Psalms 146:4-10

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

on that day their plans die. ¹ 

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, ² 

146:7 vindicates the oppressed, ³ 

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. ⁴ 

The Lord loves the godly.

146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;

he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, ⁵ 

but he opposes the wicked. ⁶ 

146:10 The Lord rules forever,

your God, O Zion, throughout the generations to come! ⁷ 

Praise the Lord!

[146:4]  ¹ tn 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]  ² tn Heb “the one who guards faithfulness forever.”

[146:7]  ³ tn Heb “executes justice for the oppressed.”

[146:8]  ⁴ tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).

[146:9]  ⁵ 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.

[146:9]  ⁶ 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.

[146:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “for a generation and a generation.”