Logos Bible Study

Psalm 33:2–9

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33:2Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!

Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!

33:3Sing to him a new song!1

Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him!2

33:4For3 the Lord’s decrees4 are just,5

and everything he does is fair.6

33:5The Lord promotes7 equity and justice;

the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth.8

33:6By the Lord’s decree9 the heavens were made;

by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created.10

33:7He piles up the water of the sea;11

he puts the oceans12 in storehouses.

33:8Let the whole earth fear13 the Lord!

Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!

33:9For he spoke, and it14 came into existence,

he issued the decree,15 and it stood firm.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the lives of his people in fresh and exciting ways.
  2. 2 Heb “play skillfully with a loud shout.”
  3. 3 For the Lord’s decrees are just … After the call to praise (vv. 1–3), the psalmist now gives a series of reasons why the Lord is worthy of praise.
  4. 4 Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the Lord as the sovereign creator and ruler of the world, the Lord’s “word” refers to the decrees whereby he governs his dominion.
  5. 5 Or “upright.”
  6. 6 Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”
  7. 7 Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of equity and justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world.
  8. 8 Heb “fills the earth.”
  9. 9 Heb “word.”
  10. 10 Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.
  11. 11 Heb “[he] gathers like a pile the waters of the sea.” Some prefer to emend נֵד (ged, “heap, pile”; cf. ) to נֹד (nod, “bottle”; cf. ; “into jars”), but “pile” is used elsewhere to describe water that the Lord confines to one place (Exod 15:8; Josh 3:13, 16; Ps 78:13). This verse appears to refer to Gen 1:9, where God decrees that the watery deep be gathered to one place so that dry land might appear. If so, the participles in this and the following line depict this action with special vividness, as if the reader were present on the occasion. Another option is that the participles picture the confinement of the sea to one place as an ongoing divine activity.
  12. 12 Or “watery depths.” The form תְּהוֹמוֹת (téhomot, “watery depths”) is the plural form of תְּהוֹם (téhom, “great deep”; see Gen 1:2).
  13. 13 In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.”
  14. 14 That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see §145.e).
  15. 15 Heb “he commanded.”

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;

make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

he puts the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Praise the Lord with the harp;

make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully, and shout for joy.

For the word of the Lord is right and true;

he is faithful in all he does.

The Lord loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of his unfailing love.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;

he puts the deep into storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the people of the world revere him.

For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Praise the Lord with the lyre;

make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.

Sing a new song to him;

play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.

For the word of the Lord is right,

and all his work is trustworthy.

He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.

The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,

and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.

He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;

he puts the depths into storehouses.

Let the whole earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

For he spoke, and it came into being;

he commanded, and it came into existence.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre;

make music for him on the ten-stringed harp.

Sing a new song of praise to him;

play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.

For the word of the Lord holds true,

and we can trust everything he does.

He loves whatever is just and good;

the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.

The Lord merely spoke,

and the heavens were created.

He breathed the word,

and all the stars were born.

He assigned the sea its boundaries

and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.

Let the whole world fear the Lord,

and let everyone stand in awe of him.

For when he spoke, the world began!

It appeared at his command.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre;

with a harp of ten strings play to him.

Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully with jubilant shout.

For the word of Yahweh is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice.

The earth is full of the loyal love of Yahweh.

By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

He gathered the waters of the sea like a heap.

He put the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear Yahweh.

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

For he himself spoke and it came to pass.

He himself commanded and it stood firm.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Praise the Lord with harp:

Sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

Sing unto him a new song;

Play skilfully with a loud noise.

For the word of the Lord is right;

And all his works are done in truth.

He loveth righteousness and judgment:

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made;

And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap:

He layeth up the depth in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord:

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

For he spake, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

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