Psalms 111:1

Psalm 111 ¹ 

111:1 Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.

Psalms 147:1

Psalm 147 ² 

147:1 Praise the Lord,

for it is good to sing praises to our God!

Yes, ³  praise is pleasant and appropriate!

Psalms 148:11-14

148:11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,

you princes and all you leaders ⁴  on the earth,

148:12 you young men and young women,

you elderly, along with you children!

148:13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for his name alone is exalted;

his majesty extends over the earth and sky.

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ⁵ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ⁶ 

Praise the Lord!

Psalms 150:1

Psalm 150 ⁷ 

150:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary!

Praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength! ⁸ 

[111:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 111. The psalmist praises God for his marvelous deeds, especially the way in which he provides for and delivers his people. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[147:1]  ² sn Psalm 147. The psalmist praises the Lord for he is the sovereign ruler of the world who cares for the needs of his covenant people.

[147:1]  ³ tn Or “for.”

[148:11]  ⁴ tn Or “judges.”

[148:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ⁶ tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.

[150:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 150. The Psalter concludes with a resounding call for praise from everything that has breath.

[150:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “the sky of his strength.”