Psalms 103
103
PSALM 103
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
A Psalm of David.
1O thou my soul, bless God the Lord;
and all that in me is
Be stirred up his holy name
to magnify and bless.
2Bless, O my soul, the Lord thy God,
and not forgetful be
Of all his gracious benefits
he hath bestow'd on thee.
3All thine iniquities who doth
most graciously forgive:
Who thy diseases all and pains doth heal,
and thee relieve.
4Who doth redeem thy life, that thou
to death may'st not go down;
Who thee with loving-kindness doth
and tender mercies crown:
5Who with abundance of good things
doth satisfy thy mouth;
So that, ev'n as the eagle's age,
renewed is thy youth.
6God righteous judgment executes
for all oppressed ones.
7His ways to Moses, he his acts
made known to Isr'el's sons.
8The Lord our God is merciful,
and he is gracious,
Long-suffering, and slow to wrath,
in mercy plenteous.
9He will not chide continually,
nor keep his anger still.
10With us he dealt not as we sinn'd,
nor did requite our ill.
11For as the heaven in its height
the earth surmounteth far;
So great to those that do him fear
his tender mercies are:
12As far as east is distant from
the west, so far hath he
From us removed, in his love,
all our iniquity.
13Such pity as a father hath
unto his children dear;
Like pity shews the Lord to such
as worship him in fear.
14For he remembers we are dust,
and he our frame well knows.
15Frail man, his days are like the grass,
as flow'r in field he grows:
16For over it the wind doth pass,
and it away is gone;
And of the place where once it was
it shall no more be known.
17But unto them that do him fear
God's mercy never ends;
And to their children's children still
his righteousness extends:
18To such as keep his covenant,
and mindful are alway
Of his most just commandements,
that they may them obey.
19The Lord prepared hath his throne
in heavens firm to stand;
And ev'ry thing that being hath
his kingdom doth command.
20O ye his angels, that excel
in strength, bless ye the Lord;
Ye who obey what he commands,
and hearken to his word.
21O bless and magnify the Lord,
ye glorious hosts of his;
Ye ministers, that do fulfil
whate'er his pleasure is.
22O bless the Lord, all ye his works,
wherewith the world is stor'd
In his dominions ev'ry where.
My soul, bless thou the Lord.
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Psalms 103: MP1650
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 103
103
Psalm 103#sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.
By David.
1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
With all that is within me, praise#tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line). his holy name!
2 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Do not forget all his kind deeds!#tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).
3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases,#tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).
4 who delivers#tn Or “redeems.” your life from the Pit,#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.
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life with good things,#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).
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.#sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.
6 The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed.#tn Heb “the Lord does fairness, and [acts of] justice for all the oppressed.”
7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts#tn Heb “made known his ways.” God’s “ways” in this context are his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 18:30; 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 138:5; 145:17). to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient#tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15). and demonstrates great loyal love.#tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).
9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry.#tn The Hebrew verb נָטַר (natar) is usually taken to mean “to keep; to guard,” with “anger” being understood by ellipsis. The idiom “to guard anger” is then understood to mean “to remain angry” (see Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2). However, it is possible that this is a homonymic root meaning “to be angry” (see HALOT 695 s.v. נטר).
10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;#tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.#tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”
11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers#tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19. over his faithful followers.#tn Heb “those who fear him.”
12 As far as the eastern horizon#tn Heb “sunrise.” is from the west,#tn Or “sunset.”
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions#tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (pesha’, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce. from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,#tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.#tn Heb “those who fear him.”
14 For he knows what we are made of;#tn Heb “our form.”
he realizes#tn Heb “remembers.” we are made of clay.#tn Heb “we [are] clay.”
15 A person’s life is like grass.#tn Heb “[as for] mankind, like grass [are] his days.” The Hebrew noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here generically of human beings. What is said is true of all mankind.
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
16 but when the hot wind#tn Heb “[the] wind.” The word “hot” is supplied in the translation for clarification. blows by, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers,#tn Heb “but the loyal love of the Lord [is] from everlasting to everlasting over those who fear him.”
and is faithful to their descendants,#tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”
18 to those who keep his covenant,
who are careful to obey his commands.#tn Heb “to those who remember his precepts to do them.”
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom extends over everything.#tn Heb “his kingdom rules over all.”
20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,
you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees
and obey his orders!#tn Heb “[you] mighty ones of strength, doers of his word, by listening to the voice of his word.”
21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his,#tn Heb “all his hosts.”
you servants of his who carry out his desires!#tn Heb “his attendants, doers of his desire.”
22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made,#tn Heb “all his works,” which includes mankind.
in all the regions#tn Heb “places.” of his kingdom!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
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