Psalms 150:6

Study note

Setting — The psalmist (or the assembly) issues a final charge to all living creatures, closing the third book of Psalms and the Psalter itself. It follows a litany of instruments (v. 5) and escalates from human musicians to every breathing thing.

The words — כֹּל (kol, "every") paired with נְשָׁמָה (neshamah, "breathing thing") sets the scope: not a chosen subset but the full category of animate life. The verb הָלַל (halal, "praise") appears twice in the line — once as jussive (תֲּהַלֵּל, "let it praise") and once as the doxological imperative (הַלְלוּ, "praise!") — so the command and its echo are the same word.

The thread — Psalms 103:22 and 145:21 issue the same universal charge within the Psalter; Revelation 5:13 extends it to "every creature" across heaven, earth, and sea in the new creation.

Why it lands — The verse removes the line between worshipper and creation: the obligation to praise Yahweh is not a human privilege but a condition of having breath.

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.