Mazmur 72:17-18

72:17 May his fame endure! ¹ 

May his dynasty last as long as the sun remains in the sky! ² 

May they use his name when they formulate their blessings! ³ 

May all nations consider him to be favored by God! ⁴ 

72:18 The Lord God, the God of Israel, deserves praise! ⁵ 

He alone accomplishes amazing things! ⁶ 

Mazmur 103:1-2

Psalm 103 ⁷ 

By David.

103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

With all that is within me, praise ⁸  his holy name!

103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Do not forget all his kind deeds! ⁹ 

Mazmur 103:20--104:1

103:20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,

you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees

and obey his orders! ¹⁰ 

103:21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his, ¹¹ 

you servants of his who carry out his desires! ¹² 

103:22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made, ¹³ 

in all the regions ¹⁴  of his kingdom!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Psalm 104 ¹⁵ 

104:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, you are magnificent. ¹⁶ 

You are robed in splendor and majesty.

Mazmur 145:1

Psalm 145 ¹⁷ 

A psalm of praise, by David.

145:1 I will extol you, my God, O king!

I will praise your name continually! ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 145:10

145:10 All he has made will give thanks to the Lord.

Your loyal followers will praise you.

Mazmur 145:1

Psalm 145 ¹⁹ 

A psalm of praise, by David.

145:1 I will extol you, my God, O king!

I will praise your name continually! ²⁰ 

Mazmur 29:1

Psalm 29 ²¹ 

A psalm of David.

29:1 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings, ²² 

acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power! ²³ 

Efesus 1:3

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

1:3 Blessed ²⁴  is ²⁵  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed ²⁶  us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.

Wahyu 5:13

5:13 Then ²⁷  I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: ²⁸ 

“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power ²⁹  forever and ever!”

[72:17]  ¹ tn Heb “may his name [be] permanent.” The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect.

[72:17]  ² tn Heb “before the sun may his name increase.” The Kethib (consonantal text) assumes יָנִין (yanin; a Hiphil of the verbal root נִין, nin) or יְנַיֵן (yÿnayen; a Piel form), while the Qere (marginal reading) assumes יִנּוֹן (yinnon; a Niphal form). The verb נִין occurs only here, though a derived noun, meaning “offspring,” appears elsewhere (see Isa 14:22). The verb appears to mean “propagate, increase” (BDB 630 s.v. נוּן, נִין) or “produce shoots, get descendants” (HALOT 696 s.v. נין). In this context this appears to be a prayer for a lasting dynasty that will keep the king’s name and memory alive.

[72:17]  ³ tn Heb “may they bless one another by him,” that is, use the king’s name in their blessing formulae because he is a prime example of one blessed by God (for examples of such blessing formulae, see Gen 48:20 and Ruth 4:11). There is some debate on whether the Hitpael form of בָּרַךְ (barakh, “bless”) is reflexive-reciprocal (as assumed in the present translation) or passive. The Hitpael of בָּרַךְ occurs in five other passages, including the hotly debated Gen 22:18 and 26:4. In these two texts one could understand the verb form as passive and translate, “all the nations of the earth will be blessed through your offspring,” or one could take the Hitpael as reflexive or reciprocal and translate, “all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings [i.e., on themselves or one another] by your offspring.” In the first instance Abraham’s (or Isaac’s) offspring are viewed as a channel of divine blessing. In the second instance they are viewed as a prime example of blessing that will appear as part of the nations’ blessing formulae, but not necessarily as a channel of blessing to the nations. In Deut 29:18 one reads: “When one hears the words of this covenant [or “oath”] and invokes a blessing on himself (Hitpael of בָּרַךְ) in his heart, saying: ‘I will have peace, even though I walk with a rebellious heart.’” In this case the Hitpael is clearly reflexive, as the phrases “in his heart” and “I will have peace” indicate. The Hitpael of בָּרַךְ appears twice in Isaiah 65:16: “The one who invokes a blessing on himself (see Deut 9:18) in the land will invoke that blessing by the God of truth; and the one who makes an oath in the land will make that oath by the God of truth.” A passive nuance does not fit here. The parallel line, which mentions making an oath, suggests that the Hitpael of בָּרַךְ refers here to invoking a blessing. Both pronouncements of blessing and oaths will appeal to God as the one who rewards and judges, respectively. Jer 4:2 states: “If you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ with truth, integrity, and honesty, then the nations will pronounce blessings by him and boast in him.” A passive nuance might work (“the nations will be blessed”), but the context refers to verbal pronouncements (swearing an oath, boasting), suggesting that the Hitpael of בָּרַךְ refers here to invoking a blessing. The logic of the verse seems to be as follows: If Israel conducts its affairs with integrity, the nation will be favored by the Lord, which will in turn attract the surrounding nations to Israel’s God. To summarize, while the evidence might leave the door open for a passive interpretation, there is no clear cut passive use. Usage favors a reflexive or reciprocal understanding of the Hitpael of בָּרַךְ. In Ps 72:17 the Hitpael of בָּרַךְ is followed by the prepositional phrase בוֹ (vo, “by him”). The verb could theoretically be taken as passive, “may all the nations be blessed through him” (cf. NIV, NRSV), because the preceding context describes the positive effects of this king’s rule on the inhabitants of the earth. But the parallel line, which employs the Piel of אָשַׁר (’ashar) in a factitive/declarative sense, “regard as happy, fortunate,” suggests a reflexive or reciprocal nuance for the Hitpael of בָּרַךְ here. If the nations regard the ideal king as a prime example of one who is fortunate or blessed, it is understandable that they would use his name in their pronouncements of blessing.

[72:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the nations, may they regard him as happy.” The Piel is used here in a delocutive sense (“regard as”).

[72:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21; 41:13.

[72:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “[the] one who does amazing things by himself.”

[103:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.

[103:1]  ⁸ tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[103:2]  ⁹ tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).

[103:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[you] mighty ones of strength, doers of his word, by listening to the voice of his word.”

[103:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all his hosts.”

[103:21]  ¹² tn Heb “his attendants, doers of his desire.”

[103:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “all his works,” which includes mankind.

[103:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “places.”

[104:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 104. The psalmist praises God as the ruler of the world who sustains all life.

[104:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “very great.”

[145:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 145. The psalmist praises God because he is a just and merciful king who cares for his people.

[145:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[145:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 145. The psalmist praises God because he is a just and merciful king who cares for his people.

[145:1]  ²⁰ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[29:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 29. In this hymn of praise the psalmist calls upon the heavenly assembly to acknowledge the royal splendor of the Lord. He describes the Lord’s devastating power as revealed in the thunderstorm and affirms that the Lord exerts this awesome might on behalf of his people. In its original context the psalm was a bold polemic against the Canaanite storm god Baal, for it affirms that the Lord is the real king who controls the elements of the storm, contrary to pagan belief. See R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “The Polemic against Baalism in Israel’s Early History and Literature,” BSac 150 (1994): 280-82.

[29:1]  ²² tc Heb “sons of gods,” or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the MT, it is likely that the final mem is actually enclitic, rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8.

[29:1]  tn The phrase בְּנֵי אֵלִים (bÿney ’elim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 89:6 (89:7 HT). In Ps 89 the “sons of gods/God” are also called “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones.” The heavenly assembly, comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings, appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is referred to as “the sons of El.” The OT apparently borrows the Canaanite phrase and applies it to the supernatural beings that surround the heavenly throne.

[29:1]  ²³ tn Or “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.”

[1:3]  ²⁴ sn Eph 1:3-14 comprises one long sentence in Greek, with three major sections. Each section ends with a note of praise for God (vv. 6, 12, 14), focusing on a different member of the Trinity. After an opening summary of all the saints’ spiritual blessings (v. 3), the first section (vv. 4-6) offers up praise that the Father has chosen us in eternity past; the second section (vv. 7-12) offers up praise that the Son has redeemed us in the historical past (i.e., at the cross); the third section (vv. 13-14) offers up praise that the Holy Spirit has sealed us in our personal past, at the point of conversion.

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos), the author’s intention at this point in the epistle, and the literary genre of this material must all come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb here and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb here and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response, which would favor the indicative. However, many scholars regard Eph 1:3-14 as a berakah psalm (cf. A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians [WBC], 10-11). Rooted in the OT and Jewish worship, berakah psalms were songs of praise in which the worshiper gave praise to God; this would favor the optative (although not all scholars are agreed on this genre classification here; see H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 153-59, for discussion and an alternate conclusion). When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the indicative seems to fit all the factors better. The author seems to be pointing to who God is and what he has done for believers in this section; the indicative more naturally fits that emphasis. Cf. also 2 Cor 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.

[1:3]  ²⁶ tn Or “enriched,” “conferred blessing.”

[5:13]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:13]  ²⁸ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:13]  ²⁹ tn Or “dominion.”