Psalm 104:20-27
New English Translation
20 You make it dark and night comes,[a]
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
21 The lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God.[b]
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and sleep[c] in their dens.
23 People then go out to do their work,
and they labor until evening.[d]
24 How many living things you have made, O Lord![e]
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;[f]
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
25 Over here is the deep, wide sea,[g]
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures,[h]
living things both small and large.
26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale[i] you made to play in it.
27 All your creatures[j] wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis.[k]
Footnotes
- Psalm 104:20 tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”
- Psalm 104:21 sn The lions’ roaring is viewed as a request for food from God.
- Psalm 104:22 tn Heb “lie down.”
- Psalm 104:23 tn Heb “man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening.”
- Psalm 104:24 tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O Lord.” In this case the Lord’s “works” are the creatures he has made, as the preceding and following contexts make clear.
- Psalm 104:24 tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”
- Psalm 104:25 tn Heb “this [is] the sea, great and broad of hands [i.e., “sides” or “shores”].”
- Psalm 104:25 tn Heb “where [there are] swimming things, and without number.”
- Psalm 104:26 tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.
- Psalm 104:27 tn Heb “All of them.” The pronoun “them” refers not just to the sea creatures mentioned in vv. 25-26, but to all living things (see v. 24). This has been specified in the translation as “all of your creatures” for clarity.
- Psalm 104:27 tn Heb “to give their food in its time.”
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.