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