The Meaning of Psalms 146:5 Explained

Psalms 146:5

KJV: Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

YLT: O the happiness of him Who hath the God of Jacob for his help, His hope is on Jehovah his God,

Darby: Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Jehovah his God,

ASV: Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in Jehovah his God:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Happy  [is he] that [hath] the God  of Jacob  for his help,  whose hope  [is] in the LORD  his God: 

What does Psalms 146:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 146:1-10 - The Lord Loveth The Righteous
This and the four following psalms are the "Hallelujah" Psalms. Each begins with that word. They were probably composed for use in the second Temple. In the Septuagint this psalm is ascribed to Zechariah and Haggai. The key to it is Psalms 146:5, which is the last of the twenty-six "Blesseds" in the Psalter. What can bring more blessedness into life than the recognition of Jehovah as Help and Hope?
Psalms 146:6-10 emphasizes the present tense in a way which reminds us of the words of our Lord: "My Father worketh hitherto." It is true that with the oppressed and the prisoners in iron circumstance, the blind and the bowed-down, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widowed, the promises appear unfulfilled. This, however, is probably due to the failure of God's Church and of themselves to realize that the Kingdom has been set up in the unseen sphere, but that we need to appropriate its deliverances by faith. "They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign." But all God's promises, like the great promise of salvation, are contingent on the exercise of faith. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 146

1  The Psalmist vows perpetual praises to God
3  He exhorts not to trust in man
5  God, for his power, justice, mercy, and kingdom, is only worthy to be trusted

What do the individual words in Psalms 146:5 mean?

Blessed [is he] who [has] the God of Jacob for his help Whose hope [is] in Yahweh his God
אַשְׁרֵ֗י שֶׁ֤אֵ֣ל יַעֲקֹ֣ב בְּעֶזְר֑וֹ שִׂ֝בְר֗וֹ עַל־ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָֽיו

אַשְׁרֵ֗י  Blessed  [is  he] 
Parse: Interjection
Root: אֶשֶׁר 
Sense: happiness, blessedness.
שֶׁ֤אֵ֣ל  who  [has]  the  God 
Parse: Pronoun, relative, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
יַעֲקֹ֣ב  of  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
בְּעֶזְר֑וֹ  for  his  help 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עֵזֶר  
Sense: help, succour.
שִׂ֝בְר֗וֹ  Whose  hope  [is] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שֵׂבֶר  
Sense: hope.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהָֽיו  his  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).