149
Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Praise him in the assembly of the godly!1
Let Israel rejoice in their Creator!
Let the people2 of Zion delight in their king!3
Let them praise his name with dancing!
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp!
For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them.4
Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication!5
Let them shout for joy upon their beds!6
May they praise God
while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand,7
in order to take8 revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
They bind9 their kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
and execute the judgment to which their enemies10 have been sentenced.11
All his loyal followers will be vindicated.12
Praise the Lord! 13
1 149:1 sn: Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them. 2 149:2 tn: Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.” 3 149:2 tn: Heb “sons.” 4 149:4 sn: The Lord is the king here, as the parallelism in the previous line (“their creator”) indicates. 5 149:5 tn: Heb “he honors the oppressed [with] deliverance.” 6 149:5 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). 7 149:6 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. 8 149:7 tn: Heb “[May] praises of God [be] in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand.” 9 149:8 tn: Heb “to do.” 10 149:9 tn: Heb “to bind.” 11 149:9 tn: Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 12 149:9 tn: Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.” 13 149:9 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).