149:1–9 In this corporate praise psalm (meant for group settings), the congregation of Israel praises Yahweh and envisions their place in Yahweh’s future judgment of the foreign nations. The psalmist begins by calling the Israelites to praise Yahweh and rejoice in Him, probably within the context of temple worship in Jerusalem (vv. 1–2). He exhorts the people to praise Yahweh with dancing and music because the recollection of His help brings Him fame (vv. 3–4). The psalm then portrays the Israelites’ response to their worship of Yahweh. The psalmist envisions the Israelites as having a central role in God’s future judgment of wicked nations, stating that they will wield swords even as they praise God (vv. 5–7). The psalmist sees this role as an honor for those faithful to God—they will imprison the rulers of wicked nations and thus justice will come (vv. 8–9). The psalm opens and closes with the exhortation to praise Yahweh (hallu-yah in Hebrew; vv. 1, 9). Compare note on 146:1–10.

149:1–4 The psalmist calls the Israelites to praise Yahweh as Creator and king in response to His help of them (v. 4). He calls the people to express joyful, exuberant praise with dancing and music.

149:1 Praise Yah The word hallu-yah occurs at the beginning and end of this psalm. See 135:1 and note.

Sing to Yahweh a new song The exhortation to sing a new song might accompany what the psalmist sees as a new act of deliverance by Yahweh (e.g., 144:9). Alternatively, the psalmist may be expressing hope that Yahweh will act again on behalf of Israel.

149:2 let the children of Zion rejoice in their king Although the psalms of David often portray Yahweh’s help of Israel as mediated through the human king, a few psalms portray Yahweh as king without the mediation of a human ruler, such as this one. The most prominent of these psalms are the enthronement psalms (Pss 93; 95–99).

149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing Dancing was a part of worship in ancient Israel; for example, David danced when the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:16).

149:4 the afflicted The Hebrew word used here, anaw, refers to people partly defined by their piety, in which they are submissive before Yahweh (see Ps 147:6 and note). God is coming to the rescue of those who are faithful to Him.

149:5–9 The psalmist portrays the Israelites as the primary human agents in God’s judgment of wicked nations. The Israelites are not taking revenge for anything that they have experienced, but executing judgment on behalf of God’s justice (v. 9; compare Deut 9:4–6).

149:5 let them sing for joy on their beds It is unclear how joyful singing is connected to beds. This verse may be connected to fasting (compare 1 Kgs 21:27; Hos 7:14).

149:6 the extolling of God be in their throat While the precise sense of what the psalmist envisions is uncertain, he does link worship to executing punishment.

149:7 vengeance The Hebrew word used here, neqamah, portrays justified retribution.

149:8 to bind their kings with chains Although there is some symmetry between chaining the kings and the way that the Israelites were carried into exile (compare 2 Kgs 25:7), this psalm does not explicitly make that connection. Israel is carrying out God’s sentence, not taking revenge.

149:9 to execute on them the judgment that is decreed It is unclear where this judgment is written. Isaiah 45:14 depicts foreigners coming to Israel in chains.

honor The Hebrew word used here, hadar, is probably descriptive of the closeness to God that the faithful Israelites enjoy.

Praise Yah See note on Ps 104:35.