1The pride of the heights above is the clear firmament. How glorious is the spectacle of the heavens!
2When the sun rises and appears, it proclaims: “I am your marvelous work, Most High!”
3At noon, it dries up the land; who can bear its burning heat?
4You may stoke a furnace to produce heat, but three times greater is the heat of the sun burning the mountains, and sending out fiery vapors, blinding the eyes with its rays.
5How great is the Lord who made it and whose word directs its rapid course!
6He also made the moon, exact in marking the months and the passage of time. 7With its full light gradually decreasing, the moon determines and rules over the feast days. 8The month also takes its name from the moon. How marvelously does it increase in its phases, providing a signal for the heavenly hosts, brightly shining in the expanse of the sky!
9The bright radiance of the stars accounts for the beauty of the sky. What a brilliant ornament they are for the heights of the Lord!
10At the command of the All Holy they stand as appointed and never fail to keep watch.
11Look at the rainbow and praise the One who made it. How magnificent it is in splendor!
12It forms a circle of glory in the sky, a bow that is bent by the hands of its Maker.
13At his order the snow falls and lightning strikes according to his decrees.
14The storerooms of heaven are opened and clouds fly away like birds.
15It is his power that thickens the clouds, making them freeze and break into hailstones.
16He has only to look and the mountains are shaken; At his will the south wind blows,
17the voice of his thunder terrifies the earth. as do cyclones and hurricanes from the north.
18The snow flutters down like birds and alights on the ground like locusts.
The eye marvels at the beauty of its whiteness and the mind is amazed to see it fall.
19He sprinkles frost on the earth like salt; it freezes and becomes like thorny spikes.
20The cold north wind blows and turns the water into ice.
Ice forms on all stagnant water giving it a freezing coat of armor.
21He wears down the mountains and scorches the desert, withering the green grass as if by fire.
22A mist is a timely remedy, and dew after the heat restores it all to life.
23According to his plan he stilled the great deep and planted islands in it.
24Those who cross the seas tell of its dangers, and we listen in astonishment to what they relate:
25It is all about strange and marvelous adventures with marine animals and monsters of all kinds.
26Thanks be to God, all turns out well and everything is held together by his word.
27We shall not give further examples; one last word: He is everything.
28Where shall we find the strength to glorify him? For he is the Mighty One, greater than all his works.
29The Lord is awesome and sovereignly great, and admirable in his power.
30Let your praise exalt the Lord as best you can, he is greater than you could even express.
Honor him with all your strength and do not tire, for you can never praise him enough.
31Who has seen him and can describe what he has seen? Who can glorify him as he merits?
32Many mysteries greater than these still remain, for we have only seen a fraction of his works.
33The Lord has created all things and to the godly he has given wisdom.
