Mazmur 104:10-23

104:10 He turns springs into streams; ¹ 

they flow between the mountains.

104:11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

104:12 The birds of the sky live beside them;

they chirp among the bushes. ² 

104:13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace; ³ 

the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow. ⁴ 

104:14 He provides grass ⁵  for the cattle,

and crops for people to cultivate, ⁶ 

so they can produce food from the ground, ⁷ 

104:15 as well as wine that makes people feel so good, ⁸ 

and so they can have oil to make their faces shine, ⁹ 

as well as food that sustains people’s lives. ¹⁰ 

104:16 The trees of the Lord ¹¹  receive all the rain they need, ¹² 

the cedars of Lebanon which he planted,

104:17 where the birds make nests,

near the evergreens in which the herons live. ¹³ 

104:18 The wild goats live in the high mountains; ¹⁴ 

the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.

104:19 He made the moon to mark the months, ¹⁵ 

and the sun sets according to a regular schedule. ¹⁶ 

104:20 You make it dark and night comes, ¹⁷ 

during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.

104:21 The lions roar for prey,

seeking their food from God. ¹⁸ 

104:22 When the sun rises, they withdraw

and sleep ¹⁹  in their dens.

104:23 Men then go out to do their work,

and labor away until evening. ²⁰ 

[104:10]  ¹ tn Heb “[the] one who sends springs into streams.” Another option is to translate, “he sends streams [i.e., streams that originate from springs] into the valleys” (cf. NIV).

[104:12]  ² tn Heb “among the thick foliage they give a sound.”

[104:13]  ³ tn Heb “from his upper rooms.”

[104:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the fruit of your works the earth is full.” The translation assumes that “fruit” is literal here. If “fruit” is understood more abstractly as “product; result,” then one could translate, “the earth flourishes as a result of your deeds” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB).

[104:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “causes the grass to sprout up.”

[104:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “for the service of man” (see Gen 2:5).

[104:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “to cause food to come out from the earth.”

[104:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “and wine [that] makes the heart of man happy.”

[104:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “to make [the] face shine from oil.” The Hebrew verb צָהַל (tsahal, “to shine”) occurs only here in the OT. It appears to be an alternate form of צָהַר (tsahar), a derivative from צָהָרִים (tsaharim, “noon”).

[104:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and food [that] sustains the heart of man.”

[104:16]  ¹¹ sn The trees of the Lord are the cedars of Lebanon (see the next line), which are viewed as special because of their great size and grandeur. The Lebanon forest was viewed elsewhere in the OT as the “garden of God” (see Ezek 31:8).

[104:16]  ¹² tn Heb “are satisfied,” which means here that they receive abundant rain (see v. 13).

[104:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “[the] heron [in the] evergreens [is] its home.”

[104:17]  sn The cedars and evergreens of the Lebanon forest are frequently associated (see, for example, 2 Chr 2:8; Isa 14:8; 37:24; Ezek 31:8).

[104:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the high mountains [are] for the goats.”

[104:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he made [the] moon for appointed times.” The phrase “appointed times” probably refers to the months of the Hebrew lunar calendar.

[104:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb more metaphorically, “knows its setting.”

[104:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”

[104:21]  ¹⁸ sn The lions’ roaring is viewed as a request for food from God.

[104:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “lie down.”

[104:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening.”