הוֹדוּ לַה' קִרְאוּ בִשְׁמוֹ הוֹדִיעוּ בָעַמִּים עֲלִילוֹתָיו

The psalm begins with a celebratory declaration: Give thanks to the Lord; proclaim His name. This statement makes it clear from the outset that what follows is a song of thanksgiving to God for all He has done on our behalf. Make His deeds known among the peoples.

שִׁירוּ לוֹ זַמְּרוּ לוֹ שִׂיחוּ בְּכָל נִפְלְאוֹתָיו

Sing to Him, sing praises to Him. Speak of all His wonders, referring not only to specific miraculous events, but to God’s continual watching over us.

הִתְהַלְלוּ בְּשֵׁם קָדְשׁוֹ יִשְׂמַח לֵב מְבַקְשֵׁי ה'

Glory in His holy name, and, through recalling the miracles He performed for us, let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

דִּרְשׁוּ ה' וְעֻזּוֹ בַּקְּשׁוּ פָנָיו תָּמִיד

Search out the Lord and His strength; seek His presence always.

זִכְרוּ נִפְלְאוֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה מֹפְתָיו וּמִשְׁפְּטֵי פִיו

Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments of His mouth. Remember not only God’s miraculous deeds, but also His commandments.

זֶרַע אַבְרָהָם עַבְדּוֹ בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב בְּחִירָיו

Seed of Abraham, His servant; children of Jacob, His chosen ones,

הוּא ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ מִשְׁפָּטָיו

He is the Lord our God; His judgments are throughout the land. His words fill the world, which acts in accordance with His commands.

זָכַר לְעוֹלָם בְּרִיתוֹ דָּבָר צִוָּה לְאֶלֶף דּוֹר

He remembers His covenant with the patriarchs forever, the word that He ordained for a thousand generations.

אֲשֶׁר כָּרַת אֶת אַבְרָהָם וּשְׁבוּעָתוֹ לְיִשְׂחָק

This is the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac. In this verse Isaac’s Hebrew name is spelled Yisḥak, a variant of the usual spelling Yitzḥak; both words connote laughter, the basis for Isaac’s name.

וַיַּעֲמִידֶהָ לְיַעֲקֹב לְחֹק לְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּרִית עוֹלָם

He set it, this covenant, for Isaac’s son Jacob as a statute, for Israel as an everlasting covenant. The name “Israel” here is synonymous with Jacob, but it also alludes more broadly to the nation of Israel, which descended from him.

לֵאמֹר לְךָ אֶתֵּן אֶת אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן חֶבֶל נַחֲלַתְכֶם

Saying: To you I will give the land of Canaan as your allotted portion. In the covenant, God promised Abraham and, by extension, the nation of Israel, that the people would inherit the land of Canaan. The covenant addresses other issues as well, but since the purpose of this psalm is to express thanks to God for gifts bestowed upon Israel, only the promise of the land is mentioned here.

בִּהְיוֹתָם מְתֵי מִסְפָּר כִּמְעַט וְגָרִים בָּהּ

It, that covenant, was made when they, the nascent nation of Israel, were a small number of people, just a few, and, moreover, merely sojourning within it, not yet permanently settled in the land.

וַיִּתְהַלְּכוּ מִגּוֹי אֶל גּוֹי מִמַּמְלָכָה אֶל עַם אַחֵר

They wandered from nation to nation. All the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were forced to wander away from the Land of Israel at one time or another, from one kingdom to another people. At times, their travels involved interaction with kings of other nations; in other instances, as when Jacob fled to Haran, they merely took up residence among “another people,” the commoners.

לֹא הִנִּיחַ אָדָם לְעָשְׁקָם וַיּוֹכַח עֲלֵיהֶם מְלָכִים

Because of God’s covenant with them, however, He let no man oppress them during all their travels, and He even reproved kings on their account, as it is related in the Torah regarding Abraham and Isaac that God intervened to protect them.

אַל תִּגְּעוּ בִמְשִׁיחָי וְלִנְבִיאַי אַל תָּרֵעוּ

God told those kings: Do not touch my anointed ones, as the patriarchs, like anointed kings, merited special protection on God’s part. Do not harm My prophets.

וַיִּקְרָא רָעָב עַל הָאָרֶץ כָּל מַטֵּה לֶחֶם שָׁבָר

Later, when Jacob was old, He proclaimed a famine on the land; He broke every staff of bread, every source of sustenance. The famine was so severe it affected even Egypt.

שָׁלַח לִפְנֵיהֶם אִישׁ לְעֶבֶד נִמְכַּר יוֹסֵף

But to offset the devastating effects of that famine, He had sent a man to Egypt before them, namely, Joseph, to provide them with relief. Only in retrospect did it become evident that God had arranged for Joseph, who had been sold as a slave, to rise to power in Egypt to prepare for the arrival of the children of Israel.

עִנּוּ בַכֶּבֶל רַגְלוֹ בַּרְזֶל בָּאָה נַפְשׁוֹ

When Joseph was enslaved, they tortured his legs with chains and his body was placed in iron,

עַד עֵת בֹּא דְבָרוֹ אִמְרַת ה' צְרָפָתְהוּ

and he remained in this situation until the time for his freedom, as predetermined by His word, came to pass. The Lord’s utterance purged him. Joseph’s suffering as a prisoner served to atone for his previous unworthy deeds.

שָׁלַח מֶלֶךְ וַיַּתִּירֵהוּ מֹשֵׁל עַמִּים וַיְפַתְּחֵהוּ

And when that time ordained by God arrived, He sent a king, Pharaoh, to release him from his incarceration, a ruler of a people who set him free.

שָׂמוֹ אָדוֹן לְבֵיתוֹ וּמֹשֵׁל בְּכָל קִנְיָנוֹ

He then promoted Joseph and made him master of his, Pharaoh’s, house and ruler of all his possessions.

לֶאְסֹר שָׂרָיו בְּנַפְשׁוֹ וזְקֵנָיו יְחַכֵּם

Joseph was granted so much power that he was able to imprison even high-ranking ministers at his will. He, Joseph, taught wisdom to his, Pharaoh’s, elders. Joseph advised Pharaoh how to avoid the ravages of the impending famine, and this wise counsel was given in the presence of all the elders and royal advisors of Egypt.

וַיָּבֹא יִשְׂרָאֵל מִצְרָיִם וְיַעֲקֹב גָּר בְּאֶרֶץ חָם

Then Israel, referring to Jacob, but also alluding to the nascent nation of Israel, came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

וַיֶּפֶר אֶת עַמּוֹ מְאֹד וַיַּעֲצִמֵהוּ מִצָּרָיו

He, God, made His people Israel exceedingly fruitful, making them greater than their Egyptian foes.

הָפַךְ לִבָּם לִשְׂנֹא עַמּוֹ לְהִתְנַכֵּל בַּעֲבָדָיו

Their hearts, the hearts of the Egyptians, changed from their previous sympathy and respect for Israel. They began to hate His people, due to jealousy and suspicion, and to harass His servants with all the oppressive decrees described in the book of Exodus.

שָׁלַח מֹשֶׁה עַבְדּוֹ אַהֲרֹן אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר בּוֹ

He then sent Moses His servant, and Aaron, whom He had chosen first as a prophet and subsequently to be the High Priest.

שָׂמוּ בָם דִּבְרֵי אֹתוֹתָיו וּמֹפְתִים בְּאֶרֶץ חָם

They, Moses and Aaron, set before them, before the Egyptians, His signs, marvels in the land of Ham.

שָׁלַח חֹשֶׁךְ וַיַּחְשִׁךְ וְלֹא מָרוּ אֶת דְּבָרוֹ

Next comes a short description of the ten plagues, recounted here in a different order from that found in the book of Exodus: He sent darkness and made it dark in Egypt; they, Moses and Aaron, faithfully executed God’s commands and did not defy His word, even though Moses initially voiced his misgivings about God’s mode of action.

הָפַךְ אֶת מֵימֵיהֶם לְדָם וַיָּמֶת אֶת דְּגָתָם

He turned their waters into blood and killed their fish.

שָׁרַץ אַרְצָם צְפַרְדְּעִים בְּחַדְרֵי מַלְכֵיהֶם

Their land swarmed with frogs, which found their way to every place in Egypt, even in the chambers of their kings.

אָמַר וַיָּבֹא עָרֹב כִּנִּים בְּכָל גְּבוּלָם

He spoke, and wild beasts came; there were lice within all their borders.

נָתַן גִּשְׁמֵיהֶם בָּרָד אֵשׁ לֶהָבוֹת בְּאַרְצָם

He gave them hail for rain, which was mixed with flames of fire in their land.

וַיַּךְ גַּפְנָם וּתְאֵנָתָם וַיְשַׁבֵּר עֵץ גְּבוּלָם

It, the destructive hail, struck their vines and their fig trees, and it broke the trees that grew within all of their borders. This was the most significant damage caused by the hail.

אָמַר וַיָּבֹא אַרְבֶּה וְיֶלֶק וְאֵין מִסְפָּר

He spoke, and locusts came, grasshoppers without number.

וַיֹּאכַל כָּל עֵשֶׂב בְּאַרְצָם וַיֹּאכַל פְּרִי אַדְמָתָם

They ate all the vegetation in their land, and they ate the fruits of their soil.

וַיַּךְ כָּל בְּכוֹר בְּאַרְצָם רֵאשִׁית לְכָל אוֹנָם

Then came the final plague: He struck down every firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their vigor, a biblical expression synonymous with one’s firstborn son.

וַיּוֹצִיאֵם בְּכֶסֶף וְזָהָב וְאֵין בִּשְׁבָטָיו כּוֹשֵׁל

And following that final plague, He brought them, the Israelites, out of Egypt with the Egyptians’ silver and gold taken as spoils; none among His tribes faltered, and no one was left behind.

שָׂמַח מִצְרַיִם בְּצֵאתָם כִּי נָפַל פַּחְדָּם עֲלֵיהֶם

As related in the Torah, Egypt rejoiced in their departure, eager to be relieved of all the misfortunes that had befallen them, for their dread, dread of the Israelites, had fallen upon them.

פָּרַשׂ עָנָן לְמָסָךְ וְאֵשׁ לְהָאִיר לָיְלָה

The psalmist describes the people’s wanderings in the desert after the exodus: He spread out a cloud like a curtain by day, with which to protect the people, and fire to light up the night.

שָׁאַל וַיָּבֵא שְׂלָו וְלֶחֶם שָׁמַיִם יַשְׂבִּיעֵם

He, Moses, requested meat from God on behalf of the people, and He brought quail. He sated them with manna, the bread of heaven.

פָּתַח צוּר וַיָּזוּבוּ מָיִם הָלְכוּ בַּצִּיּוֹת נָהָר

He opened a rock and water gushed forth from it. They traveled through parched lands with a river of fresh water alongside them.

כִּי זָכַר אֶת דְּבַר קָדְשׁוֹ אֶת אַבְרָהָם עַבְדּוֹ

God did all this for the Israelites, for He remembered His holy word, the covenant and oath he had made to Abraham His servant.

וַיּוֹצִא עַמּוֹ בְשָׂשׂוֹן בְּרִנָּה אֶת בְּחִירָיו

And He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with joyous song, and He led them through the wilderness until they arrived at the Land of Israel.

וַיִּתֵּן לָהֶם אַרְצוֹת גּוֹיִם ועֲמַל לְאֻמִּים יִירָשׁוּ

And there He gave them the lands of nations, the Canaanites and the surrounding peoples; they inherited the fruit of the peoples’ labor during their conquest of the Land of Israel.

בַּעֲבוּר יִשְׁמְרוּ חֻקָּיו וְתוֹרֹתָיו יִנְצֹרוּ הַלְלוּיָהּ

The gift of the land and all the bounty within it was given to Israel by God so that they would keep His statutes and observe His teachings. Halleluya.