¹ Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
² Let those who have been set free by the Lord tell their story.
He set them free from the power of the enemy.
³ He brought them back from other lands.
He brought them back from east and west, from north and south.
⁴ Some of them wandered in deserts that were dry and empty.
They couldn’t find a city where they could make their homes.
⁵ They were hungry and thirsty.
Their lives were slipping away.
⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.
And he saved them from their troubles.
⁷ He led them straight
to a city where they could make their homes.
⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.
Let them give thanks for the wonderful things he does for people.
⁹ He gives those who are thirsty all the water they want.
He gives those who are hungry all the good food they can eat.
¹⁰ Others lived in the deepest darkness.
They suffered as prisoners in iron chains.
¹¹ That’s because they hadn’t obeyed the commands of God.
They had refused to follow the plans of the Most High God.
¹² So he made them do work that was hard and bitter.
They tripped and fell, and there was no one to help them.
¹³ Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.
And he saved them from their troubles.
¹⁴ He brought them out of the deepest darkness.
He broke their chains off.
¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.
Let them give thanks for the wonderful things he does for people.
¹⁶ He breaks down gates that are made of bronze.
He cuts through bars that are made of iron.
¹⁷ Others were foolish. They suffered because of their sins.
They suffered because they wouldn’t obey the Lord.
¹⁸ They refused to eat anything.
They came close to passing through the gates of death.
¹⁹ Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.
And he saved them from their troubles.
²⁰ He gave his command and healed them.
He saved them from the grave.
²¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.
Let them give thanks for the wonderful things he does for people.
²² Let them sacrifice thank offerings.
Let them talk about what he has done as they sing with joy.
²³ Some people sailed out on the ocean in ships.
They traded goods on the mighty waters.
²⁴ They saw the works of the Lord.
They saw the wonderful deeds he did on the ocean.
²⁵ He spoke and stirred up a storm.
It lifted the waves high.
²⁶ They rose up to the heavens. Then they went down deep into the ocean.
In that kind of danger the people’s boldness melted away.
²⁷ They were unsteady like people who have become drunk.
They didn’t know what to do.
²⁸ Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.
And he brought them out of their troubles.
²⁹ He made the storm as quiet as a whisper.
The waves of the ocean calmed down.
³⁰ The people were glad when the ocean became calm.
Then he guided them to the harbor they were looking for.
³¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love.
Let them give thanks for the wonderful things he does for people.
³² Let them honor him among his people who gather for worship.
Let them praise him in the meeting of the elders.
³³ He turned rivers into a desert.
He turned flowing springs into thirsty ground.
³⁴ He turned land that produced crops into a salty land where nothing could grow.
He did it because the people who lived there were evil.
³⁵ He turned the desert into pools of water.
He turned the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs.
³⁶ He brought hungry people there to live.
They built a city where they could make their homes.
³⁷ They planted fields and vineyards
that produced large crops.
³⁸ He blessed the people, and they greatly increased their numbers.
He kept their herds from getting smaller.
³⁹ Then the number of God’s people got smaller.
They were made humble by trouble, suffering and sorrow.
⁴⁰ The God who looks down on proud nobles
made them wander in a desert where no one lives.
⁴¹ But he lifted needy people out of their suffering.
He made their families increase like flocks of sheep.
⁴² Honest people see it and are filled with joy.
But no one who is evil has anything to say.
⁴³ Let those who are wise pay attention to these things.
Let them think about the loving deeds of the Lord.