English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
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Oh, thank God - he's so good! His love never runs out.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble
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All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression,
3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
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Then rounded you up from all over the place, from the four winds, from the seven seas.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;
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Some of you wandered for years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live,
5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
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Half-starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.
6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
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Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God. He got you out in the nick of time;
7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.
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He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
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So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
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He poured great draughts of water down parched throats; the starved and hungry got plenty to eat.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,
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Some of you were locked in a dark cell, cruelly confined behind bars,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
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Punished for defying God's Word, for turning your back on the High God's counsel -
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.
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A hard sentence, and your hearts so heavy, and not a soul in sight to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
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Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.
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He led you out of your dark, dark cell, broke open the jail and led you out.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
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So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
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He shattered the heavy jailhouse doors, he snapped the prison bars like matchsticks!
17 Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
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Some of you were sick because you'd lived a bad life, your bodies feeling the effects of your sin;
18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
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You couldn't stand the sight of food, so miserable you thought you'd be better off dead.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
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Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.
20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
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He spoke the word that healed you, that pulled you back from the brink of death.
21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
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So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
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Offer thanksgiving sacrifices, tell the world what he's done - sing it out!
23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;
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Some of you set sail in big ships; you put to sea to do business in faraway ports.
24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.
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Out at sea you saw God in action, saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean:
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
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With a word he called up the wind - an ocean storm, towering waves!
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;
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You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out; your hearts were stuck in your throats.
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end.
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You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk, you didn't know which end was up.
28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
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Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.
29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
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He quieted the wind down to a whisper, put a muzzle on all the big waves.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
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And you were so glad when the storm died down, and he led you safely back to harbor.
31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!
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So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
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Lift high your praises when the people assemble, shout Hallelujah when the elders meet!
33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,
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God turned rivers into wasteland, springs of water into sunbaked mud;
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.
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Luscious orchards became alkali flats because of the evil of the people who lived there.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
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Then he changed wasteland into fresh pools of water, arid earth into springs of water,
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;
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Brought in the hungry and settled them there; they moved in - what a great place to live!
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.
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They sowed the fields, they planted vineyards, they reaped a bountiful harvest.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish.
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He blessed them and they prospered greatly; their herds of cattle never decreased.
39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
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But abuse and evil and trouble declined
40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
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as he heaped scorn on princes and sent them away. He gave the poor a safe place to live,
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.
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treated their clans like well-cared-for sheep.
42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
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Good people see this and are glad; bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks.
43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
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If you are really wise, you'll think this over - it's time you appreciated God's deep love.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
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.