Psalms 105
Psalm 105 ▼▼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.
1 Give thanks to the Lord.Call on his name.
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
2Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
3Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence continually.
5Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed, ▼
▼tn Heb “and the judgments of his mouth.”
6O children ▼
▼tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
of Abraham, ▼ God’s ▼▼tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
servant,you descendants ▼
▼tn Heb “sons.”
of Jacob, God’s ▼▼tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
chosen ones. 7He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth. ▼
▼tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”
8He always remembers his covenantal decree,
the promise he made ▼ to a thousand generations—
9the promise ▼
▼tn Heb “which.”
he made to Abraham,the promise he made by oath to Isaac.
10He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise, ▼
▼tn Or “eternal covenant.”
11saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
12When they were few in number,
just a very few, and resident foreigners within it,
13they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another. ▼
▼tn Heb “and from a kingdom to another nation.”
14He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
15saying, ▼
▼tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
“Don’t touch my chosen ones. ▼▼tn Heb “anointed.”
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16He called down a famine upon the earth;
he cut off all the food supply. ▼
▼tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).
17He sent a man ahead of them ▼ —
Joseph was sold as a servant.
18The shackles hurt his feet; ▼
▼tn Heb “they afflicted his feet with shackles.”
his neck was placed in an iron collar, ▼
▼tn Heb “his neck came [into] iron.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with the suffix could mean simply “he” or “his life.” But the nuance “neck” makes good sense here (note the reference to his “feet” in the preceding line). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 38.
19until the time when his prediction ▼
▼tn Heb “word,” probably referring to Joseph’s prediction about the fate of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (see Gen 41:9-14).
came true.The Lord’s word ▼ proved him right. ▼
▼tn Heb “refined him.”
20The king authorized his release; ▼
▼tn Heb “[the] king sent and set him free.”
the ruler of nations set him free.
21He put him in charge of his palace, ▼
▼tn Heb “he made him master of his house.”
and made him manager of all his property,
22giving him authority to imprison his officials ▼
▼tn Heb “to bind his officials by his will.”
and to teach his advisers. ▼
▼tn Heb “and his elders he taught wisdom.”
23Israel moved to ▼
▼tn Heb “entered.”
Egypt;Jacob lived for a time ▼
▼tn Heb “lived as a resident foreigner.”
in the land of Ham. 24The Lord ▼
▼tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
made his people very fruitfuland made them ▼
▼tn Heb “him,” referring to “his people.”
more numerous than their ▼▼tn Heb “his,” referring to “his people.”
enemies. 25He caused the Egyptians ▼
▼tn Heb “their heart.”
to hate his peopleand to mistreat ▼ his servants.
26He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27They executed his miraculous signs among them ▼
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
28He made it dark; ▼
▼tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”
▼▼sn He made it dark. The psalmist begins with the ninth plague (see Exod 10:21-29).
Moses and Aaron did not disobey his orders. ▼
▼tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.
29He turned the Egyptians’ water into blood
and killed their fish.
30Their land was overrun by frogs,
which even got into the rooms of their kings.
31He ordered flies to come; ▼
▼tn Heb “he spoke and flies came.”
gnats invaded their whole territory.
32He sent hail along with the rain; ▼
▼tn Heb “he gave their rains hail.”
there was lightning in their land. ▼
▼tn Heb “fire of flames [was] in their land.”
33He destroyed their vines and fig trees
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
34He ordered locusts to come, ▼
▼tn Heb “he spoke and locusts came.”
innumerable grasshoppers.
35They ate all the vegetation in their land
and devoured the crops of their fields. ▼
▼tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”
36He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power. ▼ ▼
37He brought his people ▼
▼tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Lord’s people) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
out enriched ▼▼tn The word “enriched” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
with silver and gold;none of his tribes stumbled.
38Egypt was happy when they left,
for they were afraid of them. ▼
▼tn Heb “for fear of them had fallen upon them.”
39He spread out a cloud for a cover, ▼
▼tn Or “curtain.”
and provided a fire to light up the night.
40They asked for food, ▼
▼tn Heb “he [i.e., his people] asked.” The singular form should probably be emended to a plural שָׁאֲלוּ (shaʾalu, “they asked”), the ו (vav) having fallen off by haplography (note the vav at the beginning of the following form).
and he sent quail;he satisfied them with food from the sky. ▼
41He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
42Yes, ▼
▼tn Or “for.”
he remembered the sacred promise ▼▼tn Heb “his holy word.”
he made to Abraham his servant.
43When he led his people out, they rejoiced;
his chosen ones shouted with joy. ▼
▼tn Heb “and he led his people out with joy, with a ringing cry, his chosen ones.”
44He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, ▼
▼tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”
45so that they might keep his commands
and obey ▼
▼tn Heb “guard.”
his laws.Praise the Lord.
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