Psalm chapter 115
English Standard Version
1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" 3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. 9O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 10O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 11You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. 12The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; 13he will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. 14May the Lord give you increase, you and your children! 15May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 16The heavens are the Lord 's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man. 17 The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence. 18But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!
New International Version
1Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. 2Why do the nations say, "Where is their God?" 3Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. 4But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. 5They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 6They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. 7They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
8Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. 9All you Israelites, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. 10House of Aaron, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.
11You who fear him, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. 12The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,
13he will bless those who fear the Lord— small and great alike. 14May the Lord cause you to flourish, both you and your children.
New American Standard Bible
1Not to us, Lord, not to us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, because of Your truth. 2Why should the nations say, 'Where, then, is their God?' 3But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. 4Their idols are silver and gold, The work of human hands. 5They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; 6They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; 7 They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat. 8Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them. 9Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 10House of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 11You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 12The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. 13He will bless those who fear the Lord, The small together with the great. 14May the Lord increase you, You and your children. 15May you be blessed of the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. 16The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, But the earth He has given to the sons of mankind. 17The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor do any who go down into silence; 18But as for us, we will bless the Lord From this time and forever. Praise the Lord!
Christian Standard Bible
1Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory because of your faithful love, because of your truth. 2Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"
3Our God is in heaven and does whatever he pleases. 4Their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. 5They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 6They have ears but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. 7They have hands but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk. They cannot make a sound with their throats.
8Those who make them are just like them, as are all who trust in them. 9Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield. 10House of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield. 11You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield. 12The Lord remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;
13he will bless those who fear the Lord — small and great alike. 14May the Lord add to your numbers, both yours and your children’s. 15May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 16The heavens are the Lord’s, but the earth he has given to the human race. 17It is not the dead who praise the Lord, nor any of those descending into the silence of death. 18But we will bless the Lord, both now and forever. Hallelujah!
New Living Translation
1Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness. 2Why let the nations say, 'Where is their God?' 3Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. 4Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. 5They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. 6They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. 7They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. 8And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
9O Israel, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield. 10O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield. 11All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield.
12The Lord remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 13He will bless those who fear the Lord, both great and lowly.
King James Version
New King James Version
1Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth. 2Why should the Gentiles say, “So where is their God?” 3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. 5They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; 6They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; 7They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. 8 Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 10O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 11You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield. 12The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless those who fear the Lord, Both small and great. 14May the Lord give you increase more and more, You and your children. 15 May you be blessed by the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 16The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men. 17 The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor any who go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the Lord From this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!
What does Psalm chapter 115 mean?
At major celebrations, Israel would recite (Mark 14:26) from a series of songs often called the Halle (Psalm 113—118). These frequently use the expression "hallelujah," or halelu-yāh, literally meaning "praise the Lord!"This song takes aim at the idea of idols: manmade carvings and objects which are worshipped as if they have power. Israel chooses—or should choose—to give all glory and honor to the Lord. Pagans may laugh at the idea of an invisible deity. But the Lord of Israel is the only True God. He is not controlled or limited by anything (Psalm 115:1–3).
Idols are useless because they are just unmoving objects made by fallen men. Even when made of precious metals, they have no long-term value. They may have parts shaped like those of man, such as feet, hands, eyes, and ears; none of those make the figure living or active. Those who put trust in false gods they built themselves (Habakkuk 2:18; Jeremiah 10:5; 1 Corinthians 12:2) will eventually become just as powerless and lifeless as their totems (Psalm 115:4–8).
To avoid that fate, the psalmist calls on Israel to remember their history and to respond with trust and faithfulness towards the Lord. The psalmist wishes a blessing on all those who worship the Lord, then points out those who are dead cannot offer the Lord further praise. With God on their side, the people can trust Him to bring them through any crisis (Psalm 115:9–18).
