Discovery BoxPsalms 105:1-15
Context105:1 Give thanks to the Lord!
Call on his name!
Make known his accomplishments among the nations!
105:2 Sing to him!
Make music to him!
Tell about all his miraculous deeds!
105:3 Boast about his holy name!
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
105:4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives!
Seek his presence continually!
105:5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed, 2
105:6 O children 3 of Abraham, 4 God’s 5 servant,
you descendants 6 of Jacob, God’s 7 chosen ones!
105:7 He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth. 8
105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,
the promise he made 9 to a thousand generations –
105:9 the promise 10 he made to Abraham,
the promise he made by oath to Isaac!
105:10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise, 11
105:11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
105:12 When they were few in number,
just a very few, and resident aliens within it,
105:13 they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another. 12
105:14 He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
105:15 saying, 13 “Don’t touch my chosen 14 ones!
Don’t harm my prophets!”
[105:1] 1 sn Psalm 105. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God because he delivered his people from Egypt in fulfillment of his covenantal promises to Abraham. A parallel version of vv. 1-15 appears in 1 Chr 16:8-22.
[105:5] 2 tn Heb “and the judgments of his mouth.”
[105:6] 3 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
[105:6] 4 tc Some
[105:6] 5 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[105:6] 7 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[105:7] 8 tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”
[105:8] 9 tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.
[105:10] 11 tn Or “eternal covenant.”
[105:13] 12 tn Heb “and from a kingdom to another nation.”
[105:15] 13 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
