Psalms

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

His loving devotion endures forever.

² Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy

³ and gathered from the lands,

from east and west, from north and south. ^[a]

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastelands,

finding no path to a city in which to dwell.

⁵ They were hungry and thirsty;

their soul fainted within them.

⁶ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,

and He delivered them from their distress.

⁷ He led them on a straight path

to reach a city where they could live.

⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion

and His wonders to the sons of men.

⁹ For He satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,

prisoners in affliction and chains,

¹¹ because they rebelled against the words of God

and despised the counsel of the Most High.

¹² He humbled their hearts with hard labor;

they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

¹³ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,

and He saved them from their distress.

¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death

and broke away their chains.

¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion

and His wonders to the sons of men.

¹⁶ For He has broken down the gates of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron.

¹⁷ Fools, in their rebellious ways,

and through their iniquities, suffered affliction.

¹⁸ They loathed all food

and drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁹ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,

and He saved them from their distress.

²⁰ He sent forth His word and healed them;

He rescued them from the Pit.

²¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion

and His wonders to the sons of men.

²² Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving

and declare His works with rejoicing.

²³ Others went out to sea in ships,

conducting trade on the mighty waters.

²⁴ They saw the works of the LORD,

and His wonders in the deep.

²⁵ For He spoke and raised a tempest

that lifted the waves of the sea.

²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens, then sunk to the depths;

their courage melted in their anguish.

²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards,

and all their skill was useless. ^[b]

²⁸ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,

and He brought them out of their distress.

²⁹ He calmed the storm to a whisper,

and the waves of the sea ^[c] were hushed.

³⁰ They rejoiced in the silence,

and He guided them to the harbor they desired.

³¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion

and His wonders to the sons of men.

³² Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people

and praise Him in the council of the elders.

³³ He turns rivers into deserts,

springs of water into thirsty ground,

³⁴ and fruitful land into fields of salt,

because of the wickedness of its dwellers.

³⁵ He turns a desert into pools of water

and a dry land into flowing springs.

³⁶ He causes the hungry to settle there,

that they may establish a city in which to dwell.

³⁷ They sow fields and plant vineyards

that yield a fruitful harvest.

³⁸ He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;

He does not let their herds diminish.

³⁹ When they are decreased and humbled

by oppression, evil, and sorrow,

⁴⁰ He pours out contempt on the nobles

and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

⁴¹ But He lifts the needy from affliction

and increases their families like flocks.

⁴² The upright see and rejoice,

and all iniquity shuts its mouth.

⁴³ Let him who is wise pay heed to these things

and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.