Psalm 147
Living Bible
147 Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! How good it is to sing his praises! How delightful, and how right!
2 He is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing back the exiles. 3 He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds. 4 He counts the stars and calls them all by name. 5 How great he is! His power is absolute! His understanding is unlimited. 6 The Lord supports the humble, but brings the wicked into the dust.
7 Sing out your thanks to him; sing praises to our God, accompanied by harps. 8 He covers the heavens with clouds, sends down the showers, and makes the green grass grow in mountain pastures. 9 He feeds the wild animals, and the young ravens cry to him for food. 10 The speed of a horse is nothing to him. How puny in his sight is the strength of a man. 11 But his joy is in those who reverence him, those who expect him to be loving and kind.
12 Praise him, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13 For he has fortified your gates against all enemies and blessed your children. 14 He sends peace across your nation and fills your barns with plenty of the finest wheat. 15 He sends his orders to the world. How swiftly his word flies. 16 He sends the snow in all its lovely whiteness, scatters the frost upon the ground, 17 and hurls the hail upon the earth. Who can stand before his freezing cold? 18 But then he calls for warmer weather, and the spring winds blow and all the river ice is broken. 19 He has made known his laws and ceremonies of worship to Israel— 20 something he has not done with any other nation; they have not known his commands.
Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!
Psalm 147
Contemporary English Version
Sing and Praise the Lord
1 Shout praises to the Lord!
Our God is kind,
and it is right and good
to sing praises to him.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem
and brings the people of Israel
back home again.
3 He renews our hopes
and heals our bodies.
4 He decided how many stars
there would be in the sky
and gave each one a name.
5 Our Lord is great and powerful!
He understands everything.
6 The Lord helps the oppressed,
but he smears the wicked
in the dirt.
7 Celebrate and sing!
Play your harps
for the Lord our God.
8 He fills the sky with clouds
and sends rain to the earth,
so that the hills
will be green with grass.
9 He provides food for cattle
and for the young ravens,
when they cry out.
10 The Lord doesn't care about
the strength of horses
or powerful armies.
11 The Lord is pleased only
with those who worship him
and trust his love.
12 Everyone in Jerusalem,
come and praise
the Lord your God!
13 He makes your city gates strong
and blesses your people.
14 God lets you live in peace,
and he gives you
the very best wheat.
15 As soon as God speaks,
the earth obeys.
16 He covers the ground with snow
like a blanket of wool,
and he scatters frost
like ashes on the ground.
17 God sends down hailstones
like chips of rocks.
Who can stand the cold?
18 At his command the ice melts,
the wind blows,
and streams begin to flow.
19 God gave his laws and teachings
to the descendants of Jacob,
the nation of Israel.
20 But he has not given his laws
to any other nation.
Shout praises to the Lord!
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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