Psalms

Superscription, counted as v 1 in the Masoretic numbering, so every verse of Ps 8 is one number ahead of the ASV (MT 8:6 = ASV 8:5; mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings). The refIds and the canon's citation ('Psaumes VIII-6') follow the MT. lamnaṣṣēaḥ 'For the Chief Musician' (ASV; NRSV 'To the leader') is the Piel participle of nṣḥ 'direct, oversee'. ʿal-haggittît 'set to the Gittith' names an instrument or tune whose sense is lost (LXX 'over the winepresses', reading gittôt). mizmôr lĕdāwid 'A Psalm of David': lĕ- may mark authorship, dedication or a collection, and English 'of' keeps the ambiguity (psalm-superscription-terms-psalms; proper-names-english-forms-convention-writings).

ʾăšer tĕnâ hôdĕkā ʿal-haššāmāyim is the psalm's textual crux. The MT points tĕnâ as an imperative ('set!'), which does not construe after the relative ʾăšer. The line follows the ASV ('who hast set thy glory upon the heavens') and NRSV ('You have set your glory above the heavens'), which read the same consonants as a perfect of ntn (nātattâ); others derive the form from tnh 'recount' (cf. Judg 5:11), 'whose splendor is recounted above the skies' (Craigie, WBC 19, ad loc.). The consonants are unchanged. This is the one place in the wave where the line departs from the Masoretic vowels, and the departure is recorded under mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings.

šāmayim is the visible sky over which the splendor is set, the same sky the speaker looks at in v 4, so the line has 'skies' under the register rule of the central shamayim entry (ASV 'heavens'; shamayim-register-application-writings). YHWH ʾădōnênû 'YHWH, our Lord' keeps the name and the title apart (divine-names-convention-writings). bĕkol-hāʾāreṣ 'in all the earth' is universal in scope, so the line has 'earth', not the central default 'land' (eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings).

mippî ʿôlĕlîm wĕyōnĕqîm yissadtā ʿōz 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have founded strength' (MT; ASV 'established strength'). The LXX has ainon 'praise' for ʿōz, the form quoted at Matt 21:16. The line keeps the MT (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings). ʿōz is strength and also a stronghold (BDB), which suits the military language of the second half ('adversaries', 'enemy', 'avenger').

šāmeykā 'your skies', with the moon and the stars: the physical sky, so 'skies' under the central shamayim rule (ASV 'heavens'). maʿăśê ʾeṣbĕʿōteykā 'the work of your fingers'; kônāntâ 'you have set in place' (Polel of kwn 'establish, fix').

māh-ʾĕnôš ... ûben-ʾādām sets two words for humankind in parallel. ʾĕnôš is 'a mortal' (BDB 'man, mankind', often with a note of frailty), which keeps it distinct from ʾādām. ben-ʾādām is 'a son of human' under the central ben-adam entry, whose rationale already cites this verse (ASV 'man ... the son of man'; adam-enosh-ish-human-terms-writings). tipqĕdennû 'that you attend to him' (ASV 'visitest'): pqd is to take note of and care for. Heb 2:6 quotes the verse from the LXX ('son of man').

wattĕḥassĕrēhû mĕʿaṭ mēʾĕlōhîm 'Yet you have made him a little less than Elohim'. The Piel of ḥsr is 'cause to lack, make less' (ASV 'made him but little lower'). The referent of ʾĕlōhîm is the verse's old question. The ASV and NRSV have 'God'. The LXX par' angelous 'than the angels', followed by the Targum, the Vulgate, the KJV and Heb 2:7, takes it as the heavenly beings. NJPS ('little less than divine') and the NRSV margin ('than the divine beings') take it as a class. The line follows the corpus rule: ʾĕlōhîm is left untranslated (elohim-as-translation) and has no English article, because the Hebrew has none (divine-names-convention-writings, as job-woh 1:9 'fear Elohim'). 'Elohim' keeps the plural form visible and leaves the referent open, which none of the English alternatives does.

wĕkābôd wĕhādār tĕʿaṭṭĕrēhû 'and with glory and honor you crown him': royal vocabulary, which the dominion of vv 7-9 continues.

Wheel of Heaven reading (reception note, not a translation claim). The Book Which Tells the Truth (ch. 3) quotes the verse as 'a little lower than the Elohim' ('peu inférieur aux Elohim') and reads it as saying that humans are almost as strong intellectually as their creators. It adds that the copyists did not dare to write 'equal to the Elohim', as had been dictated. No Hebrew manuscript or ancient version reads 'equal', and the line renders the MT. The canon's wording differs from the line only in the English article, which the Hebrew does not have.

tamšîlēhû 'You make him rule' (Hiphil of mšl); kōl šattâ taḥat-raglāyw 'you have put all things under his feet'. The verse takes up the dominion of Gen 1:26-28, with mšl for the rdh of Genesis.

ṣōneh waʾălāpîm 'sheep and oxen' uses rare poetic forms of ṣōʾn and ʾelep; bahămôt śādāy 'the beasts of the field' has the archaic śāday for śādeh.

ṣippôr šāmayim 'the birds of the skies': the physical sky (shamayim). ʿōbēr ʾorḥôt yammîm 'whatever passes through the paths of the seas': the singular participle is collective, the creatures of the sea (cf. Gen 1:21).

The refrain of v 2a closes the psalm as an inclusio. 'In all the earth' as in v 2 (eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings).

Superscription, counted as v 1 in the Masoretic numbering, so MT 19:n = ASV 19:(n-1) throughout (MT 19:15 = ASV 19:14; mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings). The canon cites the psalm in the MT numbering ('Psaumes XIX-5', 'XIX-7'), which matches the refIds. Superscription terms as at Ps 8:1 (psalm-superscription-terms-psalms).

haššāmayim mĕsappĕrîm kĕbôd-ʾēl 'The skies recount the glory of El'. The participle mĕsappĕrîm is 'telling, recounting' (ASV 'declare'). šāmayim is the visible sky, which speaks by day and by night (vv 3-7), so 'skies' (central shamayim; ASV 'heavens'). ʾēl is transliterated 'El', as in job-woh (central shaddai-eloah, extended in this wave to bare ʾēl in the poetic books; ASV 'God'). hārāqîaʿ 'the dome' applies the central raqia entry (ASV 'firmament'). The pair šāmayim / rāqîaʿ is the pair of Gen 1:8, where the rāqîaʿ is named šāmayim.

The two halves of the psalm use different divine names: ʾēl once in the creation hymn (vv 2-7), YHWH seven times in the Torah hymn (vv 8-15). The line keeps the distinction (divine-names-convention-writings).

yabbîaʿ ʾōmer 'pours forth speech' (Hiphil of nbʿ 'bubble up, gush'); yĕḥawweh-dāʿat 'declares knowledge' (Piel of ḥwh, an Aramaizing verb).

ʾên-ʾōmer wĕʾên dĕbārîm bĕlî nišmāʿ qôlām 'There is no speech, and there are no words; their voice is not heard' (ASV; NRSV likewise). The clauses are three negations: the testimony of the sky is wordless. The KJV construes 'There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard', which takes bĕlî as a relative and gives the opposite sense; the grammar favours the ASV reading.

bĕkol-hāʾāreṣ yāṣāʾ qawwām 'Their line has gone out through all the earth'. MT qaw is a measuring line (ASV 'line'). The LXX phthongos 'sound', quoted at Rom 10:18, is usually explained as a reading qôlām 'their voice' (NRSV). The line keeps the MT (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings). bĕkol-hāʾāreṣ || biqṣēh tēbēl 'to the end of the world' is universal, so 'earth' (eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings).

laššemeš śām-ʾōhel bāhem 'For the sun he has set a tent in them': bāhem refers back to the skies of v 2. Some modern commentators emend to bayyām 'in the sea', where the sun sets and rises; the line follows the MT.

Wheel of Heaven reading (reception note, not a translation claim). The Book Which Tells the Truth (ch. 3) quotes the verse in a French wording that has the emended text ('il a dressé une tente sur la mer', 'he has set a tent upon the sea') and reads it as a further allusion to the mass of land created when the ocean covered the Earth, the original continent. The line renders the MT bāhem 'in them'. The emendation is recorded here and in the MT-baseline entry.

kĕḥātān yōṣēʾ mēḥuppātô 'like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber' (ḥuppâ 'canopy, bridal chamber'); kĕgibbôr 'like a strong man' (ASV), a warrior who runs his course.

miqṣēh haššāmayim môṣāʾô ûtĕqûpātô ʿal-qĕṣôtām 'His going forth is from the end of the skies, and his circuit to their ends'. The idiom describes the sun's path from horizon to horizon, so šāmayim is the physical sky, 'skies' (central shamayim; ASV 'heavens'). tĕqûpâ is the turning or circuit of the sun or of the year (BDB; cf. Ex 34:22). ḥammâ 'heat' is also a poetic word for the sun itself (Isa 30:26).

Wheel of Heaven reading (reception note, not a translation claim). The Book Which Tells the Truth (ch. 3) quotes the verse ('his going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it'; French 'son orbite') and reads it as saying that the creators came from a planet very far from the Earth's orbit. The line renders the Hebrew image of the sun's daily course.

The Torah hymn (vv 8-11) names YHWH's instruction six times with six terms: tôrâ 'law', ʿēdût 'testimony', piqqûdîm 'precepts', miṣwâ 'commandment', yirʾâ 'fear', mišpāṭîm 'ordinances'. The line keeps the ASV set, one English word for each Hebrew term (torah-vocabulary-psalm-19). mĕšîbat nāpeš 'restoring the soul' (ASV; NJPS 'renewing life'): nepeš here is the self, the whole person (nefesh-scope-writings). maḥkîmat petî 'making wise the simple'.

piqqûdê YHWH 'the precepts of YHWH' and miṣwat YHWH 'the commandment of YHWH' (torah-vocabulary-psalm-19). bārâ 'pure'; mĕʾîrat ʿênāyim 'enlightening the eyes'.

yirʾat YHWH 'the fear of YHWH' stands in the series for the instruction that teaches reverence; the emendation ʾimrat 'the word of' has no textual support and is not adopted. mišpĕṭê-YHWH 'the ordinances of YHWH' (ASV); ṣādĕqû yaḥdāw 'they are righteous altogether' (torah-vocabulary-psalm-19).

šĕgîʾôt 'errors' are faults committed unknowingly (cf. Lev 4); minnistārôt naqqēnî 'Clear me from hidden faults'.

mizzēdîm 'from presumptuous sins' (ASV). Elsewhere zēdîm are 'the insolent' (Ps 119:21, 51), and some render 'from the arrogant'; the abstract sense suits the contrast with the unwitting errors of v 13 (BDB). ʾêtām 'I shall be blameless' (from tmm); pešaʿ rāb 'great transgression'.

ṣûrî wĕgōʾălî 'my rock and my redeemer': the gōʾēl is the kinsman who buys back a relative or his property (Lev 25:25; Ruth 4:1-6).

rannĕnû 'Shout for joy'; nāʾwâ tĕhillâ 'praise is fitting'. The psalm has no superscription in the MT (the LXX adds 'Of David'), so the MT and ASV verse numbers coincide.

kinnôr 'harp' (ASV; a lyre); nēbel ʿāśôr 'the ten-stringed psaltery' (ASV 'the psaltery of ten strings').

ʾōhēb ṣĕdāqâ ûmišpāṭ 'He loves righteousness and justice' (central tzedakah-u-mishpat-justice-pair). ḥesed YHWH mālʾâ hāʾāreṣ 'the earth is full of the kindness of YHWH'. ḥesed is 'kindness' under the central chesed-solitary-covenant-kindness entry, as in genesis-woh and 1-2 Kings (ASV 'lovingkindness'; NRSV 'steadfast love'). The word combines loyalty within a relationship with active goodness (Glueck, Hesed in the Bible, 1967; Sakenfeld, The Meaning of Hesed in the Hebrew Bible, 1978). The same rendering at vv 18 and 22. hāʾāreṣ is the whole earth (eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings).

bidbar YHWH šāmayim naʿăśû 'By the word of YHWH the skies were made': the created sky of Gen 1, 'skies' (central shamayim; ASV 'heavens'). ûbĕrûaḥ pîw kol-ṣĕbāʾām 'and all their host by the breath of his mouth'. rûaḥ is parallel to dābār 'word', the breath that carries speech, so 'breath' (ASV; ruach-wind-breath-spirit-writings). ṣĕbāʾām 'their host' are the stars (cf. Gen 2:1; Isa 40:26), the astral sense of the central tzeva-ha-shamayim-host-of-the-heavens-divine-council-cross-corpus entry.

kōnēs kannēd mê hayyām 'He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap'. MT kannēd 'as a heap' recalls the sea and river crossings (nēd, Ex 15:8; Josh 3:13, 16). The LXX (hōs askon), the Targum and the Vulgate read kannōd 'as in a wineskin', which NRSV adopts ('as in a bottle'); the ASV and KJV follow the MT, and so does the line (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings). tĕhômôt 'the deeps' (central tehom), laid up bĕʾôṣārôt 'in storehouses'.

kol-hāʾāreṣ || kol-yōšĕbê tēbēl 'all the earth ... all the inhabitants of the world': universal scope, so 'earth' (eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings).

kî hûʾ ʾāmar wayyehî 'For he spoke, and it came to be': wayyehî recalls the creation formula of Gen 1:3.

ʾašrê 'Blessed' (ASV) is an exclamation, 'O the happiness of' (NJPS 'Happy'), distinct from bārûk 'blessed (by YHWH)'. The ASV word is kept, with the difference recorded here; the same at Prov 8:32, 34. ʾăšer-YHWH ʾĕlōhāyw 'whose Elohim is YHWH': the suffixed form is left untranslated, without an article (elohim-as-translation; divine-names-convention-writings). bāḥar lĕnaḥălâ lô 'he has chosen as an inheritance for himself'.

miššāmayim hibbîṭ YHWH 'From the heavens YHWH looks down'. Here šāmayim is the place of YHWH's dwelling, glossed in v 14 as mĕkôn-šibtô 'the place of his dwelling', so the line has 'heavens' under the register clause of the central shamayim entry, as at 1 Kgs 8:30, 39 (shamayim-register-application-writings). kol-bĕnê hāʾādām 'all the sons of the human': the articular phrase is rendered as genesis-woh renders it at Gen 11:5, under the central ha-adam entry (ASV 'all the sons of men'; 1 Kgs 8:39 woh 'the children of men'; adam-enosh-ish-human-terms-writings).

Wheel of Heaven reading (reception note, not a translation claim). The Book Which Tells the Truth (ch. 3) quotes vv 13-14 ('Yahweh looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth') and reads them as the creators watching the doings of humanity from their flying craft, as they always have. The lines render šāmayim and mĕkôn-šibtô as the Hebrew names them and make no claim about the vantage point.

mimmĕkôn-šibtô hišgîaḥ 'From the place of his dwelling he gazes'. mākôn 'fixed place, site' is used of YHWH's dwelling in the heavens (1 Kgs 8:39, 43, 49) and of the sanctuary (Ex 15:17; 1 Kgs 8:13). hišgîaḥ 'gaze, look intently' is rare (Isa 14:16; Song 2:9). kol-yōšĕbê hāʾāreṣ 'all the inhabitants of the earth' is universal (eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings). See the reception note at v 13.

hayyōṣēr yaḥad libbām 'he who fashions the hearts of them all' (ASV). yaḥad 'together, alike' may go with the verb ('who fashions their hearts alike') or with the suffix ('of them all'); the line keeps the ASV. yōṣēr is the potter's verb of Gen 2:7. It is rendered as a verb here because it takes an object; the central yotzer-bereshit-creator-of-beginnings-cross-corpus-hebrew-bible-hekhalot-divine-epithet, which cites the verse, governs the absolute epithet only. hammēbîn 'who considers'.

šeqer hassûs litšûʿâ 'A horse is a false hope for victory' (lit. 'a lie for deliverance'; ASV 'a vain thing for safety').

hinnēh ʿên YHWH 'Behold, the eye of YHWH'; lamyaḥălîm lĕḥasdô 'on those who hope for his kindness' (central chesed-solitary-covenant-kindness, as v 5).

lĕhaṣṣîl mimmāwet napšām 'to deliver their life from death'. Where nepeš is the life that is saved from death, the corpus renders 'life', following the Kings and Ezekiel overlays (nefesh-scope-writings; ASV and NRSV 'their soul'). The parallel ûlĕḥayyôtām bārāʿāb 'and to keep them alive in famine' confirms the sense.

napšēnû ḥikkĕtâ laYHWH 'Our soul waits for YHWH': here nepeš is the self that waits and hopes, and the ASV 'soul' is kept (nefesh-scope-writings). ʿezrēnû ûmāginnēnû hûʾ 'he is our help and our shield'.

yĕhî-ḥasdĕkā YHWH ʿālênû 'Let your kindness, YHWH, be upon us' (central chesed-solitary-covenant-kindness; ASV 'lovingkindness').

Here the MT runs the superscription (lamnaṣṣēaḥ lĕdāwid mizmôr 'For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David') into v 1, so the MT and ASV verse numbers coincide. The heading is translated within v 1 (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings; psalm-superscription-terms-psalms). ḥăqartanî wattēdāʿ 'you have searched me and known me': ḥqr is to search out, explore. The closing prayer of v 23 (ḥoqrēnî ... wĕdaʿ) answers it.

rēʿî 'my thought' is an Aramaizing noun (BDB rēaʿ II), the same word as rēʿeykā in v 17. mērāḥôq 'from afar'.

ʾorḥî wĕribʿî zērîtā 'My path and my lying down you search out': zrh is literally 'winnow, sift' (ASV 'searchest out'). hiskantâ 'you are acquainted with'.

kî ʾên millâ bilšônî hēn YHWH yādaʿtā kullāh 'For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, YHWH, you know it altogether' (ASV construction). NRSV and NJPS take the clause temporally ('Before a word is on my tongue'), a fair paraphrase of the same Hebrew; the line keeps the ASV construction, which does not add 'before'.

Wheel of Heaven reading (reception note, not a translation claim). The Book Which Tells the Truth (ch. 3) quotes vv 4-6 in a French wording with the temporal sense ('la parole n'est pas encore sur ma langue, que déjà, Iahvé, tu la connais toute') and reads the passage as an allusion to telepathy, a knowledge unimaginable at that time ('Such knowledge is too wonderful for me'). The lines render the Hebrew: millâ is 'word', and v 6 names daʿat 'knowledge'.

ʾāḥôr wāqedem ṣartānî 'Behind and before you have hemmed me in' (ṣwr 'besiege, enclose'; ASV 'beset'); wattāšet ʿālay kappekâ 'and laid your hand upon me' (kap 'palm'). See the reception note at v 4.

Ketiv/Qere: Ketiv plʾyh (a feminine adjective form) / Qere pĕlîʾâ 'wonderful'. The two do not differ in sense, and the Qere is translated (ketiv-qere-qere-translated-writings). pĕlîʾâ daʿat mimmennî is a verbless clause and is rendered without the ASV's supplied '[Such]': 'Knowledge too wonderful for me'. niśgĕbâ 'it is high', out of reach. See the reception note at v 4.

mērûḥekā 'from your spirit' || mippāneykā 'from your presence' (lit. 'face'). YHWH's rûaḥ is lower-case 'spirit', as in the isaiah-woh overlay. The ASV capital 'Spirit' reads a later doctrine into the Hebrew (ruach-wind-breath-spirit-writings).

ʾim-ʾessaq šāmayim ... wĕʾaṣṣîʿâ šĕʾôl 'If I go up to the heavens ... if I make my bed in She'ol': the vertical extremes of the cosmos (cf. Amos 9:2). šāmayim as the height above all things is 'the heavens', as for Elijah's ascent at 2 Kgs 2:1, 11 (central shamayim; shamayim-register-application-writings). šĕʾôl is transliterated under the central sheol-underworld-realm-of-the-dead (ASV 'Sheol').

kanpê-šaḥar 'the wings of the dawn' (job-woh 38:12 'dawn'; ASV 'morning'); bĕʾaḥărît yām 'in the farthest part of the sea', the far west. East and west complete the span of v 8.

ʾak-ḥōšek yĕšûpēnî 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me' (ASV). The verb šwp elsewhere means 'bruise, crush' (Gen 3:15; Job 9:17), and the rationale of the central shuf-rosh-aqev cites this verse. Many emend to yĕśukkēnî 'will cover me' (NRSV). The line keeps the MT verb with the ASV's contextual rendering (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings). wāʾōmar 'And if I say' (lit. 'and I said'); wĕlaylâ ʾôr baʿădēnî 'and the light around me will be night'.

kaḥăšêkâ kāʾôrâ 'darkness and light are alike' (lit. 'as the darkness, so the light').

kî-ʾattâ qānîtā kilyōtāy 'For you created my inward parts'. qnh has the sense 'create, produce' here, under the central koneh-shamayim-va-aretz entry, whose rationale cites this verse among the Hebrew attestations of that sense (ASV 'didst form'; NRSV 'formed'; NJPS 'created'). kilyôt 'kidneys' stand for the innermost self.

tĕsukkēnî bĕbeṭen ʾimmî 'you knit me together in my mother's womb'. The ASV 'thou didst cover me' derives the verb from skk I 'screen, cover'. BDB and HALOT list this verse with Job 10:11 ('with bones and sinews you knit me together', tĕsōkĕkēnî) under skk II 'weave', and NRSV ('knit me together') follows. The weaving image continues in v 15 (ruqqamtî 'intricately wrought'). The line follows the lexica (sakhak-knit-together-psalm-139-13).

ʾôdĕkā ʿal kî nôrāʾôt niplêtî 'I give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made' (MT niplêtî, Niphal of plh / plʾ 'be set apart, be wonderful'). The LXX, the Syriac and Jerome read niplêtā 'you are fearfully wonderful'; the MT is translated (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings). wĕnapšî yōdaʿat mĕʾōd 'and my soul knows it very well': nepeš as the self (nefesh-scope-writings).

lōʾ-nikḥad ʿoṣmî mimmekkā 'My frame was not hidden from you': ʿōṣem 'bone(s), substance' (ASV 'frame'). ruqqamtî 'I was intricately wrought' (rqm 'weave in colors, embroider'; ASV 'curiously wrought'). bĕtaḥtiyyôt ʾāreṣ 'in the lowest parts of the earth' pictures the womb as the depths of the earth (cf. Job 1:21), so 'earth', not 'land' (eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings).

gālmî (hapax) 'my unformed substance' (ASV), the embryo; later Hebrew gōlem is an unshaped mass. Ketiv/Qere: Ketiv wlʾ 'and not' / Qere wĕlô 'and to it'. The Qere is translated, 'and for it there was one among them', each day assigned (ketiv-qere-qere-translated-writings). The ASV ('when as yet there was none of them') follows the Ketiv. kullām 'all of them' may point forward to yāmîm 'the days' or back to the members of the embryo. yuṣṣārû 'were formed' (ASV 'ordained'). The verse is among the most uncertain in the Psalter (Allen, WBC 21; Kraus, Psalms 60-150).

mah-yāqĕrû rēʿeykā ʾēl 'how precious are your thoughts, El!': rēaʿ 'thought' as in v 2 (ASV). The common noun rēaʿ 'friend' would give 'your friends', but vv 17-18 count the rēʿîm like sand, which suits 'thoughts'. ʾēl is transliterated 'El' (central shaddai-eloah, extended in this wave; divine-names-convention-writings). ʿāṣĕmû rāʾšêhem 'how vast is the sum of them' (rōʾš 'sum').

hĕqîṣōtî wĕʿôdî ʿimmāk 'I awake, and I am still with you' (MT, from qyṣ 'awake'; ASV 'When I awake'). Many emend to haqiṣṣōtî 'I come to the end' (from qṣṣ; NRSV). The MT is translated (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings).

ʾim-tiqṭōl ʾĕlôah rāšāʿ 'If only you would slay the wicked, Eloah!': ʾim introduces a wish. ʾĕlôah is transliterated 'Eloah', as in Job (central shaddai-eloah). ʾanšê dāmîm 'men of blood'.

ʾăšer yōʾmĕrukā limzimmâ 'who speak of you with wicked intent': yōʾmĕrukā is an irregular form of ʾmr with a suffix, and some read yamrûkā 'they rebel against you'. nāśuʾ laššāwʾ ʿāreykā 'your enemies take your name in vain': ʿār 'enemy' is Aramaizing (cf. 1 Sam 28:16; ASV 'thine enemies'), and nśʾ laššāwʾ is the idiom of Ex 20:7, where the object is 'the name of YHWH'. The object 'your name' is supplied, as in the ASV ('take [thy name] in vain'), because the English verb needs one (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings).

ḥoqrēnî ʾēl wĕdaʿ lĕbābî 'Search me, El, and know my heart' returns to v 1 (shaddai-eloah). śarʿappāy 'my anxious thoughts' (cf. Ps 94:19).

derek-ʿōṣeb 'any wicked way' (ASV, NRSV): ʿōṣeb is 'pain, hurt' (I) or 'idol' (II), and 'a hurtful way' or 'an idolatrous way' are possible. bĕderek ʿôlām 'in the way everlasting' (ASV), or 'the ancient way' (cf. Jer 6:16; 18:15).

hallĕlû yāh 'Praise Yah!' (the MT writes two words here and joins them with maqqef in v 20). yāh is the short form of the divine name (Ex 15:2) and is kept as a name, rather than absorbed into 'Hallelujah' or replaced by 'Praise the LORD' (ASV 'Praise ye Jehovah'; divine-names-convention-writings). ʾĕlōhênû 'our Elohim' (elohim-as-translation). kî-nāʿîm nāʾwâ tĕhillâ 'for it is pleasant, and praise is fitting' (ASV); some take nāʿîm of YHWH ('for he is gracious'). The LXX and the Vulgate divide MT Ps 147 into two psalms (146 = vv 1-11; 147 = vv 12-20); the MT numbering is followed (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings).

bônēh yĕrûšālaim YHWH 'YHWH builds up Jerusalem'; nidḥê yiśrāʾēl yĕkannēs 'he gathers together the outcasts of Israel'. Names are in their English forms, as in job-woh (proper-names-english-forms-convention-writings); the Kings overlays transliterate (Yerushalayim, Yisra'el).

mōneh mispār lakkôkābîm 'He counts the number of the stars' (ASV 'counteth'). mnh also means 'appoint, allot', and NRSV has 'determines the number'; the line keeps the ASV. lĕkullām šēmôt yiqrāʾ 'he calls them all by names' (cf. Isa 40:26).

Wheel of Heaven reading (reception note, not a translation claim). The Book Which Tells the Truth (ch. 3) quotes vv 4-5 ('He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names ... his understanding is infinite') to show that astronomy and interplanetary travel were unimaginable at that time. The lines render the Hebrew.

gādôl ʾădônênû wĕrab-kōaḥ 'Great is our Lord, and mighty in power': ʾădōnênû 'our Lord', the title, kept distinct from YHWH (divine-names-convention-writings). litbûnātô ʾên mispār 'his understanding is beyond number' repeats the mispār of v 4 (ASV 'infinite'). See the reception note at v 4.

mĕʿôdēd ʿănāwîm YHWH 'YHWH lifts up the humble'; ʿădê-ʾāreṣ 'down to the ground' (ASV), ʾereṣ as the ground (eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings).

ʿĕnû laYHWH bĕtôdâ 'Sing to YHWH with thanksgiving' (ʿnh IV 'sing', perhaps antiphonally); lēʾlōhênû 'to our Elohim' (elohim-as-translation).

hamkasseh šāmayim bĕʿābîm 'who covers the skies with clouds': the physical sky, 'skies' (central shamayim; ASV 'heavens'). hammēkîn lāʾāreṣ māṭār 'who prepares rain for the earth' (eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings).

libnê ʿōrēb ʾăšer yiqrāʾû 'to the young ravens which cry' (cf. Job 38:41).

bĕšôqê hāʾîš 'in the legs of a man', the strength of the runner or the foot soldier, parallel to the horse.

rôṣeh YHWH ʾet-yĕrēʾāyw 'YHWH takes pleasure in those who fear him'; lĕḥasdô 'for his kindness' (central chesed-solitary-covenant-kindness; ASV 'lovingkindness').

šabbĕḥî ... hallĕlî 'Laud ... praise': feminine imperatives addressed to Jerusalem and Zion (proper-names-english-forms-convention-writings). ʾĕlōhayik 'your Elohim' (elohim-as-translation). The LXX begins its Ps 147 here.

haśśām-gĕbûlēk šālôm 'He makes peace in your borders'; ḥēleb ḥiṭṭîm 'the finest of the wheat' (lit. 'the fat of wheat').

haššōlēaḥ ʾimrātô ʾāreṣ 'He sends out his command to the earth' (accusative of direction; ASV 'upon earth'; eretz-earth-and-land-scope-writings). ʾimrâ 'saying, command' (ASV 'commandment') is parallel to dĕbārô 'his word', and the line keeps two English words for the two Hebrew words. ʿad-mĕhērâ yārûṣ dĕbārô 'his word runs very swiftly'.

Wheel of Heaven reading (reception note, not a translation claim). The Book Which Tells the Truth (ch. 3) quotes the verse ('He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly') as an allusion to telecommunication, which could not be understood at that time. The line renders the Hebrew.

mašlîk qarḥô kĕpittîm 'He casts out his ice like morsels' (hail); lipnê qārātô mî yaʿămōd 'before his cold who can stand?'

yaššēb rûḥô yizzĕlû-māyim 'he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow': rûaḥ is the wind that brings the thaw (ruach-wind-breath-spirit-writings).

Ketiv/Qere: Ketiv dbrw 'his word' (singular) / Qere dĕbārāyw 'his words'. The Qere is translated (ketiv-qere-qere-translated-writings); the ASV ('his word') follows the Ketiv. ḥuqqāyw ûmišpāṭāyw 'his statutes and his ordinances'. Jacob and Israel are in their English forms (proper-names-english-forms-convention-writings).

ûmišpāṭîm bal-yĕdāʿûm 'and as for his ordinances, they have not known them': the MT has no suffix on mišpāṭîm, and the English 'his' resumes v 19. The LXX reads 'he did not make his ordinances known to them' (hôdîʿām); the MT is followed (mt-baseline-versification-and-psalm-numbering-writings). The closing hallĕlû-yāh 'Praise Yah!' answers v 1 (divine-names-convention-writings).