115:12 The Lord takes notice of us, 1 he will bless 2 –
he will bless the family 3 of Israel,
he will bless the family of Aaron.
115:13 He will bless his loyal followers, 4
both young and old. 5
115:14 May he increase your numbers,
yours and your children’s! 6
115:15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the creator 7 of heaven and earth!
115:16 The heavens belong to the Lord, 8
but the earth he has given to mankind. 9
115:17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death. 10
115:18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
1 tn Or “remembers us.”
2 tn Another option is to translate the prefixed form of the verb “bless” in vv. 12-13 as a jussive, “may he bless” (see v. 14).
3 tn Heb “house.”
4 tn Heb “the fearers of the
5 tn Heb “the small along with the great.” The translation assumes that “small” and “great” here refer to age (see 2 Chr 15:13). Another option is to translate “both the insignificant and the prominent” (see Job 3:19; cf. NEB “high and low alike”).
6 tn Heb “may he add to you, to you and your sons.” The prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating this is a prayer.
7 tn Or “maker.”
8 tn Heb “the heavens [are] heavens to the
9 tn Heb “to the sons of man.”
10 tn Heb “silence,” a metonymy here for death (see Ps 94:17).