הַלְלוּיָהּ הַלְלוּ אֶת ה' מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם הַלְלוּהוּ בַּמְּרוֹמִים

Halleluya. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights.

הַלְלוּהוּ כָל מַלְאָכָיו הַלְלוּהוּ כָּל צְבָאָו

The psalmist specifies which heavenly bodies and creatures are being called upon to praise God: Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts. “His angels” are spiritual beings created to fulfill specific missions for God, whether by way of verbal pronouncement or by more direct intervention in the affairs of lower worlds. “His hosts” include celestial beings, such as those described in chapter 1 of the book of Ezekiel.

הַלְלוּהוּ שֶׁמֶשׁ וְיָרֵח הַלְלוּהוּ כָּל כּוֹכְבֵי אוֹר

Praise Him, sun and moon. These, too, are located on high, though they are not in heaven in the same sense as the celestial beings. Praise Him, all stars giving light.

הַלְלוּהוּ שְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם והַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מֵעַל הַשָּׁמָיִם

Praise Him, heavens on heavens, and the waters above the heavens. The heavens are perceived as multilayered, one layer above the other; our Sages speak of seven heavens. The waters that are “above the heavens” are the heavenly reservoirs of water and rain from which bounty flows down to our world.

יְהַלְלוּ אֶת שֵׁם ה'כִּי הוּא צִוָּה וְנִבְרָאוּ

Let them praise the name of the Lord. They praise Him for their very existence, as they have no material needs; they thank Him for the fact that He commanded and they were created.

וַיַּעֲמִידֵם לָעַד לְעוֹלָם חָק נָתַן וְלֹא יַעֲבוֹר

He established them, the heavens and all they contain, forever, for all time; He gave a statute, the laws of nature and physics, that will not be revoked. From our perspective, all of these phenomena are constant and eternal.

הַלְלוּ אֶת ה' מִן הָאָרֶץ תַּנִּינִים וְכָל תְּהֹמוֹת

In the second part of the psalm, God’s legions on earth are addressed: Praise the Lord from the earth, sea creatures and all depths. “Depths” in this verse complements the “waters above the heavens” in verse 4.

אֵשׁ וּבָּרָד שֶׁלֶג וְקִיטוֹר רוּחַ סְעָרָה עֹשָׂה דְבָרוֹ

fire and hail, snow and vapor, storm wind that carries out His word,

הֶהָרִים וְכָל גְּבָעוֹת עֵץ פְּרִי וְכָל אֲרָזִים

the mountains and all the hills, fruit trees and also all the cedars, the non-fruit-bearing trees, which also participate in singing God’s praises,

הַחַיָּה וְכָל בְּהֵמָה רֶמֶשׂ וצִפּוֹר כָּנָף

beasts and all cattle, creeping things, and winged fowl,

מַלְכֵי אֶרֶץ וְכָל לְאֻמִּים שָׂרִים וְכָל שֹׁפְטֵי אָרֶץ

kings of the earth and all nations, princes and all judges on earth,

בַּחוּרִים וְגַם בְּתוּלוֹת זְקֵנִים עִם נְעָרִים

young men and maidens, and old men with youths. Not only the great, but also the common folk, one and all, are called upon to sing God’s praises.

יְהַלְלוּ אֶת שֵׁם ה' כִּי נִשְׂגָּב שְׁמוֹ לְבַדּוֹ הוֹדוֹ עַל אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם

The psalmist concludes: Let them all praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted, and His glory is across earth and heaven. God’s glory illuminates earth and the heavens, and therefore they must both praise Him.

וַיָּרֶם קֶרֶן לְעַמּוֹ תְּהִלָּה לְכָל חֲסִידָיו לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַם קְרֹבוֹ הַלְלוּיָהּ

He raises a horn, denoting uplifting with glory, for His people, glory for all His devoted ones, as those who are close to God are uplifted by Him. He does this for the children of Israel, the people who are near to Him. Halleluya.