Psalm 107

Book V

Psalms 107–150

¹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—

those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

³those he gathered from the lands,

from east and west, from north and south.

⁴Some wandered in desert wastelands,

finding no way to a city where they could settle.

⁵They were hungry and thirsty,

and their lives ebbed away.

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

and he delivered them from their distress.

⁷He led them by a straight way

to a city where they could settle.

⁸Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

⁹for he satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,

prisoners suffering in iron chains,

¹¹because they rebelled against God’s commands

and despised the plans of the Most High.

¹²So he subjected them to bitter labor;

they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

¹³Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

¹⁴He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,

and broke away their chains.

¹⁵Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

¹⁶for he breaks down gates of bronze

and cuts through bars of iron.

¹⁷Some became fools through their rebellious ways

and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

¹⁸They loathed all food

and drew near the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

²⁰He sent out his word and healed them;

he rescued them from the grave.

²¹Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

²²Let them sacrifice thank offerings

and tell of his works with songs of joy.

²³Some went out on the sea in ships;

they were merchants on the mighty waters.

²⁴They saw the works of the Lord,

his wonderful deeds in the deep.

²⁵For he spoke and stirred up a tempest

that lifted high the waves.

²⁶They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;

in their peril their courage melted away.

²⁷They reeled and staggered like drunkards;

they were at their wits’ end.

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

and he brought them out of their distress.

²⁹He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided them to their desired haven.

³¹Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

³²Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people

and praise him in the council of the elders.

³³He turned rivers into a desert,

flowing springs into thirsty ground,

³⁴and fruitful land into a salt waste,

because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

³⁵He turned the desert into pools of water

and the parched ground into flowing springs;

³⁶there he brought the hungry to live,

and they founded a city where they could settle.

³⁷They sowed fields and planted vineyards

that yielded a fruitful harvest;

³⁸he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,

and he did not let their herds diminish.

³⁹Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled

by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

⁴⁰he who pours contempt on nobles

made them wander in a trackless waste.

⁴¹But he lifted the needy out of their affliction

and increased their families like flocks.

⁴²The upright see and rejoice,

but all the wicked shut their mouths.

⁴³Let the one who is wise heed these things

and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.