147  ⁱPraise the Lord!

For ^jit is good to sing praises to our God;

for ^kit is pleasant,¹ and ^la song of praise is fitting.

2  The Lord ^mbuilds up Jerusalem;

he ⁿgathers the outcasts of Israel.

3  He heals ^othe brokenhearted

and ^pbinds up their wounds.

4  He ^qdetermines the number of the stars;

he ^rgives to all of them their names.

5  ^sGreat is our Lord, and ^tabundant in power;

^uhis understanding is beyond measure.

6  The Lord ^vlifts up the humble;²

he casts the wicked to the ground.

7  ^wSing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

make melody to our God on ^xthe lyre!

8  He covers the heavens with clouds;

he prepares ^yrain for the earth;

he makes ^zgrass grow on the hills.

9  He ^agives to the beasts their food,

and to ^bthe young ravens that cry.

10  His delight is not in ^cthe strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

11  but the Lord ^dtakes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who ^ehope in his steadfast love.

12  Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

13  For he strengthens ^fthe bars of your gates;

he blesses your children within you.

14  He ^gmakes peace in your borders;

he ^hfills you with the ⁱfinest of the wheat.

15  He ^jsends out his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

16  He gives ^ksnow like wool;

he scatters ^lfrost like ashes.

17  He hurls down his crystals of ^mice like crumbs;

who can stand before his ⁿcold?

18  He ^osends out his word, and melts them;

he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

19  He declares his word to Jacob,

his ^pstatutes and rules³ to Israel.

20  He ^qhas not dealt thus with any other nation;

they do not know his rules.⁴

^rPraise the Lord!

148  ^rPraise the Lord!

Praise the Lord ^sfrom the heavens;

praise him ^tin the heights!

2  Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his ^uhosts!

3  Praise him, sun and moon,

praise him, all you shining stars!

4  Praise him, you ^vhighest heavens,

and you ^wwaters above the heavens!

5  ^xLet them praise the name of the Lord!

For ^yhe commanded and they were created.

6  And he ^zestablished them forever and ever;

he gave ^aa decree, and it shall not ^bpass away.¹

7  Praise the Lord ^cfrom the earth,

you ^dgreat sea creatures and all deeps,

8  ^efire and hail, ^fsnow and mist,

^gstormy wind ^hfulfilling his word!

9  ⁱMountains and all hills,

^jfruit trees and all ^kcedars!

10  ^lBeasts and all livestock,

creeping things and ^mflying birds!

11  Kings of the earth and ⁿall peoples,

princes and all rulers of the earth!

12  Young men and maidens together,

old men and children!

13  ^oLet them praise the name of the Lord,

for ^phis name alone is exalted;

^qhis majesty is above earth and heaven.

14  He has ^rraised up a horn for his people,

^spraise for all his saints,

for the people of Israel who are ^tnear to him.

^uPraise the Lord!

149  ^uPraise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord ^va new song,

his praise in ^wthe assembly of the godly!

2  Let Israel ^xbe glad in ^yhis Maker;

let the children of Zion rejoice in their ^zKing!

3  Let them praise his name with ^adancing,

making melody to him with ^btambourine and ^clyre!

4  For the Lord ^dtakes pleasure in his people;

he ^eadorns the humble with salvation.

5  Let the godly exult in glory;

let them ^fsing for joy on their ^gbeds.

6  Let ^hthe high praises of God be in their throats

and ⁱtwo-edged swords in their hands,

7  to execute vengeance on the nations

and punishments on the peoples,

8  to bind their kings with ^jchains

and their nobles with fetters of iron,

9  to execute on them the judgment ^kwritten!

^lThis is honor for all his godly ones.

^uPraise the Lord!

150  ^uPraise the Lord!

Praise God in his ^msanctuary;

praise him in ⁿhis mighty heavens!¹

2  Praise him for his ^omighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent ^pgreatness!

3  Praise him with ^qtrumpet sound;

praise him with ^rlute and ^rharp!

4  Praise him with ^stambourine and ^sdance;

praise him with ^tstrings and ^upipe!

5  Praise him with sounding ^vcymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

6  Let ^weverything that has breath praise the Lord!

^xPraise the Lord!

2  To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight,

3  to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in ^brighteousness, justice, and equity;

4  to give prudence to ^cthe simple,

knowledge and ^ddiscretion to the youth—

5  Let the wise hear and ^eincrease in learning,

and the one who understands obtain guidance,

6  to understand a proverb and a saying,

^fthe words of the wise and their ^griddles.

7  ^hThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8  ⁱHear, my son, your father’s instruction,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching,

9  for they are ^ja graceful garland for your head

and ^kpendants for your neck.

10  My son, if sinners ^lentice you,

do not consent.

11  If they say, “Come with us, ^mlet us lie in wait for blood;

ⁿlet us ambush the innocent without reason;

12  like Sheol let us ^oswallow them alive,

and whole, like ^pthose who go down to the pit;

13  we shall find all precious goods,

we shall fill our houses with plunder;

14  throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse”—

15  my son, ^qdo not walk in the way with them;

^rhold back your foot from their paths,

16  for ^stheir feet run to evil,

and they make haste to shed blood.

17  ^tFor in vain is a net spread

in the sight of any bird,

18  but these men ^ulie in wait for their own blood;

they ^uset an ambush for their own lives.

19  ^vSuch are the ways of everyone who is ^wgreedy for unjust gain;

^xit takes away the life of its possessors.

20  ^yWisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

21  at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at ^zthe entrance of the city gates she speaks:

22  “How long, O ^asimple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will ^bscoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools ^chate knowledge?

23  If you turn at my reproof,¹

behold, I will ^dpour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.

24  ^eBecause I have called and ^fyou refused to listen,

have ^gstretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

25  because you have ^hignored all my counsel

and ⁱwould have none of my reproof,

26  I also ^jwill laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when ^kterror strikes you,

27  when terror strikes you like ^la storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

28  ^mThen they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

29  Because they ^chated knowledge

and ⁿdid not choose the fear of the Lord,

30  ^hwould have none of my counsel

and ⁱdespised all my reproof,

31  therefore they shall eat ^othe fruit of their way,

and have ^ptheir fill of their own devices.

32  For the simple are killed by ^qtheir turning away,

and ^rthe complacency of fools destroys them;

33  but ^swhoever listens to me will dwell secure

and will be ^tat ease, without dread of disaster.”