Discovery BoxPsalms 146:1--150:6
Context146:1 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.
146:8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. 6
The Lord loves the godly.
146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;
he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, 7
but he opposes the wicked. 8
146:10 The Lord rules forever,
your God, O Zion, throughout the generations to come! 9
Praise the Lord!
147:1 Praise the Lord,
for it is good to sing praises to our God!
Yes, 11 praise is pleasant and appropriate!
147:2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem, 12
and gathers the exiles of Israel.
147:3 He heals 13 the brokenhearted,
and bandages their wounds.
147:4 He counts the number of the stars;
he names all of them.
147:5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power; 14
there is no limit to his wisdom. 15
147:6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knocks 16 the wicked to the ground.
147:7 Offer to the Lord a song of thanks! 17
Sing praises to our God to the accompaniment of a harp!
147:8 He covers 18 the sky with clouds,
provides the earth with rain,
and causes grass to grow on the hillsides. 19
147:9 He gives food to the animals,
and to the young ravens when they chirp. 20
147:10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse,
nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs. 21
147:11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers, 22
and in those who wait for his loyal love.
147:12 Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
147:13 For he makes the bars of your gates strong.
He blesses your children 23 within you.
147:14 He 24 brings peace to your territory. 25
He abundantly provides for you 26 the best grain.
147:15 He 27 sends his command through the earth; 28
swiftly his order reaches its destination. 29
147:16 He sends the snow that is white like wool;
he spreads the frost that is white like ashes. 30
147:17 He throws his hailstones 31 like crumbs.
Who can withstand the cold wind he sends? 32
147:18 He then orders it all to melt; 33
he breathes on it, 34 and the water flows.
147:19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and regulations to Israel.
147:20 He has not done so with any other nation;
they are not aware of his regulations.
Praise the Lord!
148:1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the sky!
Praise him in the heavens!
148:2 Praise him, all his angels! 36
Praise him, all his heavenly assembly! 37
148:3 Praise him, O sun and moon!
Praise him, all you shiny stars! 38
148:4 Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky! 39
148:5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
148:6 He established them so they would endure; 40
he issued a decree that will not be revoked. 41
148:7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea creatures and all you ocean depths,
148:8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds, 42
O stormy wind that carries out his orders, 43
148:9 you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all you cedars,
148:10 you animals and all you cattle,
you creeping things and birds,
148:11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,
you princes and all you leaders 44 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, 45
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –
the Israelites, the people who are close to him. 46
Praise the Lord!
149:1 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Praise him in the assembly of the godly! 48
149:2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator!
Let the people 49 of Zion delight in their king! 50
149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing!
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp!
149:4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them. 51
149:5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication! 52
Let them shout for joy upon their beds! 53
149:6 May they praise God
while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand, 54
149:7 in order to take 55 revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
149:8 They bind 56 their kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
149:9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies 57 have been sentenced. 58
All his loyal followers will be vindicated. 59
Praise the Lord!
150:1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength! 61
150:2 Praise him for his mighty acts!
Praise him for his surpassing greatness!
150:3 Praise him with the blast of the horn!
Praise him with the lyre and the harp!
150:4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing!
Praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!
150:5 Praise him with loud cymbals!
Praise him with clanging cymbals!
150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
[146:1] 1 sn Psalm 146. The psalmist urges his audience not to trust in men, but in the
[146:3] 2 tn Heb “in a son of man, to whom there is no deliverance.”
[146:4] 3 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] 4 tn Heb “the one who guards faithfulness forever.”
[146:7] 5 tn Heb “executes justice for the oppressed.”
[146:8] 6 tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).
[146:9] 7 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] 8 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] 9 tn Heb “for a generation and a generation.”
[147:1] 10 sn Psalm 147. The psalmist praises the
[147:2] 12 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[147:3] 13 tn Heb “the one who heals.”
[147:5] 14 tn Heb “and great of strength.”
[147:5] 15 tn Heb “to his wisdom there is no counting.”
[147:6] 16 tn Heb “brings down.”
[147:7] 17 tn Heb “sing to the
[147:8] 18 tn Heb “the one who covers.”
[147:9] 20 tn Heb “which cry out.”
[147:10] 21 tn Heb “he does not desire the strength of the horse, he does not take delight in the legs of the man.” Here “the horse” refers to the war horse used by ancient Near Eastern chariot forces, and “the man” refers to the warrior whose muscular legs epitomize his strength.
[147:11] 22 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
[147:13] 23 tn Heb “your sons.”
[147:14] 24 tn Heb “the one who.”
[147:14] 25 tn Heb “he makes your boundary peace.”
[147:14] 26 tn Heb “satisfies you with.”
[147:15] 27 tn Heb “the one who.”
[147:15] 28 tn Heb “the one who sends his word, the earth.” The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) is an adverbial accusative; one must supply a preposition before it (such as “through” or “to”) in the English translation.
[147:15] 29 tn Heb “swiftly his word runs.”
[147:16] 30 tn Heb “the one who gives snow like wool, frost like ashes he scatters.”
[147:17] 32 tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?”
[147:18] 33 tn Heb “he sends his word and melts them.”
[147:18] 34 tn Heb “he blows his breath.”
[148:1] 35 sn Psalm 148. The psalmist calls upon all creation to praise the Lord, for he is the creator and sovereign king of the world.
[148:2] 36 tn Or “heavenly messengers.”
[148:2] 37 tn Heb “all his host.”
[148:3] 38 tn Heb “stars of light.”
[148:4] 39 sn The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. See also Ps 104:3. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 47.
[148:6] 40 tn Or “forever and ever.”
[148:6] 41 tn Heb “and it will not pass away.”
[148:8] 42 tn In Ps 119:83 the noun refers to “smoke,” but here, where the elements of nature are addressed, the clouds, which resemble smoke, are probably in view.
[148:8] 43 tn Heb “[that] does his word.”
[148:14] 45 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
[148:14] 46 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.
[149:1] 47 sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.
[149:1] 48 tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”
[149:2] 50 sn The
[149:4] 51 tn Heb “he honors the oppressed [with] deliverance.”
[149:5] 52 tn Heb “in glory.” Here “glory” probably refers to the “honor” that belongs to the
[149:5] 53 tn The significance of the reference to “beds” is unclear. Perhaps the point is that they should rejoice at all times, even when falling asleep or awaking.
[149:6] 54 tn Heb “[May] praises of God [be] in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”
[149:9] 57 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[149:9] 58 tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”
[149:9] 59 tn Heb “it is honor for all his godly ones.” The judgment of the oppressive kings will bring vindication and honor to God’s people (see vv. 4-5).
[150:1] 60 sn Psalm 150. The Psalter concludes with a resounding call for praise from everything that has breath.
