Common English Bible CEB
English Standard Version ESV
1 "Give thanks to the LORD because he is good, because his faithful love lasts forever!"
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Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 That's what those who are redeemed by the LORD say, the ones God redeemed from the power of their enemies,
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Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 the ones God gathered from various countries, from east and west, north and south.
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and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4 Some of the redeemed had wandered into the desert, into the wasteland. They couldn't find their way to a city or town.
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Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 They were hungry and thirsty; their lives were slipping away.
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hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
6 So they cried out to the LORD in their distress, and God delivered them from their desperate circumstances.
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Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
7 God led them straight to human habitation.
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He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people,
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Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst, and he filled up the hungry with good things!
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For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
10 Some of the redeemed had been sitting in darkness and deep gloom; they were prisoners suffering in chains
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Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 because they had disobeyed God's instructions and rejected the Most High's plans.
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for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So God humbled them with hard work. They stumbled, and there was no one to help them.
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So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.
13 So they cried out to the LORD in their distress, and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
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Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
14 God brought them out from the darkness and deep gloom; he shattered their chains.
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He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people,
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Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 because God has shattered bronze doors and split iron bars in two!
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For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 Some of the redeemed were fools because of their sinful ways. They suffered because of their wickedness.
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Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 They had absolutely no appetite for food; they had arrived at death's gates.
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they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 So they cried out to the LORD in their distress, and God saved them from their desperate circumstances.
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Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
20 God gave the order and healed them; he rescued them from their pit.
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He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people.
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Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and declare what God has donein songs of joy!
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And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
23 Some of the redeemed had gone out on the ocean in ships, making their living on the high seas.
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Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;
24 They saw what the LORD had made; they saw his wondrous works in the depths of the sea.
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they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.
25 God spoke and stirred up a storm that brought the waves up high.
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For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 The waves went as high as the sky; they crashed down to the depths. The sailors' courage melted at this terrible situation.
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They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 They staggered and stumbled around like they were drunk. None of their skill was of any help.
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they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.
28 So they cried out to the LORD in their distress, and God brought them out safe from their desperate circumstances.
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Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
29 God quieted the storm to a whisper; the sea's waves were hushed.
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He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 So they rejoiced because the waves had calmed down; then God led them to the harbor they were hoping for.
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Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the LORD for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people.
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Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them exalt God in the congregation of the people and praise God in the assembly of the elders.
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Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 God turns rivers into desert, watery springs into thirsty ground,
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He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 fruitful land into unproductive dirt, when its inhabitants are wicked.
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a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 But God can also turn the desert into watery pools, thirsty ground into watery springs,
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He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
36 where he settles the hungry. They even build a city and live there!
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And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;
37 They plant fields and vineyards and obtain a fruitful harvest.
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they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.
38 God blesses them, and they become many. God won't even let their cattle diminish.
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By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.
39 But when they do diminish— when they're brought down by oppression, trouble, and grief—
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When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 God pours contempt on their leaders, making them wander aimlessly in the wastelands.
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he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 But God raises the needy from their suffering; he makes their families as numerous as sheep!
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but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.
42 Those who do right see it and celebrate, but every wicked person shuts their mouth.
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The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things, carefully considering the LORD's faithful love.
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Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025