Psalms 104:19-30

Context

104:19 He made the moon to mark the months,¹

and the sun sets according to a regular schedule.²

104:20 You make it dark and night comes,³

during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.

104:21 The lions roar for prey,

seeking their food from God.⁴

104:22 When the sun rises, they withdraw

and sleep⁵ in their dens.

104:23 Men then go out to do their work,

and labor away until evening.⁶

104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord!⁷

You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;⁸

the earth is full of the living things you have made.

104:25 Over here is the deep, wide sea,⁹

which teems with innumerable swimming creatures,¹⁰

living things both small and large.

104:26 The ships travel there,

and over here swims the whale¹¹ you made to play in it.

104:27 All of your creatures¹² wait for you

to provide them with food on a regular basis.¹³

104:28 You give food to them and they receive it;

you open your hand and they are filled with food.¹⁴

104:29 When you ignore them, they panic.¹⁵

When you take away their life’s breath, they die

and return to dust.

104:30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,

and you replenish the surface of the ground.

[104:19] ¹tn Heb “he made [the] moon for appointed times.” The phrase “appointed times” probably refers to the months of the Hebrew lunar calendar.

[104:19] ²tn Heb more metaphorically, “knows its setting.”

[104:20] ³tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”

[104:21] ⁵sn The lions’ roaring is viewed as a request for food from God.

[104:22] ⁷tn Heb “lie down.”

[104:23] ⁹tn Heb “man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening.”

[104:24] ¹¹tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O Lord.” In this case the Lord’s “works” are the creatures he has made, as the preceding and following contexts make clear.

[104:24] ¹²tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”

[104:25] ¹³tn Heb “this [is] the sea, great and broad of hands [i.e., “sides” or “shores”].”

[104:25] ¹⁴tn Heb “where [there are] swimming things, and without number.”

[104:26] ¹⁵tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.

[104:27] ¹⁷tn Heb “All of them.” The pronoun “them” refers not just to the sea creatures mentioned in vv. 25-26, but to all living things (see v. 24). This has been specified in the translation as “all of your creatures” for clarity.

[104:27] ¹⁸tn Heb “to give their food in its time.”

[104:28] ¹⁹tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] good.”

[104:29] ²¹tn Heb “you hide your face, they are terrified.”