לֹא לָנוּ ה' לֹא לָנוּ כִּי לְשִׁמְךָ תֵּן כָּבוֹד עַל חַסְדְּךָ עַל אֲמִתֶּךָ

Not for us, Lord, not for us do we request salvation, but for Your name give glory. Here, and in a number of other places in Psalms, the psalmist expresses the idea that because we are so intimately connected and identified with God, His honor is diminished, as it were, whenever we are humiliated. Conversely, when we are rescued from trouble, this redounds to His honor. We ask of God: Give us honor not for our sake but for the sake of Your name, for the sake of Your kindness that you promised to show us, and for the sake of Your truth, Your faithfulness in upholding those promises.

לָמָּה יֹאמְרוּ הַגּוֹיִם אַיֵּה נָא אֱלֹהֵיהֶם

The psalmist expands on this theme: Why should the nations, who can actually point to their gods, say: Where now is their God, who cannot be seen?

וְאלֹהֵינוּ בַשָּׁמָיִם כֹּל אֲשֶׁר חָפֵץ עָשָׂה

But our God is in the heavens; whatever He desires, He does, for all power is in His hands.

עֲצַבֵּיהֶם כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָדָם

Their idols, by contrast, are silver and gold, man’s handiwork, like inanimate, powerless manikins, as detailed in the following verses.

פֶּה לָהֶם וְלֹא יְדַבֵּרוּ עֵינַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יִרְאוּ

Mouths they have, but cannot speak. Eyes they have, but cannot see.

אָזְנַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יִשְׁמָעוּ אַף לָהֶם וְלֹא יְרִיחוּן

Ears they have, but cannot hear. Noses they have, but cannot smell.

יְדֵיהֶם וְלֹא יְמִישׁוּן רַגְלֵיהֶם וְלֹא יְהַלֵּכוּ לֹא יֶהְגּוּ בִּגְרוֹנָם

Their hands do not feel. Yemishun can mean both “move” and “feel.” These idols can neither move their hands nor feel anything with them. Their feet do not walk. No utterance comes from their throat, for they are incapable of speech.

כְּמוֹהֶם יִהְיוּ עֹשֵׂיהֶם כֹל אֲשֶׁר בֹּטֵחַ בָּהֶם

The psalmist beseeches God: May their makers, those who crafted these idols, become silent and lifeless like them; so too all who put their faith in them.

יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּטַח בַּה' עֶזְרָם וּמָגִנָּם הוּא

The psalmist now addresses the nation in accordance with its different factions: Israel, trust in the Lord and do not put your faith in such worthless images; He is their help and their shield. The abrupt change from direct address to third person, in this verse and the succeeding ones, probably indicates that this ending was meant to be recited by a chorus as a kind of refrain.

בֵּית אַהֲרֹן בִּטְחוּ בַה' עֶזְרָם וּמָגִנָּם הוּא

House of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.

יִרְאֵי ה' בִּטְחוּ בַה' עֶזְרָם וּמָגִנָּם הוּא

You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.

ה' זְכָרָנוּ יְבָרֵךְ יְבָרֵךְ אֶת בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל יְבָרֵךְ אֶת בֵּית אַהֲרֹן

May the Lord who remembers us for good give His blessing to those who are deserving of it: May He bless the house of Israel; may He bless the house of Aaron.

יְבָרֵךְ יִרְאֵי ה' הַקְּטַנִּים עִם הַגְּדֹלִים

May He bless those who fear the Lord, the young with the old.

יֹסֵף ה' עֲלֵיכֶם עֲלֵיכֶם וְעַל בְּנֵיכֶם

May the Lord increase your numbers, yours and your children’s.

בְּרוּכִים אַתֶּם לַה' עֹשֵׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ

You are blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

הַשָּׁמַיִם שָׁמַיִם לַה' וְהָאָרֶץ נָתַן לִבְנֵי אָדָם

The psalmist offers an explanation as to why he requests God’s blessing: The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, and that is where He dwells, as it were, while the earth He has given to the sons of man. Our place is here on earth, not in the heavens, and we pray for the strength and ability to carry out our earthly, mundane tasks.

לֹא הַמֵּתִים יְהַלְלוּ יָהּ וְלֹא כָּל יֹרְדֵי דוּמָה

The dead cannot praise the Lord. Though they are also of the earth, they are no longer able to fulfill any kind of role or task, nor can any who go down into silence in the grave,

וַאֲנַחְנוּ נְבָרֵךְ יָהּ מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם הַלְלוּיָהּ

but we will bless the Lord from now until eternity. Halleluya.