Psalms 148:13--150:6

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, ¹ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ² 

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 149 ³ 

149:1 Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song!

Praise him in the assembly of the godly! ⁴ 

149:2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator!

Let the people ⁵  of Zion delight in their king! ⁶ 

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. ⁷ 

149:5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication! ⁸ 

Let them shout for joy upon their beds! ⁹ 

149:6 May they praise God

while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand, ¹⁰ 

149:7 in order to take ¹¹  revenge on the nations,

and punish foreigners.

149:8 They bind ¹²  their kings in chains,

and their nobles in iron shackles,

149:9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies ¹³  have been sentenced. ¹⁴ 

All his loyal followers will be vindicated. ¹⁵ 

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 150 ¹⁶ 

150:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary!

Praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength! ¹⁷ 

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!

[148:14]  ¹ 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 Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ² 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]  ³ sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.

[149:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”

[149:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “sons.”

[149:2]  ⁶ sn The Lord is the king here, as the parallelism in the previous line (“their creator”) indicates.

[149:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “he honors the oppressed [with] deliverance.”

[149:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “in glory.” Here “glory” probably refers to the “honor” that belongs to the Lord’s people as a result of their deliverance (see v. 4).

[149:5]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[May] praises of God [be] in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”

[149:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to do.”

[149:8]  ¹² tn Heb “to bind.”

[149:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[149:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”

[149:9]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 150. The Psalter concludes with a resounding call for praise from everything that has breath.

[150:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the sky of his strength.”