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Psalm 116[a]

Thanksgiving to God Who Saves from Death

I

I love the Lord, who listened
    to my voice in supplication,
Who turned an ear to me
    on the day I called.
I was caught by the cords of death;[b](A)
    the snares of Sheol had seized me;
    I felt agony and dread.
Then I called on the name of the Lord,
    “O Lord, save my life!”

II

Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
    yes, our God is merciful.(B)
The Lord protects the simple;
    I was helpless, but he saved me.
Return, my soul, to your rest;
    the Lord has been very good to you.(C)
For my soul has been freed from death,
    my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.(D)
I shall walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.[c](E)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 116 A thanksgiving in which the psalmist responds to divine rescue from mortal danger (Ps 116:3–4) and from near despair (Ps 116:10–11) with vows and Temple sacrifices (Ps 116:13–14, 17–19). The Greek and Latin versions divide the Psalm into two parts: Ps 116:1–9 and Ps 116:10–19, corresponding to its two major divisions.
  2. 116:3 The cords of death: death is personified here; it attempts to capture the psalmist with snares and nets, cf. Ps 18:6.
  3. 116:9 The land of the living: the phrase elsewhere is an epithet of the Jerusalem Temple (cf. Ps 27:13; 52:5; Is 38:11). Hence the psalmist probably refers to being present to God in the Temple.

Psalm 116

I love the Lord,(A) for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry(B) for mercy.(C)
Because he turned his ear(D) to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death(E) entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name(F) of the Lord:
    Lord, save me!(G)

The Lord is gracious and righteous;(H)
    our God is full of compassion.(I)
The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low,(J) he saved me.(K)

Return to your rest,(L) my soul,
    for the Lord has been good(M) to you.

For you, Lord, have delivered me(N) from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord(O)
    in the land of the living.(P)

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