Psalms 33

Be glad in the LORD, you who live rightly. Praise is fitting for people who are honest and upright.

1Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

NoteWhere the King James prints LORD in capitals, the Hebrew has the personal name of God, four consonants usually written YHWH and often said today as "Yahweh." Jewish readers avoided pronouncing it and said "the Lord" instead, and English translations have followed that custom ever since. "Righteous" and "upright" here are not claims about faultless people; they are the ordinary Hebrew words for those who deal straight with God and with other people.

2Praise the LORD with the harp. Make music to him on the lyre, the instrument with ten strings.

2Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

NoteThe two instruments are the kinnor, a small hand-held lyre, and the nebel, a larger stringed instrument (the King James calls it a "psaltery"). These were the standard instruments of Israelite worship music. The Hebrew of the second line can be read either as a separate ten-stringed instrument or as a description of the nebel itself, "the ten-stringed nebel", and translators divide over which is meant.

3Sing him a new song. Play your instruments well, and shout for joy as you play.

3Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

Note"A new song" is a set phrase in the Psalms. It normally means a fresh song composed for a fresh act of rescue or victory, rather than simply an original composition.

4Do this because the word of the LORD is straight and true, and everything he does can be trusted.

4For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.

NoteThe word behind "truth" here is emunah, which means reliability or faithfulness (something you can lean your weight on), rather than factual accuracy. The point is that God's actions can be depended on.

5He loves what is right and he loves fair judgment. The earth is full of the LORD's steadfast love.

5He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

Note"Judgment" translates mishpat, which means justice or right governing, settling disputes fairly and giving people their due. It does not mean condemnation or punishment. "Steadfast love" translates hesed, one of the key words of the Hebrew Bible: loyal, committed kindness shown by someone who has bound himself to another and keeps that commitment. English has no single word for it; older versions use "mercy" or "lovingkindness."

6The heavens were made by the word of the LORD. All the stars in them were made by the breath of his mouth.

6By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Note"Host" in the King James means an army. "The host of heaven" is the ranked array of stars and heavenly bodies, pictured as a vast marshalled force. The same word is used for a human army in verse 16.

7He gathers the waters of the sea and piles them up. He stores the deep waters in storehouses.

7He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

Note"As an heap" pictures the sea standing piled up like a wall, the image used of the Red Sea in Exodus 15:8. Some ancient manuscripts and the old Greek translation read a nearly identical Hebrew word meaning "a skin bottle," giving "he gathers the sea as into a wineskin", the two readings differ by one letter and both are defensible. The "storehouses" are treasuries or granaries, the locked rooms where a king kept his grain and wealth in reserve.

8Let everyone on earth fear the LORD. Let all the people of the world stand in awe of him.

8Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

Note"Fear" here covers awe and reverence before something overwhelmingly greater, not fright or dread. The parallel line, "stand in awe," shows the sense.

9For he spoke, and it happened. He gave the command, and it stood firm.

9For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

10The LORD ruins the plans that the nations make. He makes the schemes of the peoples come to nothing.

10The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

Note"Heathen" in 1611 English simply meant the nations, foreign peoples, the world outside Israel. It carried none of the modern suggestion of savagery or irreligion. "Devices" means schemes or plans, and "of none effect" means made useless.

11But the LORD's plan stands forever. What he purposes in his heart lasts for all generations.

11The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

12Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen to be his own.

12Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

Note"Inheritance" is a term from Israelite property law: the allotted portion of land a family held permanently and passed to its children, which could not simply be sold off. Calling a people God's inheritance means they are his permanently allotted portion, held and not given up.

13The LORD looks down from heaven. He sees every human being.

13The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.

14From the place where he lives he looks out at everyone who lives on the earth.

14From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

15He is the one who forms the hearts of them all, and he pays attention to everything they do.

15He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.

NoteIn Hebrew the "heart" is the seat of thought, intention and decision, closer to what English means by the mind, not primarily the emotions. The King James "alike" renders a word that can mean either "all of them together" or "each one individually," and translators go both ways.

16No king is saved by having a huge army. No strong fighter is rescued by his own great strength.

16There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

17A horse is a false hope for safety. For all its strength, it cannot rescue anyone.

17An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

NoteThe horse of this period is not transport but military hardware: the chariot and cavalry horse, the most expensive and formidable weapon a state could field. The line is dismissing the era's equivalent of superior armaments.

18Look: the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who put their hope in his steadfast love.

18Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

19He watches over them to rescue them from death and to keep them alive when there is no food.

19To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

Note"Soul" translates nephesh, which in Hebrew means the whole living person, the life itself, not an immaterial part separable from the body. "Deliver their soul from death" means keep them alive.

20We wait for the LORD. He is our help and our shield.

20Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.

Note"Waiteth" describes active, expectant waiting, the posture of someone watching for help that is coming, not passive delay. A "shield" is the standard image for a protector in battle.

21Our hearts are glad because of him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

21For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

NoteIn Hebrew usage a person's "name" stands for the person himself and for his known character and reputation, so trusting in the name means trusting the one who bears it.

22LORD, let your steadfast love rest on us, just as we have put our hope in you.

22Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.