הַלְלוּיָהּ הַלְלוּ אֵל בְּקָדְשׁוֹ הַלְלוּהוּ בִּרְקִיעַ עֻזּוֹ

Halleluya. Praise the Almighty in His holy place, in His holy precincts here on earth, when His presence is revealed to us; and praise Him in His heavenly stronghold, when He is exalted in the worlds beyond.

הַלְלוּהוּ בִגְבוּרֹתָיו הַלְלוּהוּ כְּרֹב גֻּדְלוֹ

Praise Him for His mighty deeds, and also praise Him as befits His abundant might, His power as expressed in splendor and kindness.

הַלְלוּהוּ בְּתֵקַע שׁוֹפָר הַלְלוּהוּ בְּנֵבֶל וְכִנּוֹר

Such praise is carried out in various ways, each one expressing a different facet of tribute: Praise Him with the blowing of the shofar, which is expressive of glory and majesty. And praise Him as well with harp and lyre, such stringed instruments producing a more delicate, lyrical sound.

הַלְלוּהוּ בְּתֹף וּמָחוֹל הַלְלוּהוּ בְּמִנִּים וְעֻגָב

Praise Him with timbrel and tambourine, which produce sound through percussion. The word maḥol is often translated as “dance” (see 149:3), but here it refers to a musical instrument similar to a timbrel, or perhaps to a drum frame surrounded by bells. Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute, which, in contrast to the percussion instruments, produce gentler sounds.

הַלְלוּהוּ בְצִלְצְלֵי שָׁמַע הַלְלוּהוּ בְּצִלְצְלֵי תְרוּעָה

Praise Him with the sound of cymbals; praise Him with crashing cymbals. Two types of cymbals are mentioned here. One was apparently a small cymbal that was used to accompany another instrument, whereas the “crashing cymbals” refer to a larger instrument that produced loud clanging sounds. Here, too, different aspects of song and praise are expressed by the combination of stronger and more delicate sounds.

כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ הַלְלוּיָהּ

Let all who breathe praise the Lord. The expression “let all who breathe” or, more literally, “all breaths,” relates both to every individual and to all forms of praise. It follows that praise of God can be expressed in all types of sound, as well as in every nuance and facet of a person’s soul. The additional meaning of “all who breathe” is that the totality of voices, in all their distinct varieties of tone, join in a single chorus of praise: Halleluya.