Mazmur 104:20-30
Konteks104:20 You make it dark and night comes, 1
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
104:21 The lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God. 2
104:22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and sleep 3 in their dens.
104:23 Men then go out to do their work,
and labor away until evening. 4
104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! 5
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; 6
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
104:25 Over here is the deep, wide sea, 7
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, 8
living things both small and large.
104:26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale 9 you made to play in it.
104:27 All of your creatures 10 wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis. 11
104:28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food. 12
104:29 When you ignore them, they panic. 13
When you take away their life’s breath, they die
and return to dust.
104:30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
[104:20] 1 tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”
[104:21] 2 sn The lions’ roaring is viewed as a request for food from God.
[104:23] 4 tn Heb “man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening.”
[104:24] 5 tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O
[104:24] 6 tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”
[104:25] 7 tn Heb “this [is] the sea, great and broad of hands [i.e., “sides” or “shores”].”
[104:25] 8 tn Heb “where [there are] swimming things, and without number.”
[104:26] 9 tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.
[104:27] 10 tn Heb “All of them.” The pronoun “them” refers not just to the sea creatures mentioned in vv. 25-26, but to all living things (see v. 24). This has been specified in the translation as “all of your creatures” for clarity.
[104:27] 11 tn Heb “to give their food in its time.”
[104:28] 12 tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] good.”
[104:29] 13 tn Heb “you hide your face, they are terrified.”