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Psalm 147

Praise the Lord!

For it is good to sing praises unto our God;
    for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
    He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the broken in heart,
    and binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
    He calls them all by their names.
Great is our Lord and great in power;
    His understanding is without measure.
The Lord lifts up the meek;
    He casts the wicked down to the ground.

Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving;
    sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
who covers the heaven with clouds,
    who provides rain for the earth,
    who makes grass to grow upon the mountains.
He gives food to the animals
    and to the young ravens that chirp.

10 He delights not in the strength of the horse,
    nor does He take pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
    in those who hope in His mercy.

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,
    and fills you with the finest of the wheat.

15 He sends forth His commandment on the earth;
    His word goes out swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
    He scatters the frost like ashes;
17 He casts forth His ice like morsels;
    who can stand before His cold?
18 He sends out His word and melts them;
    He causes His wind to blow and the waters flow.

19 He shows His word to Jacob,
    and His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He has not dealt so with any other nation;
    they have not known His judgments.

Praise the Lord!

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