Psalms 115:6-18

115:6 ears, but cannot hear,

noses, but cannot smell,

115:7 hands, but cannot touch,

feet, but cannot walk.

They cannot even clear their throats. ¹ 

115:8 Those who make them will end up ²  like them,

as will everyone who trusts in them.

115:9 O Israel, trust in the Lord!

He is their deliverer ³  and protector. ⁴ 

115:10 O family ⁵  of Aaron, trust in the Lord!

He is their deliverer ⁶  and protector. ⁷ 

115:11 You loyal followers of the Lord, ⁸  trust in the Lord!

He is their deliverer ⁹  and protector. ¹⁰ 

115:12 The Lord takes notice of us, ¹¹  he will bless ¹²  –

he will bless the family ¹³  of Israel,

he will bless the family of Aaron.

115:13 He will bless his loyal followers, ¹⁴ 

both young and old. ¹⁵ 

115:14 May he increase your numbers,

yours and your children’s! ¹⁶ 

115:15 May you be blessed by the Lord,

the creator ¹⁷  of heaven and earth!

115:16 The heavens belong to the Lord, ¹⁸ 

but the earth he has given to mankind. ¹⁹ 

115:17 The dead do not praise the Lord,

nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death. ²⁰ 

115:18 But we will praise the Lord

now and forevermore.

Praise the Lord!

[115:7]  ¹ tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).

[115:8]  ² tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”

[115:9]  ³ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[115:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and their shield.”

[115:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[115:10]  ⁶ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[115:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “and their shield.”

[115:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “[you] fearers of the Lord.” See Ps 15:4.

[115:11]  ⁹ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[115:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and their shield.”

[115:12]  ¹¹ tn Or “remembers us.”

[115:12]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “house.”

[115:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the fearers of the Lord.”

[115:13]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Or “maker.”

[115:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the heavens [are] heavens to the Lord.”

[115:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to the sons of man.”

[115:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “silence,” a metonymy here for death (see Ps 94:17).