Psalm 113 – The first Hallél Psalm
André H. Roosma 7 November 2012
Psalm 113 is the first Hallél-Psalm, that is, the first in a series
of special praise- or worship-Psalms.
Below I present the rich text, both the Hebrew original, and a
good English translation.1
(When you move your mouse from right to left over the
Hebrew words, you will see a simple aid in the pronunciation2 and a
literal word-for-word translation.) Note especially what this Psalm says about what we must do with the
glorious Name of God.
1 | Hallelu
YaH [= Praise you
YaH]. Praise, you servants [of] YaHUaH, praise you the Name [of] YaHUaH. |
הַלְלוּ
יָהּ הַלְלוּ
עַבְדֵי
יְהוָה הַֽלְלוּ
אֶת־שֵׁם
יְהוָֽה׃ |
2 | The Name [of] YaHUaH be praised
from now on and forevermore. |
יְהִי
שֵׁם
יְהוָה
מְבֹרָךְ
מֵֽעַתָּה
וְעַד־עֹולָֽם׃ |
3 | From where the sun rises to where it
sets, let the Name [of] YaHUaH be praised. |
מִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁמֶשׁ
עַד־מְבֹואֹו
מְהֻלָּל
שֵׁם
יְהוָֽה׃ |
4 | Exalted above all the nations [is] YaHUaH,
above the heavens [is] His
glory. |
רָם
עַל־כָּל־גֹּויִם
יְהוָה
עַל הַשָּׁמַיִם
כְּבֹודֹֽו׃ |
5 | Who [is] like YaHUaH, our God?
Who dwells on high, |
מִי
כַּיהוָה
אֱלֹהֵינוּ
הַֽמַּגְבִּיהִי
לָשָֽׁבֶת׃ |
6 | He stoops down deeply [or: humbles Himself deeply], to see
in the heavens and on the earth, |
הַֽמַּשְׁפִּילִי
לִרְאֹות
בַּשָּׁמַיִם
וּבָאָֽרֶץ׃ |
7 | He raises the poor from the dirt,
and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile, |
מְקִֽימִי
מֵעָפָר
דָּל מֵֽאַשְׁפֹּת
יָרִים
אֶבְיֹֽון׃ |
8 | that He might seat him with noblemen,
with the nobles of His people; |
לְהֹושִׁיבִי
עִם־נְדִיבִים
עִם נְדִיבֵי
עַמֹּֽו׃ |
9 | He causes the barren to dwell in the
house [as] a joyful mother of sons. Hallelu
YaH! |
מֹֽושִׁיבִי
עֲקֶרֶת
הַבַּיִת
אֵֽם־הַבָּנִים
שְׂמֵחָה
הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ׃ |
Psalm 113
Just as in Psalm 117
and Psalm 118
we see here again that the glorious Name of God: YaHUaH appears often: 8 times in 9 verses (of which 2 times in the short form YaH).1
That glorious Name YaHUaH reminds us
that God wants to be close; with His people, and that He is the One
Who gives life – full life in joyful wonder and worship towards
our Creator and in close connection with Him and each other.
What comes forth clearly in this Psalm is that the glory, highness and
greatness of YaHUaH does not withold Him
from having an eye for the poor, the lowly and the despised in this world.
From on high He came down, to lift up the humble.
He looks after them.
I leave my comments at this. The text itself says enough.
I can only finish like the Psalmist:
Hallelu YaH!
Footnotes
1 |
In this translation the glorious Name of God is not
replaced arbitrarily by some other word (e.g. LORD) but transliterated as
accurate as possible from the oldest Hebrew original.
For more background information on this see: André H. Roosma, ‘The
wonderful and lovely Name of the God Who was there, Who is there, and Who will
be there’ , extensive Accede!
/ Hallelu-YaH! study, July 2009. |
2 |
Some hints: The u is pronounced as oo (as in hood). The Hebrew ב - soft beth is
presented by the letter combination bh and is pronounced about like our v. The Hebrew כ - soft kaph is
presented by the letter combination kh and is pronounced about like our
ch in Loch. The Hebrew א - aleph and
ע - ajin are usually represented
by ’ and ‘ respectively. Unfortunately, in the explanation
fields this appeared to be not possible. |
Mary Korda
Re: Ps 113. I very much appreciate your use of
technology to display the Hebrew words, one by one, with translation. Also
your comments on the beautiful Psalm 113, which I am planning to use in the
obituary and memorial service for my late brother, George. Praise the Name
of the Lord!
André (author)
Thanks for your kind reaction, Mary! My sincere
condolances on the passing away of your brother! May you experience God to be
especially with you, these days! Yes, I thank God for the technology and
the great insights He gives into His Word! Praise His great Name! God
bless you, Shalom!, André H. Roosma
The previous article was: ‘The
glorious Name of YaHUaH in the prophecy of Tsephan-Yahu’, 4 Nov. 2012.
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