Psalm chapter 103
English Standard Version
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle 's. 6The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 15As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 17But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children 's children, 18to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 19The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. 20Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 21Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
New International Version
1Of David. Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
6The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. 7He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: 8The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 14for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 15The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; 16the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
New American Standard Bible
1Bless the Lord, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2Bless the Lord, my soul, And do not forget any of His benefits; 3Who pardons all your guilt, Who heals all your diseases; 4Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with favor and compassion; 5Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. 6The Lord performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. 7He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the sons of Israel. 8The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in mercy. 9He will not always contend with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. 12As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us. 13Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. 14For He Himself knows our form; He is mindful that we are nothing but dust. 15As for man, his days are like grass; Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place no longer knows about it. 17But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear Him, And His justice to the children’s children, 18To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts, so as to do them. 19The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. 20Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! 21Bless the Lord, all you His angels, You who serve Him, doing His will. 22Bless the Lord, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the Lord, my soul!
Christian Standard Bible
2My soul, bless the Lord, and do not forget all his benefits. 3He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases. 4He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.
5He satisfies you with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle. 6The Lord executes acts of righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. 7He revealed his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel. 8The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. 9He will not always accuse us or be angry forever.
10He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. 12As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14For he knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust. 15As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field; 16when the wind passes over it, it vanishes, and its place is no longer known. 17But from eternity to eternity the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear him, and his righteousness toward the grandchildren 18of those who keep his covenant, who remember to observe his precepts.
19The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 20Bless the Lord, all his angels of great strength, who do his word, obedient to his command. 21Bless the Lord, all his armies, his servants who do his will. 22Bless the Lord, all his works in all the places where he rules. My soul, bless the Lord!
New Living Translation
1Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 2Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. 3He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. 4He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. 5He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
7He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. 8The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. 10He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. 13The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. 14For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. 15Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. 16The wind blows, and we are gone — as though we had never been here. 17But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children’s children 18of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!
King James Version
New King James Version
1{A Psalm of David.} Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. 14For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. 16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. 17But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, 18 To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them. 19The Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. 21Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure. 22Bless the Lord, all His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
What does Psalm chapter 103 mean?
David begins Psalm 103 by calling upon his soul and his whole being to bless the Lord and to remember all His benefits. These are blessings David has experienced within his own life. He lists some of those benefits: forgiveness, restored health, deliverance, love, satisfaction, and renewed energy (Psalm 103:1–5).David recalls the Lord's righteous deeds and justice. He showed Moses His ways and performed mighty acts on behalf of Israel. David assures his readers that the Lord is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, loving, and ready to forgive. The Lord's love is higher than the heavens, David affirms, and He removes transgressions as far as the east is from the west. This is an especially interesting analogy, since north and south are defined points, but east and west are infinite directions. One can only travel north so far, until they find themselves travelling south. This is not true of moving east or west. Furthermore, like a father, the Lord has compassion on His children and remembers that they are finite (Psalm 103:6–14).
Unlike man's fleeting life, the Lord's love and righteousness extend from generation after generation to those who obey Him. He is sovereign. His throne is settled in the heavens, and His kingdom holds sway over all (Psalm 103:15–19).
Psalm 103 concludes with a call to the Lord's angels and all His creation to praise Him. David addresses his closing words to his soul, commanding his soul to praise the Lord (Psalm 103:20–22).
