Psalms 147

Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

1Praise the LORD! It is good to sing songs to our God. Singing to him is happy work. Praise fits him well.

2The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.

2The LORD builds up the city of Jerusalem. He brings home the people of Israel who were sent far away.

Note"Outcasts" here means people who were taken away from their own country and had to live somewhere else.

3He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

3He makes sad, hurting hearts well again. He wraps up their wounds with care.

4He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.

4He counts how many stars there are. He calls each star by its own name.

5Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

5Our Lord is great. He is very strong. There is no end to what he knows.

6The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

6The LORD holds up people who are gentle and humble. He throws bad people down to the ground.

7Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

7Sing to the LORD and thank him. Play music to our God on a harp.

8Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

8He covers the sky with clouds. He gets rain ready for the land. He makes grass grow on the hills.

9He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

9He gives food to the animals. He feeds the young ravens when they call out.

10He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.

10A strong horse is not what makes him glad. A man's strong legs do not please him either.

11The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

11The LORD is pleased with people who honor him. He is pleased with people who trust his kind love.

12Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.

12Praise the LORD, Jerusalem! Praise your God, Zion!

NoteZion is another name for Jerusalem, the city where God's temple stood.

13For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.

13He makes the bars on your gates strong. He blesses the children inside your walls.

14He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

14He keeps your land peaceful all the way to its edges. He fills you with the best wheat.

15He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.

15He sends his command out to the earth. His word runs out very fast.

16He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.

16He spreads snow on the ground like soft white wool. He scatters frost like ashes.

17He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?

17He throws down his ice like little stones. Nobody can stand up to his cold.

18He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.

18He sends his word, and the ice melts. He makes his wind blow, and water flows again.

19He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.

19He tells his word to the family of Jacob. He gives his rules and his laws to Israel.

20He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

20He has not done this for any other nation. Other nations do not know his laws. Praise the LORD!