Psalm 148-150

English Standard Version

Praise the Name of the Lord

148 ^(A)Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord ^(B)from the heavens;
praise him ^(C)in the heights!
²Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his ^(D)hosts!

³Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
⁴Praise him, you ^(E)highest heavens,
and you ^(F)waters above the heavens!

⁵^(G)Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For ^(H)he commanded and they were created.
⁶And he ^(I)established them forever and ever;
he gave ^(J)a decree, and it shall not ^(K)pass away.^[a]

⁷Praise the Lord ^(L)from the earth,
you ^(M)great sea creatures and all deeps,
⁸^(N)fire and hail, ^(O)snow and mist,
^(P)stormy wind ^(Q)fulfilling his word!

⁹^(R)Mountains and all hills,
^(S)fruit trees and all ^(T)cedars!
¹⁰^(U)Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and ^(V)flying birds!

¹¹Kings of the earth and ^(W)all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
¹²Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!

¹³^(X)Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for ^(Y)his name alone is exalted;
    ^(Z)his majesty is above earth and heaven.
¹⁴He has ^(AA)raised up a horn for his people,
    ^(AB)praise for all his saints,
    for the people of Israel who are ^(AC)near to him.
^(AD)Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a New Song

149 ^(AE)Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord ^(AF)a new song,
    his praise in ^(AG)the assembly of the godly!
²Let Israel ^(AH)be glad in ^(AI)his Maker;
    let the children of Zion rejoice in their ^(AJ)King!
³Let them praise his name with ^(AK)dancing,
    making melody to him with ^(AL)tambourine and ^(AM)lyre!
⁴For the Lord ^(AN)takes pleasure in his people;
    he ^(AO)adorns the humble with salvation.
⁵Let the godly exult in glory;
    let them ^(AP)sing for joy on their ^(AQ)beds.
⁶Let ^(AR)the high praises of God be in their throats
    and ^(AS)two-edged swords in their hands,
⁷to execute vengeance on the nations
    and punishments on the peoples,
⁸to bind their kings with ^(AT)chains
    and their nobles with fetters of iron,
⁹to execute on them the judgment ^(AU)written!
    ^(AV)This is honor for all his godly ones.
^(AW)Praise the Lord!

Let Everything Praise the Lord

150 ^(AX)Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his ^(AY)sanctuary;
praise him in ^(AZ)his mighty heavens!^[b]
²Praise him for his ^(BA)mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent ^(BB)greatness!

³Praise him with ^(BC)trumpet sound;
    praise him with ^(BD)lute and ^(BE)harp!
⁴Praise him with ^(BF)tambourine and ^(BG)dance;
    praise him with ^(BH)strings and ^(BI)pipe!
⁵Praise him with sounding ^(BJ)cymbals;
    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
⁶Let ^(BK)everything that has breath praise the Lord!
^(BL)Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 148:6 Or it shall not be transgressed
Psalm 150:1 Hebrew expanse (compare Genesis 1:6–8)

Proverbs 31

English Standard Version

The Words of King Lemuel

31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:

²What are you doing, my son?^[a] What are you doing, ^(A)son of my womb?
    What are you doing, ^(B)son of my vows?
³Do ^(C)not give your strength to women,
    your ways to those ^(D)who destroy kings.
⁴^(E)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
    it is not for kings ^(F)to drink wine,
    or for rulers to take ^(G)strong drink,
⁵lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
    and ^(H)pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
⁶Give strong drink to the one who ^(I)is perishing,
    and wine to ^(J)those in bitter distress;^[b]
⁷^(K)let them drink and forget their poverty
    and remember their misery no more.
⁸^(L)Open your mouth for the mute,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.^[c]
⁹Open your mouth, ^(M)judge righteously,
    ^(N)defend the rights of ^(O)the poor and needy.

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

¹⁰^[d] ^(P)An excellent wife who can find?
    She is far more precious than ^(Q)jewels.
¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her,
    and he will have no lack of gain.
¹²She does him good, and not harm,
    all the days of her life.
¹³She ^(R)seeks wool and flax,
    and works with willing hands.
¹⁴She is like the ships of the merchant;
    she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵She ^(S)rises while it is yet night
    and ^(T)provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷She ^(U)dresses herself^[e] with strength
    and makes her arms strong.
¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
    Her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹She puts her hands to the distaff,
    and her hands hold the spindle.
²⁰She ^(V)opens her hand to ^(W)the poor
    and reaches out her hands to ^(X)the needy.
²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household,
    for all her household are clothed in ^(Y)scarlet.^[f]
²²She makes ^(Z)bed coverings for herself;
    her clothing is ^(AA)fine linen and ^(AB)purple.
²³Her husband is known in ^(AC)the gates
    when he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴She makes ^(AD)linen garments and sells them;
    she delivers sashes to the merchant.
²⁵^(AE)Strength and dignity are her clothing,
    and she laughs at the time to come.
²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom,
    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹“Many ^(AF)women have done ^(AG)excellently,
    but you surpass them all.”
³⁰^(AH)Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands,
    and let her works praise her in the gates.

Footnotes

Proverbs 31:2 Hebrew What, my son?
Proverbs 31:6 Hebrew those bitter in soul
Proverbs 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away
Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10–31 are an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Proverbs 31:17 Hebrew She girds her loins
Proverbs 31:21 Or in double thickness