Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.

Praise him, ye heavens of heavens - the highest heavens: as "holy of holies" is in Hebrew idiom the superlative, "the most holy place" (; ). Compare the parallel history, . So alludes to a gradation in height of the several heavens - "the third heaven." The angels, the stars, and the clouds (Psalms 148:2) imply successive regions above.

And ye waters that (be) above the heavens - the clouds, the lowest heavens, in contrast to the "heavens of heavens," the highest (; ). Those called to praise the Lord are six, answering to the number of verses in the first half strophe.

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