the grass,
He blossoms like a flower in the field.
When the wind blows through it, it vanishes.
The place it was remembers it no more.
From eternity to eternity
Jehovah’s love is with those who revere him;
His justice is with their children’s children,
With those who abide by his covenant
And remember to keep his commandments.

Jehovah has set his throne in Heaven.
The kingdom he rules is all creation.
Praise Jehovah, you, his emissaries,
You, his mighty ones that do his bidding,
Who hearken to the commands of his voice.
Praise Jehovah, all you armies of Heaven,
Servants of his that carry out his will.

Bless Jehovah, all his works
Everywhere in his domain
Bless Jehovah, O my soul!

Psalm 102

A Prayer of  One Afflicted Who Grows Faint
And Voices His Lament Before Jehovah

Hear my prayer, O Jehovah.
Receive my cry for help.
Do not hide your face from me
In my time of trouble.
Listen to me when I call
And answer me quickly.
For my days vanish like smoke.
My bones burn like a furnace.
My heart is afflicted
And has withered like dry grass.
I forget to eat my food.
I groan aloud in agony;
I am but skin and bones.
I am like a pelican
In the desert wilderness,
An owl amid ruins.
I lie awake, sleepless,
Like a lone bird on the roof.

My enemies taunt me all the day long.
Those that mock me use my name as a curse.
My food is ashes, my drink, mixed with tears.
Because of your anger and indignation,
(For you have picked me up and tossed me aside)
My days are lengthening shadows, dry grass.

But you,  Jehovah, sit upon your throne forever,
And your renown endures through the generations.
You will rise up and show pity for Jerusalem.
It is time to show her favor; yes, now is the time!
For your servants cherish her stones, even her dust.
Foreign nations will fear the name of Jehovah,
And all the kings of the earth will respect your glory.

For Jehovah will rebuild Jerusalem
And will appear there in all his splendor.
He will answer the prayers of the destitute
And will not ignore their supplications.
Record this for future generations
That people yet unborn may praise Jehovah.
For he looks down from his high sanctuary;
From Heaven Jehovah observes the earth.
Listening to the wails of prisoners,
He rescues those who are condemned to die
That they might proclaim the name of Jehovah
In Zion and praise him in Jerusalem
When the tribes assemble and the kingdoms
Come together to worship Jehovah.

When I was in the prime of life
He broke my strength and shortened my days.
And so I cried out, “O my God,
Take me not in the midst of my life,
You whose years last through the ages.
You established the earth of old;
The heavens are your handiwork.
They will pass away, but you remain.
They will wear out as old clothes do,
And like articles of clothing
You will change them and throw them away.
But you will ever stay the same
And your years go on forever.
The children of those who serve you
Will continue and their descendants,
Under your auspices, will thrive.”

Psalm 101

A Psalm of David

I will sing to you, O Jehovah,
Of loving devotion and justice.
I will sing to you a song of praise.

I will take care to lead a blameless life.
(When will you come to me?)  With integrity
Will I conduct the affairs of my household.
I will not countenance what is corrupt.
I hate crookedness; it will not cling to me.
Twisted minds I banish from my presence,
And I will have nothing to do with evil.
He who slanders his neighbor in secret
I will silence, nor will I tolerate
Those with haughty looks and arrogant manners.
I search the land for those who are loyal.
They are the ones I make my companions.
I will be served by those who lead upright lives.
No one deceitful will dwell in my house.
Nor will those that lie stand in my presence.

Every morning I will destroy
Those who are wicked in the land
And banish all evildoers
From the city of Jehovah.

Psalm 100

All on earth, shout out your praises to Jehovah!
Serve him with gladness and come before him singing.
Know that Jehovah is the god who created us.
We are his, his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courtyard with praise.
Express your thanks to him and make his name blessed.
For good is Jehovah; his love lasts forever.
His faithfulness endures through the generations.