1 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
19 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
21 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
24 These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end.
28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
34 A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
39 Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.
<html><b>Give thanks to the Lord because He is good, etc.</b></html>
<html><b>Those redeemed by the Lord shall say it</b> when He redeems them from the hands of an oppressor.</html>
<html><b>They strayed in the desert, on a road of desolation, etc.</b> Those who travel in the deserts must also give thanks because sometimes they stray and suffer from hunger and thirst.</html>
<html><b>And He led them</b> And He led them; therefore, they shall give thanks to the Lord for His kindness.</html>
<html><b>Those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death</b> Also those imprisoned in a dungeon are required to give thanks when they emerge from their prison.</html>
<html><b>For they rebelled against the words of God</b> Trouble does not befall a person except because of his iniquity.</html>
<html><b>For He broke copper doors</b> that were shut before them.</html>
<html><b>Fools, because of the way of their transgression and because of their iniquities, are afflicted</b> with the agonies of illnesses. They too are among those who are required to give thanks. There are markers in this chapter (i.e., six inverted “nuns” are written) and they come to be expounded upon instead of “buts” and “onlys” to limit [the power of the verse] meaning that if they [the prisoners] cry out before the verdict has been promulgated, they are answered; after the verdict has been promulgated, they are not answered.</html>
<html><b>They were frightened</b> Heb. יחוגו. This is an expression of breaking. Similarly (Song 2:14): “in the clefts of (בחגוי) the rock”; and similarly (Isa. l9:17), “And the land of Judah will be to Egypt for a dread (לחגא).”</html>
<html><b>They rejoiced that they were stilled</b> The waves.<b>the region</b> Heb. מחוז, an expression of a border, and Menachem (p. 86) associated it with (Isa. 28:18): “and your limit (וחזותכם) with the grave,” your limit, that it should not enter our boundary. Similarly (I Kings 7:4): “an edge (מחזה מול מחזה) opposite an edge,” three times. In Tanchuma, I found [this].</html>
<html><b>And they shall exalt Him in an assembly of people</b> He must give thanks in the presence of ten. <b>and in a sitting of elders</b> And two of them must be rabbinical scholars.</html>
<html><b>He makes rivers into a desert</b> That is to say that He makes the settlements of the nations into ruins.</html>
<html><b>into a salty waste</b> To be like a salty land insofar as it does not produce fruit.</html>
<html><b>He makes a desert into a pool of water</b> He makes a ruined settlement into a building and restores it to its original state.</html>
<html><b>Whereas they were few and they sank down</b> But they, from the beginning, sank down and were few because of dominion, trouble, and sorrow.</html>
<html><b>and made him families like flocks</b> He made [for] the needy the families of his children as numerous as flocks.</html>
<html><b>shuts</b> Heb. קפצה, closes up, like (Deut. 15:7): “and not close up (תקפץ) your hand.”</html>