New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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1 What a masterpiece is the clear vault of the sky!
How glorious is the spectacle of the heavens!
2 The sun comes into view proclaiming as it rises
how marvellous a thing it is, made by the Most High.
3 At noon it parches the earth,
and no one can endure its blazing heat.
The stoker of a furnace works in the heat,
but three times as hot is the sun scorching the hills.
It breathes out fiery vapours,
and its glare blinds the eyes.
5 Great is the Lord who made it,
whose word speeds it on its course.
6 He made the moon also to serve in its turn,
a perpetual sign to mark the divisions of time.
7 From the moon, feast-days are reckoned;
it is a light that wanes as it completes its course.
-- --
The wonders of creation
8 The moon gives its name to the month;
it waxes marvellously as its phases change,
a beacon to the armies of heaven,
shining in the vault of the sky.
9 The brilliant stars are the beauty of the sky,
a glittering array in the heights of the Lord.
10 At the command of the Holy One they stand in their appointed place;
they never default at their post.
11 Look at the rainbow and praise its Maker;
it shines with a supreme beauty,
12 rounding the sky with its gleaming arc,
a bow bent by the hands of the Most High.
13 His command speeds the snow-storm
and sends the swift lightning to execute his sentence.
14 To that end the storehouses are opened,
and the clouds fly out like birds.
15 By his mighty power the clouds are piled up
and the hailstones broken small.
16
17 The crash of his thunder makes the earth writhe,
and, when he appears, an earthquake shakes the hills.
At his will the south wind blows,
the squall from the north and the hurricane.
He scatters the snow-flakes like birds alighting;
they settle like a swarm of locusts.
18 The eye is dazzled by their beautiful whiteness,
and as they fall the mind is entranced.
19 He spreads frost on the earth like salt,
and icicles form like pointed stakes.
20 A cold blast from the north,
and ice grows hard on the water,
settling on every pool,
as though the water were putting on a breastplate.
21 He consumes the hills, scorches the wilderness,
and withers the grass like fire.
22 Cloudy weather quickly puts all to rights,
and dew brings welcome relief after heat.
-- --
The wonders of creation
23 By the power of his thought he tamed the deep
and planted it with islands.
24 Those who sail the sea tell stories of its dangers,
which astonish all who hear them;
25 in it are strange and wonderful creatures,
all kinds of living things and huge sea-monsters.
26 By his own action he achieves his end,
and by his word all things are held together.
27 However much we say, we cannot exhaust our theme;
to put it in a word: he is all.
28 Where can we find the skill to sing his praises?
For he is greater than all his works.
29 The Lord is terrible and very great,
and marvellous is his power.
30 Honour the Lord to the best of your ability,
and he will still be high above all praise.
Summon all your strength to declare his greatness,
and be untiring, for the most you can do will fall short.
31 Has anyone ever seen him, to be able to describe him?
Can anyone praise him as he truly is?
32 We have seen but a small part of his works,
and there remain many mysteries greater still.
33 The Lord has made everything
and has given wisdom to the godly.
New English [1970], THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE) [word count] [B16000].
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