Psaume 104:29

29 Caches-tu ta face? ils sont éperdus; retires-tu leur souffle? ils expirent, et retournent en leur poussière.

Psaume 104:29 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 104:29

Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled
God may be said to hide his face from the creatures when he withholds their food from them, when there is a scarcity of provisions, a famine in the land; when there is no pasture for them to feed on, nor brooks of water to drink of; then are they troubled or perplexed, as in ( Joel 1:18 Joel 1:20 ) and know not what to do, nor where to go for help, but faint, and sink, and die. So in a spiritual sense when God hides his face from his people, removes his Shechinah, or divine Majesty and Presence, as the Targum here; and withdraws the influences of his grace and Spirit; or when they have no food for their souls, or what they have is not blessed, then are they troubled, ( Psalms 30:7 ) .

Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust;
their original dust, from whence they sprung, as man himself does; the breath of all is from the Lord; he gives it to his creatures, and when he pleases he takes it away; and when he does, they die and become dust again.

Psaume 104:29 In-Context

27 Tous, ils s'attendent à toi, pour que tu leur donnes leur nourriture en son temps.
28 Tu la leur donnes, et ils la recueillent; tu ouvres ta main, et ils sont rassasiés de biens.
29 Caches-tu ta face? ils sont éperdus; retires-tu leur souffle? ils expirent, et retournent en leur poussière.
30 Envoies-tu ton esprit? ils sont créés, et tu renouvelles la face de la terre.
31 Que la gloire de l'Éternel dure à toujours! Que l'Éternel se réjouisse dans ses œuvres!
The Ostervald translation is in the public domain.