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Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
Psalms 147:1 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Praise Yah, for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him.
  • BSB Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and lovely to praise Him!
  • NKJV Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
  • NASB Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is beautiful.
  • NLT Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

It is good, pleasant, and fitting to sing praises to God. Praise is both a delight and a duty for His people.

Overview

This Hallelujah psalm begins by commending praise as something good in itself, pleasant to the soul, and fitting to God's worth. Worship is not a burden but a joy aligned with reality. Such grateful song befits all who have received mercy in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Ps 135:3Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
  • Ps 92:1IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH:
  • Ps 42:4When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
  • Ps 33:1Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
  • Rev 5:9–14And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
  • Ps 63:3–5Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
  • Ps 122:1–4I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
  • Rev 19:1–6And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 147:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 147:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.