Psalm 147sn 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.
1 Praise the Lord,
for it is good to sing praises to our God!
Yes,tn Or “for.” praise is pleasant and appropriate!
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
and gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He healstn Heb “the one who heals.” 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;tn Heb “and great of strength.”
there is no limit to his wisdom.tn Heb “to his wisdom there is no counting.”
6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knockstn Heb “brings down.” the wicked to the ground.
Sing praises to our God to the accompaniment of a harp!
8 He coverstn Heb “the one who covers.” the sky with clouds,
provides the earth with rain,
and causes grass to grow on the hillsides.tn Heb “hills.”
9 He gives food to the animals,
and to the young ravens when they chirp.tn Heb “which cry out.”
10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse,
nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs.tn 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.
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 childrentn Heb “your sons.” within you.
He abundantly provides for youtn Heb “satisfies you with.” the best grain.
15 Hetn Heb “the one who.” sends his command through the earth;tn 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.
swiftly his order reaches its destination.tn Heb “swiftly his word runs.”
16 He sends the snow that is white like wool;
he spreads the frost that is white like ashes.tn Heb “the one who gives snow like wool, frost like ashes he scatters.”
17 He throws his hailstonestn Heb “his ice.” like crumbs.
Who can withstand the cold wind he sends?tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?”
18 He then orders it all to melt;tn Heb “he sends his word and melts them.”
he breathes on it,tn Heb “he blows his breath.” 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!
1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC
Used by permission, All rights reserved.
