Bless the Eternal,
O my soul ! Eternal One, my God, thou art most great, arrayed in
glorious majesty.
Thou wrappest thyself
in a robe of light, thou spreadest the sky like a tent, thou
buildest thy chambers on the waters above; thou makest clouds thy chariot, thou
ridest on the wings of the wind; thou makest winds thy messengers, fire and flame
thy servants.
Thou didst found the
earth upon its pillars, never to be shaken, drawing the deep over
it, till the waters stood above the mountains; but they retired at thy rebuke, scared at
the sound of thy thunder, never to pass thine appointed bounds, or cover earth again;
the mountains rose, the valleys sank, to the place made for them.
He pours the streams
into the the valleys, that flow between the mountains, where all
the wild beasts drink, wild-asses quench their thirst; there the wild birds settle,
singing among the branches; and the great trees drink their fill, the cedars the Eternal
sowed on Lebanon, where the birds build their nests, the stork with her home in the
cypress.
The high hills shelter
the wild goat, the marmot hides in the rocks.
He waters the
hills from his high chambers, and rains abundantly upon the land, till
grass grows for the cattle, and fodder for the beasts that serve mankind; that he may
bring food from the earth, wine to cheer up the heart of man, oil, that his skin may
shine, bread to sustain his strength.
He marks the seasons
by the moon, he tells the sun when it must set.
Thou makest it dark;
night falls, and every wild beast in the wood is moving- lions
roaring for their prey and claiming food from God; when the sun rises, then they slink
away to lie down in their lairs, but man comes out to work,
and labours till the
evening.
How manifold thy works,
Eternal One, all of them wisely made !
Yonder the sea lies,
vast and broad, with its countless swarms, with creatures
small and great, with fleets of the nautilus, with leviathan at his play !
The world is
full of thy creatures, all looking to thee for their food in season due; what
thou givest, that they gather, feasting from thine open hand.
But when thy face is
hidden, they are scared, when thou recallest their
breath, they die.
Yet a breath from thee
brings them into being, renewing the face of the earth.
For ever may the glorious
might of the Eternal last !
May the Eternal joy
in his own works!
Earth trembles at a
glance from him, the mountains smoke at his touch.
Long as I live, I will
sing to the Eternal, and praise my God while I have breath.
May these my thoughts
please him— I find my joy in the Eternal !
May sinners be swept
out of the world, may evil men no longer live in it !
Bless the Eternal,
O my soul!
Hallelujah !
