Bible Strands
Psalms 146:7
He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the worshiping community, concluding a call to praise by highlighting Yahweh's active governance over marginalized groups. This declaration immediately follows a description of God as the faithful Creator of heaven, earth, and sea.
The words — The Hebrew מַתִּ֥יר (ma.Tir) literally means "is setting free" or "loosening bonds," describing Yahweh's action toward prisoners. The verb עֹשֶׂ֤ה ('o.Seh) paired with מִשְׁפָּ֨ט (mish.Pat) denotes the active execution of justice rather than a static legal condition.
The thread — This pattern of divine advocacy for the marginalized appears in Psalms 103:6 and Psalms 68:6, where Yahweh similarly executes justice for the oppressed and leads prisoners out. Isaiah 61:1 extends this motif by linking the anointed messenger's mission to proclaiming good news to the poor.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge Yahweh's consistent intervention for the oppressed, hungry, and imprisoned as a defining attribute of His character. It demands practical alignment with this pattern by recognizing that divine authority actively sustains the vulnerable rather than remaining distant.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:
Cross-references
- Psalms 103:6 The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
- Psalms 68:6 God settles the lonely in families; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
- Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Proverbs 22:22 Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
- Zechariah 9:11 As for you, because of the blood of My covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.
- Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
- Psalms 10:18 to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.
- Psalms 142:7 Free my soul from prison, that I may praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me because of Your goodness to me.
- Psalms 107:9 For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
- Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah