Psalms 149:2-9

149:2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator!

Let the people ¹  of Zion delight in their king! ² 

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. ³ 

149:5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication! ⁴ 

Let them shout for joy upon their beds! ⁵ 

149:6 May they praise God

while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand, ⁶ 

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

and punish foreigners.

149:8 They bind ⁸  their kings in chains,

and their nobles in iron shackles,

149:9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies ⁹  have been sentenced. ¹⁰ 

All his loyal followers will be vindicated. ¹¹ 

Praise the Lord!

[149:2]  ¹ tn Heb “sons.”

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

[149:4]  ³ tn Heb “he honors the oppressed [with] deliverance.”

[149:5]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “[May] praises of God [be] in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”

[149:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “to do.”

[149:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “to bind.”

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

[149:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”

[149:9]  ¹¹ 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).