Net English TranslationPsalms 147 =
Psalm 1471
147
1 Praise the Lord,
for it is good to sing praises to our God!
Yes,2 praise is pleasant and appropriate!
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,3
and gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals4 the brokenhearted,
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
he names all of them.
5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power;5
there is no limit to his wisdom.6
6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knocks7 the wicked to the ground.
7 Offer to the Lord a song of thanks!8
Sing praises to our God to the accompaniment of a harp!
8 He covers9 the sky with clouds,
provides the earth with rain,
and causes grass to grow on the hillsides.10
9 He gives food to the animals,
and to the young ravens when they chirp.11
10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse,
nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs.12
11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers,13
and in those who wait for his loyal love.
12 Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he makes the bars of your gates strong.
He blesses your children14 within you.
14 He15 brings peace to your territory.16
He abundantly provides for you17 the best grain.
15 He18 sends his command through the earth;19
swiftly his order reaches its destination.20
16 He sends the snow that is white like wool;
he spreads the frost that is white like ashes.21
17 He throws his hailstones22 like crumbs.
Who can withstand the cold wind he sends?23
18 He then orders it all to melt;24
he breathes on it,25 and the water flows.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and regulations to Israel.
20 He has not done so with any other nation;
they are not aware of his regulations.
Praise the Lord!
1sn Psalm 147. The psalmist praises the Lord for he is the sovereign ruler of the world who cares for the needs of his covenant people. 2tn Or “for.” 3map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 4tn Heb “the one who heals.” 5tn Heb “and great of strength.” 6tn Heb “to his wisdom there is no counting.” 7tn Heb “brings down.” 8tn Heb “sing to the Lord with thanksgiving.” 9tn Heb “the one who covers.” 10tn Heb “hills.” 11tn Heb “which cry out.” 12tn 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. 13tn Heb “those who fear him.” 14tn Heb “your sons.” 15tn Heb “the one who.” 16tn Heb “he makes your boundary peace.” 17tn Heb “satisfies you with.” 18tn Heb “the one who.” 19tn 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. 20tn Heb “swiftly his word runs.” 21tn Heb “the one who gives snow like wool, frost like ashes he scatters.” 22tn Heb “his ice.” 23tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?” 24tn Heb “he sends his word and melts them.” 25tn Heb “he blows his breath.”
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