Psalms
Chapter 65
This psalm praises God in Zion, where prayers are heard and promises are kept. It moves from forgiveness of sin and the joy of being welcomed into God's house, to God's power over mountains, seas, and nations. The last part describes God watering the land and giving a rich harvest, until the fields and hills seem to sing.
Plain reading written for preteens. Clear and complete, at about a fifth grade reading level.
Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
1God, praise is waiting for you in Zion. People will keep the promises they made to you.
2O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
2You are the God who listens to prayer. Everyone will come to you.
3Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
3Our sins are too strong for us. But you wipe our wrongs away.
4Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
4Happy is the person you choose and bring close, to live in your courtyards. We will be filled with the good things of your house, your holy temple.
5By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:
5God our Savior, you answer us with awesome acts that are always right. People trust you all over the world, even far out at sea.
"Terrible things" in 1611 English meant acts that fill people with awe, not acts that are horrible.
6Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power:
6By his strength he set the mountains in place. He wears power like a belt.
7Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
7He quiets the roar of the seas and the crash of their waves. He quiets the uproar of the nations too.
8They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
8People in the farthest lands are in awe of the signs you give. You make the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
9You come to the land and water it. You make it rich with God's stream, which is always full. You get the grain ready, because that is how you set the land up.
"Corn" in the KJV means grain of any kind, such as wheat or barley, not the corn on the cob we eat today. The same is true in verse 13.
10Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.
10You soak the plowed rows with water and smooth out the ridges. You soften the ground with showers and bless the new growth.
11Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.
11You crown the year with your goodness. Everywhere you go, richness spills over.
"Fatness" here means richness and plenty, the good food a fertile land produces.
12They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.
12It spills onto the open grasslands, and the low hills are glad on every side.
13The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.
13The fields are covered with flocks, and the valleys are thick with grain. They shout for joy, and they sing.
← → to turn the page · P for plain English · click a verse to sit with it