Psalms 146:1-7

Context

Psalm 146¹

146:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

146:2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live!

I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist!

146:3 Do not trust in princes,

or in human beings, who cannot deliver!²

146:4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground;

on that day their plans die.³

146:5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

146:6 the one who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who remains forever faithful,⁴

146:7 vindicates the oppressed,⁵

and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord releases the imprisoned.

[146:1] ¹sn Psalm 146. The psalmist urges his audience not to trust in men, but in the Lord, the just king of the world who cares for the needy.

[146:3] ²tn Heb “in a son of man, to whom there is no deliverance.”

[146:4] ³tn Heb “his spirit goes out, it returns to his ground; in that day his plans die.” The singular refers to the representative man mentioned in v. 3b.

[146:6] ⁴tn Heb “the one who guards faithfulness forever.”

[146:7] ⁵tn Heb “executes justice for the oppressed.”