Psalm 149[a]
149 Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Praise him in the assembly of the godly.[b]
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator.
Let the people[c] of Zion delight in their King.[d]
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them.[e]
5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication.[f]
Let them shout for joy upon their beds.[g]
6 May the praises of God be in their mouths
and a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 in order to take[h] revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
8 The godly bind[i] their enemies’ kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies[j] have been sentenced.[k]
All his loyal followers will be vindicated.[l]
Praise the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 149:1 sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.
- Psalm 149:1 tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”
- Psalm 149:2 tn Heb “sons.”
- Psalm 149:2 sn The Lord is the King here, as the parallelism in the previous line (“their creator”) indicates.
- Psalm 149:4 tn Heb “he honors the oppressed [with] deliverance.”
- Psalm 149:5 tn Heb “in glory.” Here “glory” probably refers to the “honor” that belongs to the Lord’s people as a result of their deliverance (see v. 4).
- Psalm 149:5 tn The significance of the reference to “beds” is unclear. Perhaps the point is that they should rejoice at all times, even when falling asleep or awaking.
- Psalm 149:7 tn Heb “to do.”
- Psalm 149:8 tn Heb “to bind.”
- Psalm 149:9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Psalm 149:9 tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”
- Psalm 149:9 tn Heb “it is honor for all his godly ones.” The judgment of the oppressive kings will bring vindication and honor to God’s people (see vv. 4-5).