Passage

Psalms 103

Book: Psalms · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. ^{A Psalm of David.} Bless Jehovah, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2. Bless Jehovah, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits: 3. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; 4. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5. Who satisfieth thy desire with good things, So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle. 6. Jehovah executeth righteous acts, And judgments for all that are oppressed. 7. He made known his ways unto Moses, His doings unto the children of Israel. 8. Jehovah is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness. 9. He will not always chide; Neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, Nor rewarded us after our iniquities. 11. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is his lovingkindness toward them that fear him. 12. As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13. Like as a father pitieth his children, So Jehovah pitieth them that fear him. 14. For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust. 15. As for man, his days are as grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. 16. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; And the place thereof shall know it no more. 17. But the lovingkindness of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, And his righteousness unto children's children; 18. To such as keep his covenant, And to those that remember his precepts to do them. 19. Jehovah hath established his throne in the heavens; And his kingdom ruleth over all. 20. Bless Jehovah, ye his angels, That are mighty in strength, that fulfil his word, Hearkening unto the voice of his word. 21. Bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts, Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. 22. Bless Jehovah, all ye his works, In all places of his dominion: Bless Jehovah, O my soul." (Psalms 103:1-22, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. By David. Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name! 2. Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits; 3. who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases; 4. who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies; 5. who satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6. Yahweh executes righteous acts, and justice for all who are oppressed. 7. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the children of Israel. 8. Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. 9. He will not always accuse; neither will he stay angry forever. 10. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities. 11. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him. 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13. Like a father has compassion on his children, so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him. 14. For he knows how we are made. 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. Its place remembers it no more. 17. But Yahweh’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children’s children; 18. to those who keep his covenant, to those who remember to obey his precepts. 19. Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all. 20. Praise Yahweh, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word. 21. Praise Yahweh, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure. 22. Praise Yahweh, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise Yahweh, my soul!" (Psalms 103:1-22, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. A Psalm of David. 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: 3. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. 7. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. 8. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. ^{plentious: Heb. great in mercy} 9. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. ^{as: Heb. according to the height of the heaven} 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. 14. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 15. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. 16. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. ^{it is: Heb. it is not} 17. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; 18. To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. 19. The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. 20. Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. ^{that excel: Heb. mighty in strength} 21. Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. 22. Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul." (Psalms 103:1-22, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. By David. Bless, O my soul, Jehovah, And all my inward parts, His Holy Name. 2. Bless, O my soul, Jehovah, And forget not all His benefits, 3. Who is forgiving all thine iniquities, Who is healing all thy diseases, 4. Who is redeeming from destruction thy life, Who is crowning thee, kindness and mercies, 5. Who is satisfying with good thy desire, Renew itself as an eagle doth thy youth. 6. Jehovah is doing righteousness and judgments For all the oppressed. 7. He maketh known His ways to Moses, To the sons of Israel His acts. 8. Merciful and gracious [is] Jehovah, Slow to anger, and abundant in mercy. 9. Not for ever doth He strive, Nor to the age doth He watch. 10. Not according to our sins hath He done to us, Nor according to our iniquities Hath He conferred benefits upon us. 11. For, as the height of the heavens [is] above the earth, His kindness hath been mighty over those fearing Him. 12. As the distance of east from west He hath put far from us our transgressions. 13. As a father hath mercy on sons, Jehovah hath mercy on those fearing Him. 14. For He hath known our frame, Remembering that we [are] dust. 15. Mortal man! as grass [are] his days, As a flower of the field so he flourisheth; 16. For a wind hath passed over it, and it is not, And its place doth not discern it any more. 17. And the kindness of Jehovah [Is] from age even unto age on those fearing Him, And His righteousness to sons' sons, 18. To those keeping His covenant, And to those remembering His precepts to do them. 19. Jehovah in the heavens Hath established His throne, And His kingdom over all hath ruled. 20. Bless Jehovah, ye His messengers, Mighty in power, doing His word, To hearken to the voice of His Word. 21. Bless Jehovah, all ye His hosts, His ministers, doing His pleasure. 22. Bless Jehovah, all ye His works, In all places of His dominion. Bless, O my soul, Jehovah!" (Psalms 103:1-22, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.