Net English TranslationPsalms 111 =

Psalm 1111

111
1 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.
2 The Lord’s deeds are great,
eagerly awaited2 by all who desire them.
3 His work is majestic and glorious,3
and his faithfulness endures4 forever.
4 He does5 amazing things that will be remembered;6
the Lord is merciful and compassionate.
5 He gives7 food to his faithful followers;8
he always remembers his covenant.9
6 He announced that he would do mighty deeds for his people,
giving them a land that belonged to other nations.10
7 His acts are characterized by11 faithfulness and justice;
all his precepts are reliable.12
8 They are forever firm,
and should be faithfully and properly carried out.13
9 He delivered his people;14
he ordained that his covenant be observed forever.15
His name is holy and awesome.
10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living;16
all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight.17
He will receive praise forever.18
1sn Psalm 111. The psalmist praises God for his marvelous deeds, especially the way in which he provides for and delivers his people. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. 2tn Heb “sought out.” 3tn For other uses of the Hebrew phrase וְהָדָר-הוֹד (hod-vÿhadar, “majesty and splendor”) see 1 Chr 16:27; Job 40:10; Pss 21:5; 96:6; 104:1. 4tn Or “stands.” 5tn Or “did,” if this refers primarily to the events of the exodus and conquest period (see vv. 6, 9). 6tn Heb “a memorial he had made for his amazing deeds.” 7tn Or “gave,” if the events of the exodus and conquest period (see v. 6, 9) are primarily in view. 8tn Heb “those who fear him.” 9tn Or “he remembers his covenant forever” (see Ps 105:8). 10tn Heb “the strength of his deeds he proclaimed to his people, to give to them an inheritance of nations.” 11tn Heb “the deeds of his hands [are].” 12tn That is, fair and for man’s good. 13tn Heb “done in faithfulness and uprightness.” The passive participle probably has the force of a gerund. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 89. 14tn Heb “redemption he sent for his people.” 15tn Heb “he commanded forever his covenant.” 16tn Heb “the beginning of wisdom [is] the fear of the Lord.” 17tn Heb “good sense [is] to all who do them.” The third masculine plural pronominal suffix must refer back to the “precepts” mentioned in v. 7. In the translation the referent has been specified for clarity. The phrase שֵׂכֶל טוֹב (shekhel tov) also occurs in Prov 3:4; 13:15 and 2 Chr 30:22. 18tn Heb “his praise stands forever.”
=