BOOK FIVE
(Psalms 107-150)
107 Give thanks to Jehovah, for he is good;+
His loyal love endures forever.+
2 Let those reclaimed by Jehovah say this,
Those whom he reclaimed from the hand of the adversary,+
3 Whom he gathered together from the lands,+
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.+
4 They wandered about in the wilderness, in the desert;
They did not find a way to a city where they could live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
They were faint from exhaustion.
6 They kept crying out to Jehovah in their distress;+
He rescued them from their plight.+
7 He had them walk in the right way+
To come to a city where they could live.+
8 Let people give thanks to Jehovah+ for his loyal love
And for his wonderful works in behalf of the sons of men.+
9 For he has satisfied the thirsty
And filled the hungry with good things.+
10 Some were living in deepest darkness,
Prisoners in affliction and in irons.
11 For they had rebelled against the word of God;
They disrespected the counsel of the Most High.+
12 So he humbled their hearts through hardship;+
They stumbled, and there was no one to help them.
13 They called to Jehovah for help in their distress;
He saved them from their plight.
14 He brought them out of deepest darkness,
And he tore off their shackles.+
15 Let people give thanks to Jehovah for his loyal love+
And for his wonderful works in behalf of the sons of men.
16 For he has broken down the doors of copper
And cut through the bars of iron.+
17 They were foolish and suffered affliction+
On account of their transgressions and their errors.+
18 They lost their appetite for all food;
They drew near the gates of death.
19 They would call to Jehovah for help in their distress;
He would save them from their plight.
20 He would send his word and heal them+
And rescue them from the pits they were trapped in.
21 Let people give thanks to Jehovah for his loyal love
And for his wonderful works in behalf of the sons of men.
22 Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving+
And declare his works with a joyful cry.
23 Those who travel on the sea in ships,
Who ply their trade over the vast waters,+
24 They have seen the works of Jehovah
And his wonderful works in the deep;+
25 How by his word a windstorm arises,+
Lifting up the waves of the sea.
26 They rise up to the sky;
They plunge down to the depths.
Their courage melts away because of the impending calamity.
27 They reel and stagger like a drunken man,
And all their skill proves useless.+
28 Then they cry out to Jehovah in their distress,+
And he rescues them from their plight.
29 He calms the windstorm;
The waves of the sea grow quiet.+
30 They rejoice when these grow still,
And he leads them to their desired harbor.
31 Let people give thanks to Jehovah for his loyal love
And for his wonderful works in behalf of the sons of men.+
32 Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people,+
And let them praise him in the council of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert
And springs of water into parched ground,+
34 Fruitful land into salty wasteland,+
Because of the wickedness of those dwelling in it.
35 He turns the desert into reedy pools of water,
And dry land into springs of water.+
36 He causes the hungry to dwell there,+
So that they may establish a city where they can live.+
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards+
That yield fruitful crops.+
38 He blesses them and they increase greatly;
He does not let their cattle diminish.+
39 But again they become few and are humiliated
Because of oppression, calamity, and grief.
40 He pours out contempt upon nobles
And makes them wander in trackless wastelands.+
41 But he protects the poor from oppression+
And makes their families as numerous as a flock.
42 The upright see this and rejoice;+
But all the unrighteous shut their mouths.+
43 Whoever is wise will observe these things+
And will carefully consider Jehovah’s acts of loyal love.+