The Holy Bible – Knox Translation
The Book of Psalms
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Psalm 106
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1
Praise the Lord, the Lord is gracious; his mercy endures for ever;
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be this the cry of men the Lord has rescued, rescued them from the enemy’s hand, and gathered them in
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from sunrising and sunset, from the north country and the south.
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Some have wandered in parched deserts, missing the way to the city that was their home,
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hungry and thirsty, so that their spirits died within them.
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So they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,
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guiding them surely to the place where they should find a home.
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Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;
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poor souls that were thirsty, contented now, poor souls that were hungry, satisfied now with all good.
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Some lay where darkness overshadowed them, helpless in bonds of iron;
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their punishment for rebelling against God’s decrees, for thwarting the will of the most High.
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Their hearts bowed down with sorrow, none else to aid their faltering steps,
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they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,
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rescuing them from darkness, from the shadows, tearing their chains asunder.
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Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;
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the Lord who has shattered the gates of brass, riven the bonds of iron.
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Some for their own fault must needs be humbled; for their guilt
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they lay sick, with no stomach for food, close to death’s door.
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So they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,
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uttered the word of healing, and saved them from their peril.
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Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;
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theirs to offer him sacrifice in thanksgiving, and proclaim joyfully what he has done for them.
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Some there were that ventured abroad in ships, trafficking over the high seas;
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these are men that have witnessed the Lord’s doings, his wonderful doings amid the deep.
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At his word the stormy wind rose, churning up its waves;
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high up towards heaven they were carried, then sank into the trough, with spirits fainting at their peril;
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see them reeling and staggering to and fro as a drunkard does, all their seamanship forgotten!
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So they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,
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stilling the storm into a whisper, till all its waves were quiet.
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Glad hearts were theirs, when calm fell about them, and he brought them to the haven where they longed to be.
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Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;
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let them extol his name, where the people gather, glorify him where the elders sit in council.
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Here, he changes rivers into desert sand, wells into dry ground;
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land that once was fruitful into a salty marsh, to punish its people’s guilt.
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There, he turns the wilderness into pools of water, desert ground into springs;
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and establishes hungry folk there, so that they build themselves a city to dwell in,
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sow fields, and plant vineyards, and reap the harvest;
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he blesses them, so that their numbers increase beyond measure, and to their cattle grants increase.
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Once, they were but few, worn down by stress of need and ill fortune;
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but now the same power that shames proud chieftains, and keeps them wandering in a pathless desert,
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has rescued the poor from need, their households thrive like their own flocks.
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Honest men will rejoice to witness it, and malice will stand dumb with confusion.
43
Heed it well, if thou wouldst be wise; be these thy study, the mercies of the Lord.
