Psalms 145

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Reading Psalms · Listen to the poem

Start anywhere in Psalms. Bring these reading tools with you.

Identify the kind of speech

Ask whether this psalm praises, laments, gives thanks, teaches, or celebrates kingship. These forms can overlap. Notice who speaks and whom the poem addresses before assigning every line to the same voice.

Read across the lines

Compare neighboring lines: does the second echo, contrast with, or develop the first? Repeated words and changing images can reveal movement within a short poem. Superscriptions are part of the received text, but do not by themselves securely date composition.

Try it in Psalm 23

Track the movement from pasture and paths to a table, cup, and dwelling. What changes when the speaker moves from describing the shepherd to directly addressing him? Keep poetic imagery distinct from an itinerary.

Keep the collection in view

Read the preceding and following psalms as a separate comparison. Their placement can invite connections without proving that they were composed together. Numbering can differ between Hebrew and Greek traditions.

Explore the scholarship: Yale · historical and literary discussion ↗

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1 David's Psalm of praise. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.

11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;

12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

World Behind This Chapter

Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Psalms 145.

QUESTIONS WORTH EXPLORING

Why is one alphabetic line missing from the Masoretic Psalm 145?

The Masoretic Text lacks the expected nun line, while the Septuagint and a Qumran Psalms manuscript preserve a line in that position. This is one of the clearest small textual variants readers can investigate in the Psalter.

What stands out about an alphabetic praise of kingship in Psalm 145?

Psalm 145 builds its movement around an alphabetic praise of kingship, gracious character, provision for creatures, and the passing of praise from generation to generation. Tracking repeated words, parallel lines, changes of speaker, and image clusters shows how the poem develops before assigning a later interpretation.

What world does Psalm 145 ask the reader to picture?

The poem evokes kingdom spanning generations and all creatures. Those settings may be literal, remembered, ritual, or metaphorical; distinguishing those possibilities is part of reading Hebrew poetry carefully.

Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 3
Language & Literature2
  • Psalm 145: NET Bible Translation NotesNET Bible

    Scholarly notes clarify the alphabetic structure, the missing nun line in the Masoretic Text, royal vocabulary, the transmission of divine works from one generation to another, compassion toward all creation, support for the falling, and the repeated language of blessing and praise.

  • The Book of Psalms: Reading Backwards from the BeginningMercer University

    Explains the literary placement of Psalm 145 at the end of the final Davidic collection in Psalms 138–145. It identifies the psalm as a masterful alphabetic acrostic and shows how its celebration of divine kingship prepares readers for the five concluding Hallelujah psalms.

Artifacts & Manuscripts1
  • The Great Psalms ScrollIsrael Antiquities Authority

    Digital images of the Great Psalms Scroll from Qumran, which preserves Psalm 145 in an ancient Psalms collection arranged differently from the later Masoretic Psalter. The manuscript is especially important because it preserves a line beginning with the Hebrew letter nun that is absent from the traditional Hebrew text.

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