Psalms 150:5
Praise him on high sounding cymbals: praise him on cymbals of joy: let every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia.
Open Psalms 150:5 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine) shown from Psalms 150:5, 150:6
- Laudate eum in cymbalis benesonantibus ; laudate eum in cymbalis jubilationis. Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum ! Alleluja.
- Septuagint (Swete) shown from Psalms 150:5, 150:6
- αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν ἐν κυμβάλοις εὐήχοις, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν ἐν κυμβάλοις ἀλαλαγμοῦ. πᾶσα πνοὴ αἰνεσάτω τὸν κύριον. ἁλληλουιά.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 150:5, 150:6
- הַֽלְל֥וּהוּ בְצִלְצְלֵי שָׁ֑מַע הַֽ֝לְל֗וּהוּ בְּֽצִלְצְלֵ֥י תְרוּעָֽה כֹּ֣ל הַ֭נְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּ֥ל יָ֗הּ הַֽלְלוּ יָֽהּ
Haydock's commentary
Spirit. Wind instrument, (Menochius) or man, who is bound to praise God, even more than the angels, as Christ has assumed his nature, and will bring him to sing with them Alleluia. (Worthington)
Let "all that breathes" praise, (Berthier) including every living creature, (Calmet) as well as the celestial spirits. (Haydock)
Alleluia is not in Septuagint, Syriac, &c. But it is in the Hebrew, and no word could answer better for a conclusion of the psalms, which are almost wholly employed in the divine praises. This ought to be our occupation both on earth, and in heaven. Amen. (Calmet)
Pope Damasus, A.D. 380, ordered the Glory, &c., to be added to each of the psalms, as it has been since observed. (Worthington)
An apocryphal psalm, concerning David encountering Goliath, occurs in many Greek and Latin copies; but it is of no authority. (Calmet)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm CL
6. “Praise Him on the well-sounding cymbals, praise Him on cymbals of jubilation” ( ver. 5 ). Cymbals touch one another in order to sound, and therefore are by some compared to our lips. But I think it better to understand that God is in a manner praised on the cymbal, when each is honoured by his neighbour, not by himself, and then honouring one another, they give praise to God. But lest any should understand such cymbals as sound without life, therefore I think he added, “on cymbals of jubilation.” For “jubilation” that is, unspeakable praise, proceedeth not, save from life. Nor do I think that I should pass over what musicians say, that there are three kinds of sounds, by voice, by breath, by striking: by voice, uttered by throat and windpipe, when man singeth without any instrument; by breath, as by pipe, or anything of that sort: by striking, as by harp, or anything of that kind. …