Psalm 147
New Living Translation
Psalm 147
1 Praise the Lord!
How good to sing praises to our God!
How delightful and how fitting!
2 The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem
and bringing the exiles back to Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!
6 The Lord supports the humble,
but he brings the wicked down into the dust.
7 Sing out your thanks to the Lord;
sing praises to our God with a harp.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds,
provides rain for the earth,
and makes the grass grow in mountain pastures.
9 He gives food to the wild animals
and feeds the young ravens when they cry.
10 He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse
or in human might.
11 No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.
12 Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates
and blessed your children within your walls.
14 He sends peace across your nation
and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat.
15 He sends his orders to the world—
how swiftly his word flies!
16 He sends the snow like white wool;
he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes.
17 He hurls the hail like stones.[a]
Who can stand against his freezing cold?
18 Then, at his command, it all melts.
He sends his winds, and the ice thaws.
19 He has revealed his words to Jacob,
his decrees and regulations to Israel.
20 He has not done this for any other nation;
they do not know his regulations.
Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- 147:17 Hebrew like bread crumbs.
Psalm 147
The Message
147 Hallelujah!
It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God;
praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.
2-6 God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,
who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles.
He heals the heartbroken
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and assigns each a name.
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;
we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.
God puts the fallen on their feet again
and pushes the wicked into the ditch.
7-11 Sing to God a thanksgiving hymn,
play music on your instruments to God,
Who fills the sky with clouds,
preparing rain for the earth,
Then turning the mountains green with grass,
feeding both cattle and crows.
He’s not impressed with horsepower;
the size of our muscles means little to him.
Those who fear God get God’s attention;
they can depend on his strength.
12-18 Jerusalem, worship God!
Zion, praise your God!
He made your city secure,
he blessed your children among you.
He keeps the peace at your borders,
he puts the best bread on your tables.
He launches his promises earthward—
how swift and sure they come!
He spreads snow like a white fleece,
he scatters frost like ashes,
He broadcasts hail like birdseed—
who can survive his winter?
Then he gives the command and it all melts;
he breathes on winter—suddenly it’s spring!
19-20 He speaks the same way to Jacob,
speaks words that work to Israel.
He never did this to the other nations;
they never heard such commands.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 147
Amplified Bible
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our [gracious and majestic] God;
Praise is becoming and appropriate.
2
The Lord is building up Jerusalem;
He is gathering [together] the exiles of Israel.
3
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow].(A)
4
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by their names.
5
Great is our [majestic and mighty] Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is inexhaustible [infinite, boundless].
6
The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.
7
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God with the lyre,
8
Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who provides rain for the earth,
Who makes grass grow on the mountains.
9
He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens that for which they cry.
10
He does not delight in the strength (military power) of the horse,
Nor does He take pleasure in the legs (strength) of a man.
11
The Lord favors those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience],
Those who wait for His mercy and lovingkindness.(B)
12
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13
For He has strengthened the bars of your gates,
He has blessed your children within you.
14
He makes peace in your borders;
He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.
15
He sends His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16
He gives [to the earth] snow like [a blanket of] wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17
He casts out His ice like fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?
18
He sends out His word and melts the ice;
He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19
He declares His word to Jacob,
His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.(C)
20
He has not dealt this way with any [other] nation;
They have not known [understood, appreciated, heeded, or cherished] His ordinances.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)(D)
Psalm 147
English Standard Version
He Heals the Brokenhearted
147 (A)Praise the Lord!
For (B)it is good to sing praises to our God;
for (C)it is pleasant,[a] and (D)a song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord (E)builds up Jerusalem;
he (F)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals (G)the brokenhearted
and (H)binds up their wounds.
4 He (I)determines the number of the stars;
he (J)gives to all of them their names.
5 (K)Great is our Lord, and (L)abundant in power;
(M)his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord (N)lifts up the humble;[b]
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 (O)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on (P)the lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares (Q)rain for the earth;
he makes (R)grass grow on the hills.
9 He (S)gives to the beasts their food,
and to (T)the young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in (U)the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the Lord (V)takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who (W)hope in his steadfast love.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens (X)the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He (Y)makes peace in your borders;
he (Z)fills you with the (AA)finest of the wheat.
15 He (AB)sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives (AC)snow like wool;
he scatters (AD)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of (AE)ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his (AF)cold?
18 He (AG)sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his (AH)statutes and rules[c] to Israel.
20 He (AI)has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.[d]
(AJ)Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- Psalm 147:1 Or for he is beautiful
- Psalm 147:6 Or afflicted
- Psalm 147:19 Or and just decrees
- Psalm 147:20 Or his just decrees
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
