מִזְמוֹר שִׁירוּ לַה' שִׁיר חָדָשׁ כִּי נִפְלָאוֹת עָשָׂה הוֹשִׁיעָה לּוֹ יְמִינוֹ וּזְרוֹעַ קָדְשׁוֹ

A psalm. Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand, referring to His might, and His holy arm have wrought salvation for Him.

הוֹדִיעַ ה' יְשׁוּעָתוֹ לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם גִּלָּה צִדְקָתוֹ

The Lord has made known His salvation; before the eyes of the nations, He revealed His righteousness.

זָכַר חַסְדּוֹ וֶאֱמוּנָתוֹ לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל רָאוּ כָל אַפְסֵי אָרֶץ אֵת יְשׁוּעַת אֱלֹהֵינוּ

One aspect of this revelation is connected specifically to the people of Israel: He recalled His kindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel, and then all the ends of the earth beheld the salvation of our God that He wrought for Israel. Whenever God is revealed in all His power, Israel’s greatness also becomes recognized.

הָרִיעוּ לַה' כָּל הָאָרֶץ; פִּצְחוּ וְרַנְּנוּ וְזַמֵּרוּ

But the psalmist calls to the people of all nations, not just Israel, to express joy in the divine revelation: Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Break forth, or open your mouths wide, and sing for joy; sing praises.

זַמְּרוּ לַה' בְּכִנּוֹר בְּכִנּוֹר וְקוֹל זִמְרָה

Sing to the Lord with lyre, with lyre and the melody of song. The music begins softly, with stringed instruments.

בַּחֲצֹצְרוֹת וְקוֹל שׁוֹפָר הָרִיעוּ לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ ה'

It then increases in volume: With trumpets and the sound of the shofar, make loud sound before the King, the Lord.

יִרְעַם הַיָּם וּמְלֹאוֹ תֵּבֵל וְיֹשְׁבֵי בָּהּ

And at this point, the forces of nature join in, accompanying the song, as it were: Let the sea and all within it thunder, the world and all who dwell in it.

נְהָרוֹת יִמְחֲאוּ כָף יַחַד הָרִים יְרַנֵּנוּ

Rivers will clap hands. The rivers join in the chorus of praise, though in a gentler manner than that of the thundering sea. The sound of the flowing rivers resembles that of clapping hands. The mountains, in unison, will sing for joy.

לִפְנֵי ה' כִּי בָא לִשְׁפֹּט הָאָרֶץ יִשְׁפֹּט תֵּבֵל בְּצֶדֶק וְעַמִּים בְּמֵישָׁרִים

This great musical tribute is to take place before the Lord, when He reveals Himself and comes to judge the earth. At that time, He will judge the world with righteousness and judge peoples with equity.