Discovery BoxPsalms 104:9-35
Context104:9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,
so that they would not cover the earth again. 1
104:10 He turns springs into streams; 2
they flow between the mountains.
104:11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
104:12 The birds of the sky live beside them;
they chirp among the bushes. 3
104:13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace; 4
the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow. 5
104:14 He provides grass 6 for the cattle,
and crops for people to cultivate, 7
so they can produce food from the ground, 8
104:15 as well as wine that makes people feel so good, 9
and so they can have oil to make their faces shine, 10
as well as food that sustains people’s lives. 11
104:16 The trees of the Lord 12 receive all the rain they need, 13
the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,
104:17 where the birds make nests,
near the evergreens in which the herons live. 14
104:18 The wild goats live in the high mountains; 15
the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.
104:19 He made the moon to mark the months, 16
and the sun sets according to a regular schedule. 17
104:20 You make it dark and night comes, 18
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
104:21 The lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God. 19
104:22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and sleep 20 in their dens.
104:23 Men then go out to do their work,
and labor away until evening. 21
104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! 22
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; 23
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
104:25 Over here is the deep, wide sea, 24
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, 25
living things both small and large.
104:26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale 26 you made to play in it.
104:27 All of your creatures 27 wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis. 28
104:28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food. 29
104:29 When you ignore them, they panic. 30
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.
104:31 May the splendor of the Lord endure! 31
May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made! 32
104:32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes;
he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.
104:33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist! 33
104:34 May my thoughts 34 be pleasing to him!
I will rejoice in the Lord.
104:35 May sinners disappear 35 from the earth,
and the wicked vanish!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
[104:9] 1 tn Heb “a boundary you set up, they will not cross, they will not return to cover the earth.”
[104:10] 2 tn Heb “[the] one who sends springs into streams.” Another option is to translate, “he sends streams [i.e., streams that originate from springs] into the valleys” (cf. NIV).
[104:12] 3 tn Heb “among the thick foliage they give a sound.”
[104:13] 4 tn Heb “from his upper rooms.”
[104:13] 5 tn Heb “from the fruit of your works the earth is full.” The translation assumes that “fruit” is literal here. If “fruit” is understood more abstractly as “product; result,” then one could translate, “the earth flourishes as a result of your deeds” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB).
[104:14] 6 tn Heb “causes the grass to sprout up.”
[104:14] 7 tn Heb “for the service of man” (see Gen 2:5).
[104:14] 8 tn Heb “to cause food to come out from the earth.”
[104:15] 9 tn Heb “and wine [that] makes the heart of man happy.”
[104:15] 10 tn Heb “to make [the] face shine from oil.” The Hebrew verb צָהַל (tsahal, “to shine”) occurs only here in the OT. It appears to be an alternate form of צָהַר (tsahar), a derivative from צָהָרִים (tsaharim, “noon”).
[104:15] 11 tn Heb “and food [that] sustains the heart of man.”
[104:16] 12 sn The trees of the
[104:16] 13 tn Heb “are satisfied,” which means here that they receive abundant rain (see v. 13).
[104:17] 14 tn Heb “[the] heron [in the] evergreens [is] its home.”
[104:18] 15 tn Heb “the high mountains [are] for the goats.”
[104:19] 16 tn Heb “he made [the] moon for appointed times.” The phrase “appointed times” probably refers to the months of the Hebrew lunar calendar.
[104:19] 17 tn Heb more metaphorically, “knows its setting.”
[104:20] 18 tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”
[104:21] 19 sn The lions’ roaring is viewed as a request for food from God.
[104:22] 20 tn Heb “lie down.”
[104:23] 21 tn Heb “man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening.”
[104:24] 22 tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O
[104:24] 23 tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”
[104:25] 24 tn Heb “this [is] the sea, great and broad of hands [i.e., “sides” or “shores”].”
[104:25] 25 tn Heb “where [there are] swimming things, and without number.”
[104:26] 26 tn 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] 27 tn 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] 28 tn Heb “to give their food in its time.”
[104:28] 29 tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] good.”
[104:29] 30 tn Heb “you hide your face, they are terrified.”
[104:31] 31 tn Heb “be forever.”
[104:31] 32 tn Or “rejoice in his works.”
[104:33] 33 tn Heb “in my duration.”
[104:34] 34 tn That is, the psalmist’s thoughts as expressed in his songs of praise.
