Side by side
Psalm 146
Our plain-language guide next to the Bible text. Each row lines up one section with the verses it explains.
Section 1: HallelujahVerses 1 to 2
"Hallelujah! Praise the LORD, O my soul" (146:1).
"I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being" (146:2).
All my life. While I have breath. Praise is not occasional — it is what the whole life is for.
1Hallelujah! Praise the LORD, O my soul. 2I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Section 2: Not PrincesVerses 3 to 4
"Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save" (146:3).
"When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish" (146:4).
Every human leader, however great, dies. And when they die, their plans die with them.
This is not cynicism. It is clarity about where real help comes from.
3Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save. 4When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.
Section 3: The God of JacobVerses 5 to 10
"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God," (146:5) "the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever" (146:6).
God made everything and does not run out of faithfulness.
"He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free," (146:7) "the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous" (146:8).
"The LORD protects foreigners; He sustains the fatherless and the widow, but the ways of the wicked He frustrates" (146:9).
Each line names someone vulnerable — the oppressed, the hungry, the prisoner, the blind, the bowed down, the foreigner, the orphan, the widow. The LORD is for them.
"The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Hallelujah!" (146:10).
Princes die. The LORD reigns forever.
5Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever. 7He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free, 8the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous. 9The LORD protects foreigners; He sustains the fatherless and the widow, but the ways of the wicked He frustrates. 10The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Hallelujah!
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