Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 104:24 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 24. 24O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 104:24: The petition “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou…” belongs to the prayer “Creation sustained in ordered abundance: Sea, Leviathan, dependence, and renewing breath,” not to an isolated command.
The wide sea holds ships and a Leviathan made to play
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 104:24–30. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 104:24–30
- Psalms 104:1–35
Read Psalms 104:24 with 104:24–30 and 104:1–35. Read alone, “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made…” could lose the individual voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 104:24–30, the individual voice carries the movement “Sea, Leviathan, dependence, and renewing breath” as part of “Creation sustained in ordered abundance.” Its creation-hymn form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 104:24–30 continues “Sun and moon order creaturely times” within Psalm 104 by carrying “Sea, Leviathan, dependence, and renewing breath.” The turn from “Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening” to “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full…” explains why this movement occurs here. Within that relationship, Psalm 104:24 directs a petition or address toward God in “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all” rather than turning the line into a command against another person.
Follow the Context
- Identify the individual voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 104:24–30; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 104:24–30, the individual voice carries the movement “Sea, Leviathan, dependence, and renewing breath” as part of “Creation sustained in ordered abundance.” Its creation-hymn form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The poem uses ancient cosmology and creature imagery as praise; it is not a modern science text or permission to exploit nonhuman life.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 104:24 does not allow “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made…” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse directs a petition or address toward God in “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all” rather than turning the line into a command against another person. The complete movement is “Sea, Leviathan, dependence, and renewing breath.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The poem uses ancient cosmology and creature imagery as praise; it is not a modern science text or permission to exploit nonhuman life.
What Remains True
Read “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made…” as part of the individual voice in “Creation sustained in ordered abundance: Sea, Leviathan, dependence, and renewing breath.” Wisdom is formed through sustained attention to the LORD's instruction and embodied choices, not through a formula that guarantees ease or status. The local movement is “Sea, Leviathan, dependence, and renewing breath.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The poem uses ancient cosmology and creature imagery as praise; it is not a modern science text or permission to exploit nonhuman life.
Teach It Back
Retell Psalm 104:24 as one step in Book IV. Name the movement “Sea, Leviathan, dependence, and renewing breath,” explain “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made…,” keep Jewish meaning and any later reception distinguishable, give one fitting response, and reject this overreach: This reading does not authorize the following misuse: The poem uses ancient cosmology and creature imagery as praise; it is not a modern science text or permission to exploit nonhuman life.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 104:24–30 — Creation sustained in ordered abundance: Sea, Leviathan, dependence, and renewing breathSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
The poem uses ancient cosmology and creature imagery as praise; it is not a modern science text or permission to exploit nonhuman life.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 104:24–30, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 104:24–30
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 104:24–30.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 104 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 104:24–30
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Summary, Outline, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to Psalms 104:24–30
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 104 for Psalms 104:24–30
Open NETS Psalms ↗