Psalms 147
1 Praise ye the LORD! For it is good to sing praise to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is becoming.
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 buildeth up Jerusalem; He gathereth together the dispersed 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 counteth 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 mighty in 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 lowly; 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 to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises upon the harp to 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 heavens with clouds, Who prepareth rain for the earth, Who causeth 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 cattle their food. And to the young ravens, when they 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 those who fear him, In those who trust 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 satisfieth 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 command to the 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, And scattereth the hoar-frost 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 forth 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 publisheth his word to Jacob, His statutes and laws to 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 dealt in this manner with no other nation; And, as for his ordinances, 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!
