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Praise for God’s Provision

147 Hallelujah!
    It is good to sing praise to our God,
        and it is fitting to sing glorious praise.

The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;
    he gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted,
    binding up their injuries.
He keeps track of the number of stars,
    assigning names to all of them.
Our Lord is great,
    and rich in power;
        his understanding has no limitation.

The Lord supports the afflicted
    while he casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving,
    and compose music to our God with the lyre.
He shields the heavens with clouds,
    preparing rain for the earth
        and making grass grow on the hills.
He gives wild animals their food,
    including the young ravens when they cry.
10 He takes no delight in the strength of a horse,
    and gains no pleasure in the runner’s swiftness.[a]
11 But the Lord is pleased with those who fear him,
    with those who depend on his gracious love.

12 Glorify the Lord, Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, Zion!
13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates,
    blessing your children within you.
14 He grants peace within your borders,
    satisfying[b] you with the finest of wheat.

15 He sends out his command to the earth,
    making[c] his word go forth quickly.
16 He supplies snow like wool,
    scattering frost like ashes.
17 He casts down his ice crystals like bread[d] fragments.
    Who can endure his freezing cold?
18 He sends out his word
    and melts them.
He makes his wind blow
    and the water flows.

19 He declares his words to Jacob,
    his statutes and decrees to Israel.
20 He has not dealt with any other nation like this;
    they never knew[e] his decrees.

Hallelujah!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 147:10 Lit. the legs of a man
  2. Psalm 147:14 So MT; LXX DSS 4QPsd read borders, and satisfies
  3. Psalm 147:15 The Heb. lacks making
  4. Psalm 147:17 The Heb. lacks bread
  5. Psalm 147:20 So MT; LXX reads he did not explain to them; Syr Targ DSS 11QPsa read he has not revealed to them

Praise to Yahweh for His Providence

147 Praise Yah.[a]
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant; praise is fitting.
Yahweh is building Jerusalem;
he gathers the scattered ones of Israel.
He is the one who heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
he gives names to all of them.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is unlimited.
Yahweh helps the afflicted up;
he brings the wicked down to the ground.
Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving;
sing praises to our God with lyre,
who covers the heavens with clouds,
who provides rain for the earth,
who causes grass to grow on the mountains.
He gives to the animal its food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
he takes no pleasure in the legs of the man.
11 Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him,
the ones who hope[b] for his loyal love.
12 Laud Yahweh, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion,
13 for he strengthens the bars of your gates.
He blesses your children within you;
14 he makes your border peaceful;
he satisfies you with the finest of wheat.[c]
15 He sends out his command[d] to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes;
17 he throws his hail like crumbs.
Who can stand before his cold?[e]
18 He sends out his word and melts them;
he blows his breath, the water flows.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
20 He has not done so for any nation,
and they do not know his ordinances.
Praise Yah.[f]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 147:1 Hebrew hallelujah; here and v. 20
  2. Psalm 147:11 That is, “wait expectantly”
  3. Psalm 147:14 Literally “the fat of the wheat”
  4. Psalm 147:15 Or “utterance”
  5. Psalm 147:17 With slight alteration of the Hebrew, the line might read “before his cold water stands”
  6. Psalm 147:20 Hebrew hallelujah