תְּהִלָּה לְדָוִד אֲרוֹמִמְךָ אֱלוֹהַי הַמֶּלֶךְ וַאֲבָרְכָה שִׁמְךָ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד

A psalm of praise, by David. The heading, “a psalm of praise,” is a fitting characterization of this psalm. Two main themes are presented in the verses that follow. The first pertains to the Holy One as a gracious God who sustains His world. The second describes God’s majesty and might, which are referred to repeatedly, both explicitly and implicitly. Thus, I extol You, my God, the King. I give You honor, and in this way Your greatness in the world is magnified. The second half of the verse reiterates and emphasizes this point: And I bless Your name forever and ever. “Forever” means that God is blessed at all times, continually; “and ever” indicates that He is blessed for eternity.

בְּכָל יוֹם אֲבָרְכֶךָּ וַאֲהַלְלָה שִׁמְךָ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד

Every day I bless You. And I praise Your name forever and ever.

גָּדוֹל ה' וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹד וְלִגְדֻלָּתוֹ אֵין חֵקֶר

The Lord is great and highly extolled. Nevertheless, the manifold forms of praise offered to God cannot convey the full extent of His greatness, and His greatness is unfathomable, beyond human comprehension.

דּוֹר לְדוֹר יְשַׁבַּח מַעֲשֶׂיךָ וגְבוּרֹתֶיךָ יַגִּידוּ

From generation to generation Your works are praised. Every generation transmits its praises of God to the generation that follows; in this way, praise of God is continually being created, added to, and renewed. And they tell of Your mighty acts. Although this is a hymn of praise for God’s kindness, His attribute of might, while not expounded here, is always in the background.

הֲדַר כְּבוֹד הוֹדֶךָ וְדִבְרֵי נִפְלְאֹתֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה

I speak about the glorious honor of Your majesty; I will say everything that can possibly be said to honor and glorify God, and I speak of Your wondrous deeds.

ועֱזוּז נוֹרְאֹתֶיךָ יֹאמֵרוּ וגְדֻלָּתְךָ אֲסַפְּרֶנָּה

They speak of the power of Your awesome acts. God’s attributes of power and awesomeness appear elsewhere in Psalms and throughout the Bible. And I tell of Your greatness; “greatness” refers to a softer, more merciful aspect of God’s power.

זֵכֶר רַב טוּבְךָ יַבִּיעוּ וְצִדְקָתְךָ יְרַנֵּנוּ

They, those who worship You, give voice to the recollection of Your great goodness, and of Your righteousness, Your beneficence and generosity on their behalf and on behalf of the entire world, they joyously sing.

חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם ה' אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וּגְדָל חָסֶד

And this is their praise that they sing: Gracious and merciful is the Lord, slow to anger, and great in kindness.

טוֹב ה' לַכֹּל וְרַחֲמָיו עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו

The Lord is good to all, and His mercy extends to all of His creations. A new idea is introduced here: God’s beneficence is not limited to a specific category of creation. It is all-inclusive and therefore also balanced. It follows that if God is good “to all,” He is good to celestial as well as earthly beings, merciful to predators as well as to their prey.

יוֹדוּךָ ה' כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ וַחֲסִידֶיךָ יְבָרְכוּכָה

All Your creations thank You, Lord. Everything You have created is grateful to You. And Your devoted ones, those who are closest to You, bless You.

כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתְךָ יֹאמֵרוּ וגְבוּרָתְךָ יְדַבֵּרוּ

After mentioning giving thanks in general, more specific praise is articulated: They speak of the honor of Your kingdom, and they tell of Your might.

לְהוֹדִיעַ לִבְנֵי הָאָדָם גְּבוּרֹתָיו וּכְבוֹד הֲדַר מַלְכוּתוֹ

It is important to speak about these matters and to make known to people His mighty acts and the honored splendor of His kingdom, as when they are explained to others, it enables God’s greatness to be acknowledged by all. It is the obligation of those who know this, and who can tell about it, to do so.

מַלְכוּתְךָ מַלְכוּת כָּל עֹלָמִים וּמֶמְשַׁלְתְּךָ בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדֹר

A partial list of praise follows: Your kingship is an eternal kingship, and Your reign is in every generation. God’s sovereignty is eternal. There is a difference in nuance between the two terms used in this verse for ruling. Malkhut, “kingship,” conveys a knowing and willing acceptance of God’s sovereignty, whereas memshala, “reign,” refers to God’s controlling rule, which exists independent of man’s awareness and acknowledgment. In accordance with the alphabetical structure of the psalm, the next verse should begin with the letter nun. However, this letter is skipped, and the psalm continues with a verse beginning with the following letter, samekh:

סוֹמֵךְ ה' לְכָל הַנֹּפְלִים וְזוֹקֵף לְכָל הַכְּפוּפִים

The Lord supports all those who fall. The word hanofelim, translated here as “those who fall,” refers to people who are unstable and thus liable to fall unless they are somehow supported. And He straightens all who are bent over.

עֵינֵי כל אֵלֶיךָ יְשַׂבֵּרוּ ואַתָּה נוֹתֵן לָהֶם אֶת אָכְלָם בְּעִתּוֹ

The eyes of all mankind, and all of creation, look to You in hope. You are the focus of all hope. And You indeed give them, all the world’s creatures, their food in its proper time.

פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ וּמַשְׂבִּיעַ לְכָל חַי רָצוֹן

You open Your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing. You see to it that the needs and desires of every living thing are met.

צַדִּיק ה' בְּכָל דְּרָכָיו וחָסִיד בְּכָל מַעֲשָׂיו

Just is the Lord in all His ways. As has been noted in many places, our comprehension is exceedingly limited, and because of this we sometimes perceive the ways in which the world works as being unjust. It is precisely for this reason that we are called upon to offer these words of praise. And kind in all His deeds. Beyond being just, God extends kindness that greatly exceeds the criteria of justice.

קָרוֹב ה' לְכָל קֹרְאָיו לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָאֻהוּ בֶאֱמֶת

The Lord is close to all who call Him, to all who call Him in truth. When people turn to God in prayer, He is always near. Or, more precisely, He is always accessible to those who reach out to Him in a sincere manner, calling to Him “in truth.” This explanation is indicated by the structure of the verse, the only one in this psalm that does not consist of two parallel clauses. As previously noted, in all the other verses, the second clause expands upon the first, whereas here the second clause, “to all who call Him in truth,” serves to define and qualify the meaning of the first clause, namely, that those who do not call to God with sincerity do not achieve closeness to Him or are answered.

רְצוֹן יְרֵאָיו יַעֲשֶׂה וְאֶת שַׁוְעָתָם יִשְׁמַע וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם

When the righteous call out to Him, as mentioned in the previous verse, He grants the wishes of those who fear Him; and He hears their cry when they call out to Him in time of need, and He saves them.

שׁוֹמֵר ה' אֶת כָּל אֹהֲבָיו וְאֵת כָּל הָרְשָׁעִים יַשְׁמִיד

The Lord watches over all who love Him, and He will destroy all the wicked.

תְּהִלַּת ה' יְדַבֶּר פִּי ויבָרֵךְ כָּל בָּשָׂר שֵׁם קָדְשׁוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד

In conclusion: My mouth speaks praise of the Lord. With this psalm, I, the psalmist, express the glory of God. And in turn it is my hope that all flesh, that is, all people, and perhaps all beings in creation, will bless His holy name forever and ever.