Psalms 147
1 Praise ye the LORD: for [it is] good to sing praises unto our God; for [it is] pleasant; [and] praise is comely.
Praise Yahweh! It is good to sing to praise our God. It is a delightful thing to do and the right thing to do.
2 The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
[Jerusalem was destroyed, but] Yahweh is [enabling us to] build Jerusalem again. He is bringing back the people who were taken [to Babylonia].
3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
He enables those who were very discouraged to be encouraged again; [it is as though] they have wounds and he bandages them.
4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by [their] names.
He has determined how many stars there will be, and he gives names to all of them.
5 Great [is] our Lord, and of great power: his understanding [is] infinite.
Yahweh is great and very powerful, and no one can measure how much he understands.
6 The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
Yahweh lifts up those who have been oppressed, and he throws the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
Thank Yahweh while you are singing to him to praise him; on the harps, play music to our God.
8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
He covers the sky with clouds, [and then] he sends rain to the earth and causes grass to grow on the hills.
9 He giveth to the beast his food, [and] to the young ravens which cry.
He gives to animals the food that they [need], and gives food to young crows/birds when they cry out [because they are hungry].
10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
He is not pleased with strong horses or with men who can run [MTY] fast.
11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
Instead, what pleases him are those who revere him, those who confidently expect him to continue to faithfully love them.
12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.
[You people of] [APO] Jerusalem, praise Yahweh! Praise your God!
13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
He [guards your city] by keeping its gates strong. He blesses the people who live there.
14 He maketh peace [in] thy borders, [and] filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
He protects the borders [of your country, so that enemies from other countries cannot attack you]. He gives you plenty of very good wheat/grain to eat.
15 He sendeth forth his commandment [upon] earth: his word runneth very swiftly.
He commands what he wants to be done on the earth, and his words quickly come to the place to which he sends them.
16 He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
He sends snow which [covers the ground] like a white wool blanket [SIM], and he scatters frost [on the ground] like [wind scatters] ashes [SIM].
17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?
He sends hail down like (pebbles/tiny stones); [when that happens], (it is very difficult to endure because the air becomes very cold./who can endure because the air becomes very cold?) [RHQ]
18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, [and] the waters flow.
[But] he commands the wind to blow, and it blows. [Then the hail] melts and [the water] flows [into the streams].
19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
He sent his message to [the descendants of] Jacob; [he tells to his] Israeli people the laws and regulations that he had decreed.
20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and [as for his] judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.
He has not done that for any other nation; the other nations do not know his laws. Praise Yahweh!
