Psalm 103 (Verses 1–12)
King James Version
The opening of David's psalm of thanksgiving, "Bless the LORD, O my soul," cataloguing His mercies.
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About this text
Psalm 103 is attributed in its Hebrew superscription to David, and this opening section reads almost like a list David is making to himself — "forget not all his benefits" — before the catalogue of those benefits begins in verse 3. The psalm as a whole is one of the longer sustained songs of thanksgiving in the collection; this excerpt covers its first half.
Verses 3-5 are built as an unbroken chain of relative clauses, each starting with "who" — who forgiveth, who healeth, who redeemeth, who crowneth, who satisfieth — piling up without a main verb to interrupt them. Copying that chain slowly is a good way to feel how Hebrew poetic parallelism can accumulate momentum through pure repetition of grammatical form.
What to watch for
- 6 semicolons: a semicolon joins two complete thoughts that belong together, a pause longer than a comma but shorter than a period.
- 3 colons: a colon points ahead to what explains or completes the first half of the sentence.
- 1 apostrophe: sort each one into possession (the shepherd's staff) or a missing letter (don't = do not).
- Capital letters in the middle of a sentence: LORD, Moses, Israel. Ask why each one is capitalized before typing it.
- Old-fashioned words: forgiveth, thine, healeth, thy, redeemeth, crowneth, thee, satisfieth. These are easy to "correct" by accident into modern spelling, so copy them exactly as written.
- Longest word: "lovingkindness" (14 letters). Try spelling it aloud once before reaching it.
- 12 lines averaging about 14 words each. A comfortable line length for a single sitting.
Full text (reference)
1Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.