Psalm 107
The full text of Psalm 107 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.
39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
Translation notes (8)
- Psalm 107:3a The final direction in Hebrew is miyyam (מִיָּם), literally 'from the sea'. Since the sea ordinarily denotes the west, which is already named, the rendering 'south' follows the demands of the four-point pattern, understanding the reference as the southern sea; some commentators instead emend to yamin, 'south'. The Septuagint likewise reads thalasses, 'sea'.
- Psalm 107:10a Tsalmaveth (צַלְמָוֶת), traditionally read as a compound of tsel, 'shadow', and maveth, 'death', is understood by many lexicographers as tsalmut, 'deep darkness', from a root meaning to be dark. The rendering 'shadow of death', familiar from the King James tradition and Psalm 23, follows the Masoretic vocalization, which suits this portrait of prisoners awaiting death.
- Psalm 107:18a The phrase sha'arei mavet (שַׁעֲרֵי מָוֶת), 'gates of death', pictures the realm of the dead as a walled city with gates, an image widespread in ancient Near Eastern literature, where the netherworld was entered through gates that barred return. The same expression appears in Psalm 9:13 and Job 38:17, marking the sufferers as standing at the very threshold of Sheol.
- Psalm 107:20a Devaro (דְּבָרוֹ), 'his word', is portrayed as an agent sent forth to accomplish healing, a personification recalling the creative speech of Genesis 1 and the word that goes out from God's mouth and does not return empty in Isaiah 55:11.
- Psalm 107:26a The upward and downward motion is expressed in cosmic terms: shamayim, 'heaven', and tehomot, 'the depths', the plural of tehom, the primeval deep of Genesis 1:2. "Courage" translates nephesh, 'soul' or 'life', and the verb mug, 'to melt', is a common Hebrew idiom for the dissolving of resolve under terror.
- Psalm 107:27a The Hebrew reads literally 'all their wisdom was swallowed up' (vekhol chokhmatam titballa, וְכָל־חָכְמָתָם תִּתְבַּלָּע), an idiom for the collapse of skill and judgment; the sailors' seamanship is useless against the storm. The rendering 'at their wits' end', inherited from the King James tradition, has passed from this verse into common English speech.
- Psalm 107:34a Hebrew melechah (מְלֵחָה), 'salty waste', from melach, 'salt', occurs elsewhere only in Job 39:6 and Jeremiah 17:6. The image recalls the destruction of Sodom, whose fertile plain became a land of salt and sulfur (Genesis 19:24-26; Deuteronomy 29:23), and salting ground was a known act of judgment (Judges 9:45).
- Psalm 107:40a This verse combines two lines found almost verbatim in Job 12:21 and 12:24, a rare direct parallel suggesting the psalmist drew on the Job tradition or a common poetic stock. The phrase rendered 'trackless wastes' is tohu lo-darekh, literally 'a wasteland with no way'; tohu is the same word describing the primordial emptiness in Genesis 1:2.
About this translation
You are reading the Trinity Bible Version (TBV) — an original 2026 translation made straight from the Hebrew, in clear modern English, exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter of every book is free to read online. For the study edition — with Hebrew and Greek on every verse and the full translation notes — open Psalms in the Trinity Bible app.
Continue: Psalm 108 → · All of Psalms · About the TBV · Read Psalm 107 in the KJV
Get the app: iOS · Android · Trinity Plus