146:7 vindicates the oppressed, 1
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases the imprisoned.
146:8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. 2
The Lord loves the godly.
146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;
he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, 3
but he opposes the wicked. 4
146:10 The Lord rules forever,
your God, O Zion, throughout the generations to come! 5
Praise the Lord!
1 tn Heb “executes justice for the oppressed.”
2 tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).
3 sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by resident aliens, the fatherless, and widows.
4 tn Heb “he makes the way of the wicked twisted.” The “way of the wicked” probably refers to their course of life (see Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1). God makes their path tortuous in the sense that he makes them pay the harmful consequences of their actions.
5 tn Heb “for a generation and a generation.”