Why read Psalm 147?
Read Psalm 147 to give thanks for peace, family and the gifts that sustain life. Its blessing of the city and its children is linked with food and the power of God's word.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
The full text of Psalm 147 (9 verses), from the 20th Kathisma of the Psalter. The opening words — “Praise the Lord, Jerusalem; praise...” — are also the psalm’s traditional “name”: our grandmothers did not say “Psalm 147”, but called it by name, using its first words.
The text of Psalm 147
1. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion,
2. For He has strengthened the pillars of your gates and blessed your children within you.
3. He who makes peace at your borders and has satisfied you with the finest wheat,
4. He who sends His word to the earth; His word runs swiftly;
5. He who gives snow like wool, who scatters mist like ashes,
6. He who casts His ice like little pieces of bread; who will endure His frost?
7. He will send His word and melt them; His Spirit will blow and the waters will flow.
8. He who declares His word to Jacob, His ordinances and judgements to Israel.
9. He has not done so for every nation, and He has not shown them His judgements.
When Psalm 147 is read
- It belongs to the 20th Kathisma and may be read daily alongside the prayer rule (see the morning and evening prayers).
- At the end of each psalm, tradition adds: «Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.».
Adjacent psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
