Psalms 148:1-14

Psalm 148 ¹ 

148:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the sky!

Praise him in the heavens!

148:2 Praise him, all his angels! ² 

Praise him, all his heavenly assembly! ³ 

148:3 Praise him, O sun and moon!

Praise him, all you shiny stars! ⁴ 

148:4 Praise him, O highest heaven,

and you waters above the sky! ⁵ 

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; ⁶ 

he issued a decree that will not be revoked. ⁷ 

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, ⁸ 

O stormy wind that carries out his orders, ⁹ 

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 ¹⁰  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, ¹¹ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ¹² 

Praise the Lord!

[148:1]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “heavenly messengers.”

[148:2]  ³ tn Heb “all his host.”

[148:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “stars of light.”

[148:4]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “forever and ever.”

[148:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it will not pass away.”

[148:8]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “[that] does his word.”

[148:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “judges.”

[148:14]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.