The Meaning of Psalms 146:7 Explained

Psalms 146:7

KJV: Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:

YLT: Doing judgment for the oppressed, Giving bread to the hungry.

Darby: Who executeth judgment for the oppressed, who giveth bread to the hungry. Jehovah looseth the prisoners;

ASV: Who executeth justice for the oppressed; Who giveth food to the hungry. Jehovah looseth the prisoners;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Which executeth  judgment  for the oppressed:  which giveth  food  to the hungry.  The LORD  looseth  the prisoners: 

What does Psalms 146:7 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 146:7 mean?

who executes justice for the oppressed who gives food to the hungry Yahweh gives freedom to the prisoners
עֹשֶׂ֤ה מִשְׁפָּ֨ט ׀ לָעֲשׁוּקִ֗ים נֹתֵ֣ן לֶ֭חֶם לָרְעֵבִ֑ים יְ֝הוָ֗ה מַתִּ֥יר אֲסוּרִֽים

עֹשֶׂ֤ה  who  executes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
מִשְׁפָּ֨ט ׀  justice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁפָּט  
Sense: judgment, justice, ordinance.
לָעֲשׁוּקִ֗ים  for  the  oppressed 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural
Root: עָשַׁק  
Sense: to press upon, oppress, violate, defraud, do violence, get deceitfully, wrong, extort.
נֹתֵ֣ן  who  gives 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לֶ֭חֶם  food 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
לָרְעֵבִ֑ים  to  the  hungry 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָעָב  
Sense: hungry.
יְ֝הוָ֗ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
מַתִּ֥יר  gives  freedom  to 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָתַר 
Sense: to start up, tremble, shake, spring up.
אֲסוּרִֽים  the  prisoners 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural
Root: אָסַר  
Sense: to tie, bind, imprison.