☰ Psalms 149
149
1  Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Praise him in the assembly of the godly!1
2  Let Israel rejoice in their Creator!
Let the people2 of Zion delight in their king!3
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.4
5  Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication!5
Let them shout for joy upon their beds!6
6  May they praise God
while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand,7
7  in order to take8 revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
8  They bind9 their kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
9  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).
☰