Psalms 105 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~1000-500 BC (possibly during David's reign or post-exilic period)
Location
Jerusalem (temple worship)
Audience
The worshiping community of Israel gathered for temple liturgy or festival celebration
Situation
This is a liturgical psalm of thanksgiving that recounts Israel's history from Abraham to the conquest of Canaan. A version of this psalm appears in 1 Chronicles 16:8-22, associated with David bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem.
Key Background
Psalm 105 is a historical recitation psalm that celebrates God's covenant faithfulness to Israel through key events: the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Joseph's rise in Egypt; the Exodus under Moses and Aaron; the wilderness wanderings; and the gift of the Promised Land. It was likely used during festivals to teach successive generations about God's saving acts and to call them to covenant obedience, emphasizing that God remembers His covenant forever.
Give thanks to out name; make what he has done known among the
Sing to him, make music for him; tell the story of everything he has done.
Take pride in his name; let the hearts of those who seek Yahweh celebrate.
Look to Yahweh and strength; seek always.
Remember the extraordinary things he has done, his and the he has spoken,
You descendants of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his
He is Yahweh our God; his rulings reach across the whole earth.
He remembers his forever, the promise he made for a —
the covenant he with Abraham, his sworn oath to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as a covenant that stands forever:
"To you I will give the land of Canaan as the you will
When they were few in number, hardly any, and in the land,
wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another,
he let no one crush them; he rebuked kings on their account:
"Don't touch the ones I have anointed; don't harm my
He called down a famine on the land; he every of
He sent a man ahead of them — Joseph, sold as a
They hurt feet with shackles; his was in
until what he had spoken came true, until
The king sent and released him; the of set him free.
He made him of household, ruler over everything he owned,
to instruct his officials as he saw fit and teach to his elders.
Then Israel came to Egypt; Jacob lived as a stranger in the of
And God made his people fruitful; he made them stronger than their enemies.
He their to hate his people, to scheme against his servants.
He sent his servant, and Aaron, the one he had chosen.
They performed his among them, extraordinary acts in the land of Ham.
He sent and made the land dark; they did not
He their to blood and killed their fish.
Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the rooms of their kings.
He spoke, and of came, and gnats covered all their territory.
He gave them hail instead of rain, lightning across their land.
He struck down their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees throughout their territory.
He spoke, and came — grasshoppers beyond counting.
They devoured every green thing in the land; they ate the fruit of their soil.
Then he struck down every in the land, the of all their
He brought Israel out with and gold, and not one among their tribes stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they left, because of Israel had fallen on them.
He spread out a as a covering and to up the
They asked, and he brought quail; he satisfied them with from the
He the and water gushed out; it the a
Because he remembered his promise, and Abraham, his servant.
He brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with of
He gave them the lands of other nations, and they what other had for,
so that they would keep his instructions and guard his teachings. Praise