Psalms 146:8
in Psalms 146the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind; Jehovah raiseth up them that are bowed down; Jehovah loveth the righteous;
KJV
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:
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This verse in Psalms 146
Commentary
15 notes on this verseThe Lord enlighteneth the blind. See what it says. If he were speaking of these blind men, he ought to have said, The Lord enlighteneth the blind. But he did not say this: but according to the Hebrew and Greek truth, what did he say? The Lord maketh the blind wise. If he were speaking of these eyes of the flesh, he ought to have said, The Lord enlighteneth the blind: but now indeed he says, The Lord maketh the blind wise. If ye were blind, he says, ye should have no sin.
This site's exposition
He executes justice for the oppressed
on Psalms 146:7-8
Six works fill these verses: He executes justice, gives food, sets prisoners free, opens blind eyes, lifts the weighed down, and loves the righteous. Spurgeon marks the opening of blind eyes as work Jesus did: the blind receive sight at Matthew 11:5. Every one of the six is a deed.
This site's exposition
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind
John Cassian noted that the Greek reads the Lord makes the blind wise. Augustine took that wording as the key to the whole list, so the fetters and the falls are those of the soul. Albert Barnes let the words cover both bodily and mental blindness.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusON HIS SISTER ST. GORGIANA, ORATION 8:15 · Written before 390.
proposed
She owed her recovery to none other than to [God] with the result that people were no less impressed by her unexpected recovery than by her misfortune. They concluded that the tragedy had happened for her glorification through sufferings—the suffering being human, the recovery superhuman. This will provide a lesson for people in the future who exhibit a high degree of faith in the midst of suffering and patience in calamity, but in a still higher degree experience the kindness of God that she received. To God's beautiful promise to the righteous "though he fall, he shall not be utterly broken," has been added a more recent one, "though he be utterly broken, he shall speedily be raised up and glorified." For if her misfortune was unreasonable, her recovery was extraordinary, so that health soon replaced the injury, and the cure became more celebrated than the illness.
We not only do not hold back, but even encourage, compassion, wisely and divinely set up by the church, that even for such people you should pray to the Lord with us. We also, with tears of sorrow, have pity on the downfall of misled souls. Following the example of the apostle's compassion, "we are made weak with the weak," and "we weep with those who weep." We hope that the mercy of God may be gained with many tears and requisite satisfaction on the part of those who have lapsed. While we live in this body, no one's rehabilitation is to be despaired of. We should desire the amendment of all, with the Lord helping us, who "raises up those who have been broken down, sets captives free, gives sight to the blind," to whom is honor and glory "with the Father and with the Holy Spirit" forever and ever. Amen.
For it is not free will but the Lord who "looses those who are bound." It is not our strength, but the Lord who "raises those who have fallen." It is not our diligence in reading, but "the Lord who enlightens the blind" where the Greek says kyrios sophoi typhlous, that is, "the Lord makes wise the blind." It is not our care, but "the Lord who cares for the stranger." It is not our courage, but "the Lord who assists (or supports) all those who are down."
"The Lord looses them that are fettered; the Lord lifts up them that are dashed down; the Lord makes wise them that are blind" [Psalm 146:8]. Perfectly has he by this last sentence explained to us all the preceding ones: lest perchance, when he had said, "the Lord looses them that are fettered," we should refer it to those fettered ones, who for some crime are bound in irons by their masters: and in that he said, "He lifts up them that are dashed down," there should occur to our minds some one stumbling or falling, or thrown from a horse. There is another kind of fall, there are other kinds of fetters, just as there is other darkness and other light. Whereas he said, "He makes the blind wise;" he would not say, He enlightened the blind, lest you should understand this also in reference to the flesh, as the man was enlightened by the Lord, when He anointed his eyes with clay made with spittle, and so healed him: that you might not look for anything of this sort, when He is speaking of spiritual things, he points to a sort of light of wisdom, wherewith the blind are enlightened. Therefore in the same way as the blind are enlightened with the light of wisdom, so are the fettered set free, and those who are dashed down are lifted up. Whereby then have we been fettered? Whereby dashed down? Our body was once an ornament to us: now, we have sinned, and thereby have had fetters put on us. What are our fetters? Our mortality...."The Lord loves the righteous." And who are the "righteous"? How far are they righteous now?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
, with the characters Christ gives of the Messiah ( Matt. xi. 5, 6 ), The blind receive their sight, the lame walk; and the closing words there, Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me, he thinks may very well be supposed to refer to
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
7 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind,....
The Nineteenth Century6 voices
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind. Jesus did this very frequently, and hereby proved himself to be Jehovah. He who made the eye can open it, and when he does so it is to his glory. How often is the mental eye closed in moral night! And who can remove this dreary effect of the fall but the Almighty God This miracle of grace he has performed in myriads of cases, and it is in each case a theme for loftiest praise. The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down.
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind. Jesus did this very frequently, and hereby proved himself to be Jehovah. He who made the eye can open it, and when he does so it is to his glory. How often is the mental eye closed in moral night! And who can remove this dreary effect of the fall but the Almighty God This miracle of grace he has performed in myriads of cases, and it is in each case a theme for loftiest praise. The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down. This also Jesus did literally, thus doing the work peculiar to God. Jehovah consoles the bereaved, cheers the defeated, solaces the despondent, comforts the despairing. Let those who are bowed to the ground appeal to him, and he will speedily upraise them. The Lord loveth the righteous. He gives to them the love of complacency, communion, and reward. Bad kings affect the licentious, but Jehovah makes the upright to be his favoured ones. This is greatly to his glory. Let those who enjoy the inestimable privilege of his love magnify his name with enthusiastic delight. Loved ones, you must never be absent from the choir! You must never pause from his praise whose infinite love has made you what you are.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2347: “The Lord's Famous Titles” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
This morning as well as I could, looking to God for help, I tried, in Christ's place, to persuade men to be reconciled to God. I showed that there was a great spiritual drought and neither dew nor rain to be had except as God should send it. And I tried to press my hearers to go to God, to wait upon Him, to look to Him and, through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, to seek and find in God all that would be necessary for their eternal blessedness.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2347: “The Lord's Famous Titles” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
This morning as well as I could, looking to God for help, I tried, in Christ's place, to persuade men to be reconciled to God. I showed that there was a great spiritual drought and neither dew nor rain to be had except as God should send it. And I tried to press my hearers to go to God, to wait upon Him, to look to Him and, through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, to seek and find in God all that would be necessary for their eternal blessedness. [Sermon #2115, Volume 35-The Drought Of Nature, the Rain Of Grace and the Lesson Thereof] I pressed hard and some yielded, not to my pressure, but to a Divine impulse that went with my pleading! But there were some who did not yield, this morning, so I am going to make another attempt to win them, now, calling in our August Ally, even the Divine Spirit, without whom we can do nothing! May He bring many to God in penitence tonight! You know that it helps men to come to a person when they know who he is, how good he is and how likely it is that they will find benefit by coming to him. My text tells us something about God, the Lord Jehovah. Five times the word occurs at the head of a sentence, Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah. Sometimes, when a great king or prince has a high day, a herald proclaims the titles of His Majesty. He is prince of this, and lord of that, and emperor of the other—too often a lot of empty sounds. But when we come to speak of God, every title of His falls short of what is His real Glory and honor! Tonight we have five of His titles put together, five wonderful achievements of God, five things for which the Lord would have Himself noted.
Openeth the eyes of the blind - He brings us out of our prison-house, from the shadow of death, and opens our eyes that we may behold the free light of the day. And it is the Lord only that can open the eyes of any son of Adam, and give him to see his wretchedness, and where help and salvation may be found. Raiseth them that are bowed down - Through a sense of their guilt and sinfulness. The Lord loveth the righteous - These he makes partakers of a Divine nature; and he loves those who bear his own image.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind - This is the sixth reason for what is stated as to the blessedness of those who put their trust in the Lord. The language here would be applicable to bodily or to mental blindness. Compare the notes at Psa 119:18: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” See also the notes at Isa 35:5: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened.” The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down - This is the seventh reason why they are happy who trust in the Lord. It is that those who are crushed and bowed down under the weight of care, trouble, and calamity, are raised up by him, or are sustained and comforted. See the notes at Psa 145:14: “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” The Lord loveth the righteous - This is the eighth reason why those who trust in the Lord are happy. It is a characteristic of God, and a foundation for praise, that he loves those who obey law; who do that which is right.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֤ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| פֹּ֘קֵ֤חַ | pokeach | [is] opening | H6491 → | |
| עִוְרִ֗ים | ʾivrim | blind [people] | H5787 → | |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| זֹקֵ֣ף | zokef | [is] raising up | H2210 → | |
| כְּפוּפִ֑ים | kefufim | [those who] are bent down | H3721 → | 5 times |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֹהֵ֥ב | ʾohev | [is] loving | H157 → | 211 times |
| צַדִּיקִֽים׃ | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
יְהוָ֤ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
פֹּ֘קֵ֤חַ[is] opening
pokeachH6491 →
עִוְרִ֗יםblind [people]
ʾivrimH5787 →
יְ֭הוָהYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
זֹקֵ֣ף[is] raising up
zokefH2210 →
כְּפוּפִ֑ים[those who] are bent down
kefufimH3721 →5 times
יְ֝הוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֹהֵ֥ב[is] loving
ʾohevH157 →211 times
צַדִּיקִֽים׃righteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →206 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 35:5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
it leads to
- Isaiah 42:6–7
“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a…
- Luke 7:20–23
When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?’”
- Isaiah 29:18
On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
- Matthew 11:3–5
to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?”
- Isaiah 32:3–4
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- Isaiah 42:6–7
Through
Acts 26:18to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Ephesians 1:18
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
- 1 Peter 2:9
Through
Psalms 145:14The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:24
Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.
- Psalms 37:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 146; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2347: “The Lord's Famous Titles” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Gregory of Nazianzus, ON HIS SISTER ST. GORGIANA, ORATION 8:15; Jerome, Homily 55, on Psalm 145; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 3:15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Leo the Great, SERMON 34:5.2 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.