Psalm 107
The Voice
Book Five
Book Five (Psalms 107–150) succinctly presents many of the major themes of the previous psalms. It tracks along Israel’s history as God’s nation, from the united monarchy, through the exile, to the restoration. Psalm 107 is a song of thanksgiving composed by those who survived exile and made their way home. As in Isaiah, the return from exile is described as a new exodus. Three Davidic psalms toward the beginning of Book Five represent the monarchy and recall Israel’s golden age. The Songs for the Journey to Worship (Psalm 120–134) are composed for use by God’s people as they traveled from their homes up to Zion to worship God at the temple. Representing their time in exile are songs of lament, heartbreaking testimonies to individuals’ pain when they are crushed by their enemies and separated from God’s blessings. Finally, Book Five concludes the collection by offering praise and thanks to God, for the story of Israel does not end with its exile and separation; rather, it ends in restoration and hope. Those who edited and compiled the Book of Psalms were relieved to be back in the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—rebuilding their temple and reestablishing their connection with God.
Psalm 107
1 Erupt with thanks to the Eternal, for He is good
and His loyal love lasts forever.
2 Let all those redeemed by the Eternal—
those rescued from times of deep trouble—join in giving thanks.
3 He has gathered them across the earth,
from east and west,
from [north and south].[a]
4 Some drifted around in the desert
and found no place where they could live.
5 Their bellies growled with hunger; their mouths were dry with thirst;
their souls grew weak and weary.
6 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal,
and He saved them from their misery.
7 He showed them the best path; then He led them down the right road
until they arrived at an inhabited town.
8 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
9 He has quenched their thirst,
and He has satisfied their hunger with what is good.
10 Some people were locked up in dark prisons, confined in gloom as bleak as death.
They were captives bound by iron chains and misery,
11 All because they had rebelled against the directives of the True God
and had rejected the wisdom of the Most High.
12 So they suffered the heaviness of slave labor;
when they stumbled and fell, there was no one to help them up.
13 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal;
He saved them from their misery.
14 He rescued them from the darkness, delivered them from the deepest gloom of death;
He shattered their iron chains.
15 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
16 He has broken down the bronze gates
and severed the iron bars that imprisoned them.
17 Some people became fools infected by their rebellious ways,
and sickness followed because of their sins.
18 Afflicted and weak, they refused any sort of food
as they approached the gates of death.
19 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal,
and He saved them from their misery.
20 He gave the order and healed them
and rescued them from certain death.
21 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
22 Let them present to Him thanksgiving sacrifices
and tell stories of His great deeds through songs of joy.
23 Some set out to sea in ships,
traveling across mighty seas in order to trade in foreign lands.
24 They witnessed the powerful acts of the Eternal,
marveled at the great wonders He revealed over the deep waters.
25 For He spoke and summoned a violent wind
that whipped up the waves of the sea.
26 Relentless waves lifted the ships high in the sky, then drove them down to the depths;
the sailors’ courage dissolved into misery.
27 They staggered and stumbled around like drunkards,
and they had no idea what to do.
28 In their distress, they called out to the Eternal,
and He saved them from their misery.
29 He commanded the storm to calm down, and it became still.
A hush came over the waves of the sea,
30 The sailors were delighted at the quiet,
and He guided them to their port.
31 May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal
in honor of His loyal love
And all the wonders He has performed for humankind!
32 Let them glorify Him in the assembly of His people
and worship Him in the presence of the elders.
33 God transforms wild, flowing rivers into dry, lonely deserts,
lively springs of water into thirsty ground.
34 He turns lush gardens into lifeless wastelands,
all because of the wickedness of those who reside there.
35 Yet He transforms a dry, lonely desert into pools of living water,
parched ground into lively springs.
36 And He allows those who are hungry to live there
so that they might build a livable city.
37 There they sow fields and plant vineyards
and gather up an abundant harvest.
38 He anoints them with His blessings, and they greatly increase in number.
He does not allow their herds to dwindle.
39 When His people lessen in number and are humbled
through persecution, suffering, and brokenheartedness,
40 He pours out contempt on those responsible leaders
and then makes them drift around in an uncharted wasteland.
41 But He raises the poor away from their suffering
and multiplies their families like a flock.
42 The righteous see God’s actions, and they take delight in what He does,
but the unrighteous don’t dare to speak.
43 Is there anyone wise? If so, may the wise take notice of these things
and reflect upon the loyal love of the Eternal.
Footnotes
- 107:3 Hebrew manuscripts read, “and the sea.”
Psalm 107
King James Version
107 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
19 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
21 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
24 These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end.
28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
34 A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
39 Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.