Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| The pride of the height, the clear vault above, the sky's very shape in a vision of glory.
2| The sun, when it appears announcing the day at its rising, is a marvelous vessel, the work of the Most High.
3| At its noon it parches the land, and before its scorching heat who can stand?
4| It tends a furnace in works of burning heat, the sun blazing on the mountains threefold; breathing out fiery vapors, and flashing forth its beams, it dims the eyes.
5| Great is the Lord who made it, and by his words it hastens on its course.
6| And the moon too, always on time for its season, marking off the seasons and a sign for the age.
7| From the moon comes the sign for the feast, a light that wanes to its full end.
8| The month is named for her, growing wonderfully as she changes — a vessel of the array on high, shining in the vault of heaven.
9| The beauty of the sky, the glory of the stars, an ornament shining in the heights, belonging to the Lord.
10| At the holy words they stand at their post, and they never grow slack in their watches.
11| Look at the rainbow, and bless the one who made it; it is very beautiful in its brightness.
12| It rings the sky in a circle of glory; the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.
13| By his command he sends the snow, and he speeds the lightnings of his judgment.
14| For this the storehouses are opened, and the clouds fly out like birds.
15| By his mighty power he made the clouds strong, and the stones of hail were broken small.
16| At the sight of him the mountains are shaken; at his will the south wind blows.
17| The voice of his thunder rebukes the earth, and the storm from the north, and the whirling wind. Like birds swooping down he scatters the snow, and its descent is like the settling of locusts.
18| The eye marvels at the beauty of its whiteness, and the heart is astonished at its falling.
19| And frost like salt he pours upon the earth, and when it freezes it forms sharp points like thorns.
20| The cold north wind blows, and ice freezes from the water; it settles on every gathering of water, and the water puts it on like a breastplate.
21| It devours the mountains and burns up the wilderness, and quenches the green growth like fire.
22| The healing of all things comes swiftly as mist; the dew, arriving after the scorching heat, brings refreshment.
23| By his own reasoning he calmed the deep, and he planted islands in it.
24| Those who sail the sea tell of its danger, and we marvel when we hear it with our ears.
25| And there are its astonishing and marvelous works, the variety of every living thing, the creation of sea monsters.
26| Through him its outcome comes to a sweet end, and by his word all things hold together.
27| We could say much and still not reach the end; the sum of all our words is this — he is everything.
28| Where shall we find strength to glorify him? For he himself is greater than all his works.
29| The Lord is to be feared, and he is very great, and his power is a marvel.
30| When you praise the Lord, lift him up as high as your strength allows; for he will still surpass it. And when you lift him up in this way, use all your might; do not grow weary, for you will never reach the end.
31| Who has seen him, that he could describe him? And who can magnify him as he truly is?
32| Many hidden things are greater than these, for we have seen only a few of his works.
33| For the Lord has made all things, and to the godly he has given wisdom.