1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. |
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say this--those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, |
3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. |
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. |
5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. |
6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. |
7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. |
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, |
9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. |
10 Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, |
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. |
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. |
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. |
14 He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. |
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, |
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. |
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. |
18 They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. |
19 Then they cried 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 grave. |
21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. |
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy. |
23 Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. |
24 They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep. |
25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. |
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. |
27 They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end. |
28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. |
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. |
30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. |
31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. |
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders. |
33 He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, |
34 and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. |
35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; |
36 there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle. |
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; |
38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish. |
39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow; |
40 he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste. |
41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks. |
42 The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths. |
43 Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD. |