1 Alleluia, [a Psalm] of Haggai and Zechariah. Praise ye the Lord: for psalmody is a good thing; Let praise be sweetly sung to our God. 2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem; And he will gather together the dispersed of Israel. 3 He heals the broken in heart, And binds up their wounds. 4 He numbers the multitudes of stars; And calls them all by names. 5 Great is our Lord, and great is his strength; And his understanding is infinite. 6 The Lord lifts up the meek; But brings sinners down to the ground. 7 Begin [the song] with thanksgiving to the Lord; Sing praises on the harp to our God: 8 Who covers the heaven with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who causes grass to spring up on the mountains, And green herb for the service of men; 9 And gives to cattle their food, And to the young ravens that call upon him. 10 He will not take pleasure in the strength of a horse; Neither is he well pleased with the legs of a man. 11 The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear him, And in all that hope in his mercy.
Psalms · Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Psalm 146 (147) Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · Psalm 147 · About the recordings
Notes on this text (2)
- Greek and Latin Bibles number most Psalms one lower than Hebrew and English Bibles.
- Same Septuagint text as Brenton, with modernised spelling.
Cross references (11)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info. References use English (Hebrew-based) verse numbers; links open the passage in LXXUP.
- 1 Psalm 135:3; Psalm 92:1; Psalm 33:1; Psalm 42:4; Psalm 63:3–5
- 2 Isaiah 56:8; Deuteronomy 30:3; Psalm 51:18; Psalm 102:20–22; Isaiah 62:7
- 3 Psalm 34:18; Job 5:18; Jeremiah 33:6; Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18
- 4 Isaiah 40:26; Psalm 148:3; Psalm 8:3; Genesis 15:5
- 5 Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 139:17–18; Psalm 96:4; Romans 11:33; Nahum 1:3
- 6 Psalm 25:9; 1 Peter 5:6; Psalm 146:8–9; James 4:10; Zephaniah 2:3
- 7 Psalm 95:1–2; Psalm 47:6–7; Psalm 68:32; Psalm 107:21–22; Psalm 92:1–3
- 8 Job 5:10; Psalm 65:9–13; Genesis 9:14; Job 26:8–9; Acts 14:17
- 9 Psalm 104:27–28; Job 38:41; Matthew 6:26; Psalm 136:25; Luke 12:24
- 10 1 Samuel 16:7; Isaiah 31:1; Psalm 20:7; Psalm 33:16–18; Proverbs 21:31
- 11 Psalm 33:18; Malachi 3:16–17; Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 149:4; Isaiah 62:4
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations). Verse numbers below follow the Hebrew/English numbering: 147.
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Behold the Psalm soundeth; it is the voice of some one (and that some one are ye, if ye will), of some one encouraging his soul to praise God, and saying to himself, "Praise the Lord, O my soul" (ver. 1).
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
… bringeth out their host by number." And the Saviour says in the Gospel, "The very hairs of your head are all numbered." Far be it, then, from us to doubt that all number is known to Him "whose understanding," according to the Psalmist, "is infinite." The infinity of number, though there be no numbering of infinite numbers, is yet not …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
… lesson David also lays the foundation from old time, saying enigmatically on this wise, "Thou openest Thine hand, and fillest every living thing with bounty;" and again, "To Him that giveth to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that call upon Him." "Who then," it may be said, "have not taken thought"?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Thou beholdest the stars, but their Maker thou beholdest not: count these which are visible, and then describe Him who is invisible, Who telleth the number of the stars, and calleth them all by their names.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
Know you the bond of Pleiades, or the fence of Orion as He who counteth the number of the stars and calleth them all by their names? Know you the differences of the glory of each, and the order of their movement, that I should trust you, when by them you weave the web of human concerns, and arm the …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)