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Psalm 149:5-7
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 149:5-7
New Catholic Bible
5 Let the saints exult in their glory
and sing for joy on their beds.[a]
6 [b]May the praises of God be on their lips
and a double-edged sword in their hands[c]
7 to wreak vengeance[d] on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
Footnotes
- Psalm 149:5 Beds: the beds, which had before been soaked with tears, share in the Lord’s deliverance (see Pss 4:5; 6:7; 63:7; Hos 7:14). Some take “beds” as “couches” used in worship or at banquets.
- Psalm 149:6 The psalmist envisages the eschatological future (see Isa 61:2ff) and presents God’s people as the instruments of the divine vindication (see Zec 9:13-16). The Lord will grant victory to his people, as he did to Nehemiah and his men (see Neh 4:10-12), which will be their glory.
- Psalm 149:6 The godly will become the sword of the Lord (see Jdg 3:16; Prov 5:4; Zec 9:13). Some interpret this verse as saying that the praise of God is a fearsome but peaceful weapon in the hands of the godly (see 2 Chr 20:17ff).
- Psalm 149:7 Vengeance: see notes on Pss 5:11; 35. The new People of God depends on the “sword of the Spirit” to combat the powers of evil (see 2 Cor 6:7; 10:4; Eph 6:12, 17; Heb 4:12) and will obtain complete victory only at the Last Judgment (see 1 Cor 6:2f).
