New Revised Standard NRS
The Message Bible MSG
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty,
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O my soul, bless God! God, my God, how great you are! beautifully, gloriously robed,
2 wrapped in light as with a garment. You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
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Dressed up in sunshine, and all heaven stretched out for your tent.
3 you set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind,
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You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings.
4 you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.
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You commandeered winds as messengers, appointed fire and flame as ambassadors.
5 You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken.
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You set earth on a firm foundation so that nothing can shake it, ever.
6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
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You blanketed earth with ocean, covered the mountains with deep waters;
7 At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
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Then you roared and the water ran away - your thunder crash put it to flight.
8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them.
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Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out in the places you assigned them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.
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You set boundaries between earth and sea; never again will earth be flooded.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,
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You started the springs and rivers, sent them flowing among the hills.
11 giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst.
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All the wild animals now drink their fill, wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.
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Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, ravens make their voices heard.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
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You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns; earth is supplied with plenty of water.
14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth,
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You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plow the ground. Oh yes, God brings grain from the land,
15 and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.
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wine to make people happy, Their faces glowing with health, a people well-fed and hearty.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
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God's trees are well-watered - the Lebanon cedars he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees.
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Birds build their nests in those trees; look - the stork at home in the treetop.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
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Mountain goats climb about the cliffs; badgers burrow among the rocks.
19 You have made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.
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The moon keeps track of the seasons, the sun is in charge of each day.
20 You make darkness, and it is night, when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.
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When it's dark and night takes over, all the forest creatures come out.
21 The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.
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The young lions roar for their prey, clamoring to God for their supper.
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens.
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When the sun comes up, they vanish, lazily stretched out in their dens.
23 People go out to their work and to their labor until the evening.
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Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, busy at their jobs until evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
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What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great.
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Oh, look - the deep, wide sea, brimming with fish past counting, sardines and sharks and salmon.
26 There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
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Ships plow those waters, and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.
27 These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
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All the creatures look expectantly to you to give them their meals on time.
28 when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
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You come, and they gather around; you open your hand and they eat from it.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
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If you turned your back, they'd die in a minute - Take back your Spirit and they die, revert to original mud;
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.
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Send out your Spirit and they spring to life - the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works—
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The glory of God - let it last forever! Let God enjoy his creation!
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.
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He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake, points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
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Oh, let me sing to God all my life long, sing hymns to my God as long as I live!
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
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Oh, let my song please him; I'm so pleased to be singing to God.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!
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But clear the ground of sinners - no more godless men and women! O my soul, bless God!
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.