Psalms 103:1-5

Psalm 103 ¹ 

By David.

103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

With all that is within me, praise ²  his holy name!

103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Do not forget all his kind deeds! ³ 

103:3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,

who heals all your diseases, ⁴ 

103:4 who delivers ⁵  your life from the Pit, ⁶ 

who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,

103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, ⁷ 

so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. ⁸ 

[103:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.

[103:1]  ² tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[103:2]  ³ tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).

[103:3]  ⁴ tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).

[103:4]  ⁵ tn Or “redeems.”

[103:4]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24.

[103:5]  ⁷ tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (’ed’ekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (’odekhiy, “your duration; your continuance”) that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).

[103:5]  ⁸ sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.