1 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!

2 L et the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has delivered from the hand of the adversary,

3 A nd gathered them out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the Sea in the south.

4 S ome wandered in the wilderness in a solitary desert track; they found no city for habitation.

5 H ungry and thirsty, they fainted; their lives were near to being extinguished.

6 T hen they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.

7 H e led them forth by the straight and right way, that they might go to a city where they could establish their homes.

8 O h, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!

9 F or He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with good.

10 S ome sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and in irons,

11 B ecause they had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12 T herefore He bowed down their hearts with hard labor; they stumbled and fell down, and there was none to help.

13 T hen they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.

14 H e brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke apart the bonds that held them.

15 O h, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!

16 F or He has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron apart.

17 S ome are fools because of the way of their transgressions and are afflicted because of their iniquities.

18 T hey loathe every kind of food, and they draw near to the gates of death.

19 T hen they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivers them out of their distresses.

20 H e sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction.

21 O h, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!

22 A nd let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and rehearse His deeds with shouts of joy and singing!

23 S ome go down to the sea and travel over it in ships to do business in great waters;

24 T hese see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep.

25 F or He commands and raises up the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea.

26 m ount up to the heavens, they go down again to the deeps; their courage melts away because of their plight.

27 T hey reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits’ end.

28 T hen they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses.

29 H e hushes the storm to a calm and to a gentle whisper, so that the waves of the sea are still.

30 T hen the men are glad because of the calm, and He brings them to their desired haven.

31 O h, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!

32 L et them exalt Him also in the congregation of the people and praise Him in the company of the elders.

33 H e turns rivers into a wilderness, water springs into a thirsty ground,

34 A fruitful land into a barren, salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

35 H e turns a wilderness into a pool of water and a dry ground into water springs;

36 A nd there He makes the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation,

37 A nd sow fields, and plant vineyards which yield fruits of increase.

38 H e blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly, and allows not their cattle to decrease.

39 W hen they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,

40 H e pours contempt upon princes and causes them to wander in waste places where there is no road.

41 Y et He raises the poor and needy from affliction and makes their families like a flock.

42 T he upright shall see it and be glad, but all iniquity shall shut its mouth.

43 W hoso is wise will observe and heed these things; and they will diligently consider the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord.