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II

[a]You fixed the earth on its foundation,
    so it can never be shaken.
The deeps covered it like a garment;
    above the mountains stood the waters.
At your rebuke they took flight;
    at the sound of your thunder they fled.(A)
They rushed up the mountains, down the valleys
    to the place you had fixed for them.
You set a limit they cannot pass;
    never again will they cover the earth.(B)

III

10 You made springs flow in wadies
    that wind among the mountains.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;(C)
    here wild asses quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of heaven nest;
    among the branches they sing.
13 You water the mountains from your chambers;
    from the fruit of your labor the earth abounds.
14 You make the grass grow for the cattle
    and plants for people’s work
    to bring forth food from the earth,
15 wine to gladden their hearts,
    oil to make their faces shine,
    and bread to sustain the human heart.
16 [b]The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
    the cedars of Lebanon, which you planted.
17 There the birds build their nests;
    the stork in the junipers, its home.(D)
18 The high mountains are for wild goats;
    the rocky cliffs, a refuge for badgers.

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Footnotes

  1. 104:5–9 God places the gigantic disk of the earth securely on its foundation and then, as a warrior, chases away the enveloping waters and confines them under, above, and around the earth.
  2. 104:16–18 Even the exotic flora and fauna of the high mountains of the Lebanon range receive adequate water.