Psalms 115:12-18

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!

[115:12]  ¹ tn Or “remembers us.”

[115:12]  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).

[115:12]  ³ tn Heb “house.”

[115:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “the fearers of the Lord.”

[115:13]  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”).

[115:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “may he add to you, to you and your sons.” The prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating this is a prayer.

[115:15]  ⁷ tn Or “maker.”

[115:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “the heavens [are] heavens to the Lord.”

[115:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “to the sons of man.”

[115:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “silence,” a metonymy here for death (see Ps 94:17).