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Psalm 105[a]

God’s Fidelity to the Promise

I

Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name;(A)
    make known among the peoples his deeds!(B)
Sing praise to him, play music;
    proclaim all his wondrous deeds!
Glory in his holy name;
    let hearts that seek the Lord rejoice!
Seek out the Lord and his might;
    constantly seek his face.(C)
Recall the wondrous deeds he has done,
    his wonders and words of judgment,
You descendants of Abraham his servant,
    offspring of Jacob the chosen one!

II

He the Lord, is our God
    whose judgments reach through all the earth.
He remembers forever his covenant,
    the word he commanded for a thousand generations,
Which he made with Abraham,
    and swore to Isaac,(D)
10 And ratified in a statute for Jacob,
    an everlasting covenant for Israel:
11 “To you I give the land of Canaan,
    your own allotted inheritance.”(E)

III

12 When they were few in number,(F)
    a handful, and strangers there,
13 Wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
14 He let no one oppress them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:[b]
15 [c]“Do not touch my anointed ones,
    to my prophets do no harm.”

IV

16 Then he called down a famine on the land,
    destroyed the grain that sustained them.[d](G)
17 He had sent a man ahead of them,
    Joseph, sold as a slave.(H)
18 They shackled his feet with chains;
    collared his neck in iron,(I)
19 Till his prediction came to pass,
    and the word of the Lord proved him true.(J)
20 The king sent and released him;
    the ruler of peoples set him free.(K)
21 He made him lord over his household,
    ruler over all his possessions,(L)
22 To instruct his princes as he desired,
    to teach his elders wisdom.

V

23 Then Israel entered Egypt;(M)
    Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.[e]
24 God greatly increased his people,
    made them more numerous than their foes.(N)
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
    to treat his servants deceitfully.(O)
26 He sent his servant Moses,
    and Aaron whom he had chosen.(P)
27 [f]They worked his signs in Egypt(Q)
    and wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and it grew dark,
    but they rebelled against his word.
29 He turned their waters into blood
    and killed their fish.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
    even the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke and there came swarms of flies,
    gnats through all their country.
32 For rain he gave them hail,
    flashes of lightning throughout their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
    shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke and the locusts came,
    grasshoppers without number.(R)
35 They devoured every plant in the land;
    they devoured the crops of their fields.
36 He struck down every firstborn in the land,
    the first fruits of all their vigor.
37 He brought his people out,
    laden with silver and gold;(S)
    no one among the tribes stumbled.
38 Egypt rejoiced when they left,
    for fear had seized them.

VI

39 He spread a cloud out as a cover,
    and made a fire to light up the night.(T)
40 They asked and he brought them quail;
    with bread from heaven he filled them.(U)
41 He split the rock and water gushed forth;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.(V)
42 For he remembered his sacred promise
    to Abraham his servant.
43 He brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with shouts of triumph.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
    they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,(W)
45 That they might keep his statutes
    and observe his teachings.(X)
Hallelujah!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 105 A hymn to God who promised the land of Canaan to the holy people, cf. Ps 78; 106; 136. Israel is invited to praise and seek the presence of God (Ps 105:1–6), who is faithful to the promise of land to the ancestors (Ps 105:7–11). In every phase of the national story—the ancestors in the land of Canaan (Ps 105:12–15), Joseph in Egypt (Ps 105:16–22), Israel in Egypt (Ps 105:23–38), Israel in the desert on the way to Canaan (Ps 105:39–45)—God remained faithful, reiterating the promise of the land to successive servants.
  2. 105:14 Kings: Pharaoh and Abimelech of Gerar, cf. Gn 12:17; 20:6–7.
  3. 105:15 My anointed ones…my prophets: the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were “anointed” in the sense of being consecrated and recipients of God’s revelation.
  4. 105:16 The grain that sustained them: lit., every “staff of bread.”
  5. 105:23, 27 The land of Ham: a synonym for Egypt, cf. Gn 10:6.
  6. 105:27–38 This Psalm and Ps 78:43–51 have an account of the plagues differing in number or in order from Ex 7:14–12:30. Several versions of the exodus story were current.

Psalm 105(A)

Give praise to the Lord,(B) proclaim his name;(C)
    make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him,(D) sing praise to him;(E)
    tell of all his wonderful acts.(F)
Glory in his holy name;(G)
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face(H) always.

Remember the wonders(I) he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,(J)
you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,(K)
    his chosen(L) ones, the children of Jacob.
He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers his covenant(M) forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,(N)
    the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it(O) to Jacob as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:(P)
11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan(Q)
    as the portion you will inherit.”(R)

12 When they were but few in number,(S)
    few indeed, and strangers in it,(T)
13 they wandered from nation to nation,(U)
    from one kingdom to another.
14 He allowed no one to oppress(V) them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:(W)
15 “Do not touch(X) my anointed ones;
    do my prophets(Y) no harm.”

16 He called down famine(Z) on the land
    and destroyed all their supplies of food;
17 and he sent a man before them—
    Joseph, sold as a slave.(AA)
18 They bruised his feet with shackles,(AB)
    his neck was put in irons,
19 till what he foretold(AC) came to pass,
    till the word(AD) of the Lord proved him true.
20 The king sent and released him,
    the ruler of peoples set him free.(AE)
21 He made him master of his household,
    ruler over all he possessed,
22 to instruct his princes(AF) as he pleased
    and teach his elders wisdom.(AG)

23 Then Israel entered Egypt;(AH)
    Jacob resided(AI) as a foreigner in the land of Ham.(AJ)
24 The Lord made his people very fruitful;
    he made them too numerous(AK) for their foes,
25 whose hearts he turned(AL) to hate his people,
    to conspire(AM) against his servants.
26 He sent Moses(AN) his servant,
    and Aaron,(AO) whom he had chosen.(AP)
27 They performed(AQ) his signs(AR) among them,
    his wonders(AS) in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness(AT) and made the land dark—
    for had they not rebelled against(AU) his words?
29 He turned their waters into blood,(AV)
    causing their fish to die.(AW)
30 Their land teemed with frogs,(AX)
    which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.
31 He spoke,(AY) and there came swarms of flies,(AZ)
    and gnats(BA) throughout their country.
32 He turned their rain into hail,(BB)
    with lightning throughout their land;
33 he struck down their vines(BC) and fig trees(BD)
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke,(BE) and the locusts came,(BF)
    grasshoppers(BG) without number;(BH)
35 they ate up every green thing in their land,
    ate up the produce of their soil.
36 Then he struck down all the firstborn(BI) in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their manhood.
37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,(BJ)
    and from among their tribes no one faltered.
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
    because dread of Israel(BK) had fallen on them.

39 He spread out a cloud(BL) as a covering,
    and a fire to give light at night.(BM)
40 They asked,(BN) and he brought them quail;(BO)
    he fed them well with the bread of heaven.(BP)
41 He opened the rock,(BQ) and water gushed out;
    it flowed like a river in the desert.

42 For he remembered his holy promise(BR)
    given to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought out his people with rejoicing,(BS)
    his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
44 he gave them the lands of the nations,(BT)
    and they fell heir to what others had toiled(BU) for—
45 that they might keep his precepts
    and observe his laws.(BV)

Praise the Lord.[a](BW)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 105:45 Hebrew Hallelu Yah