HoDU La** KI-TOV KI LEOLaM CHaSDÓ

This psalm speaks of those who are saved from four specific perilous situations(imprisonment, sickness, desert travel, and sea travel) and must thank God, for their sins caused their troubles, and only by the kindness of God were they saved. It is therefore appropriate that they praise God and tell of their salvation to all.

1. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His kindness is everlasting. 2. So shall say those redeemed by the Lord, those whom He redeemed from the hand of the oppressor. 3. He gathered them from the lands-from east and from west, from north and from the sea. 4. They lost their way in the wilderness, in the wasteland; they found no inhabited city.

 5. Both hungry and thirsty, their soul languished within them. 6. They cried out to the Lord in their distress; He delivered them from their afflictions. 7. He guided them in the right path to reach an inhabited city. 8. Let them give thanks to the Lord, and [proclaim] His wonders to the children of man, 9. for He has satiated a thirsting soul, and filled a hungry soul with goodness. 10. Those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, bound in misery and chains of iron,

11. for they defied the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High- 12. He humbled their heart through suffering; they stumbled and there was none to help. 13. They cried out to the Lord in their distress; He saved them from their afflictions. 14. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and sundered their bonds. 15. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness, and [proclaim] His wonders to the children of man, 16. for He broke the brass gates and smashed the iron bars. 17. Foolish sinners are afflicted because of their sinful ways and their wrongdoings. 18. Their soul loathes all food, and they reach the gates of death.

 19. They cried out to the Lord in their distress; He saved them from their afflictions. 20. He sent forth His command and healed them; He delivered them from their graves. 21. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness, and [proclaim] His wonders to the children of man. 22. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and joyfully recount His deeds. 23. Those who go down to the sea in ships, who perform tasks in mighty waters;

 24. they saw the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep. 25. He spoke and caused the stormy wind to rise, and it lifted up the waves. 26. They rise to the sky, plunge to the depths; their soul melts in distress. 27. They reel and stagger like a drunkard, all their skill is to no avail. 28. They cried out to the Lord in their distress, and He brought them out from their calamity. 29. He transformed the storm into stillness, and the waves were quieted. 30. They rejoiced when they were silenced, and He led them to their destination. 31. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness, and [proclaim] His wonders to the children of man. 32. Let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders. 33. He turns rivers into desert, springs of water into parched land, 34. a fruitful land into a salt-marsh, because of the wickedness of those who inhabit it. 35. He turns a desert into a lake, and parched land into springs of water. 36. He settles the hungry there, and they establish a city of habitation. 37. They sow fields and plant vineyards which yield fruit and wheat. 38. He blesses them and they multiply greatly, and He does not decrease their cattle. 39. [If they sin,] they are diminished and cast down through oppression, misery, and sorrow. 40. He pours contempt upon distinguished men, and causes them to stray in a pathless wilderness. 41. He raises the needy from distress, and makes their families [as numerous] as flocks. 42. The upright observe this and rejoice, and all the wicked close their mouth. 43. Let him who is wise bear these in mind, and then the benevolent acts of the Lord will be understood.