Hebrew, then English. Open "What it means" under any line for the explanation.
On weekdays when the Torah is read (Monday, Thursday and other days), as the scroll is carried back to the ark, the leader says:
יְהַלְלוּ אֶת שֵׁם יְיָ כִּי נִשְׂגָּב שְׁמוֹ לְבַדּוֹ.
Let them praise the Name of Hashem for His Name is exalted alone
What it means
Let them praise the Name of Hashem, for His Name alone is exalted.
This is the end of Psalm 148 (in Tehillim, the book of Psalms), which calls on the sun and moon, kings, and young men and women to praise God. The last two verses are said as the scroll is carried back.
Tehillim 148:3, 148:11-14The congregation answers:
הוֹדוֹ עַל אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם. וַיָּרֶם קֶרֶן לְעַמּוֹ תְּהִלָּה לְכָל חֲסִידָיו לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַם קְרֹבוֹ הַלְלוּיָהּ.
His splendor is over earth and heaven and He raised up strength for His people praise for all His devoted ones for the children of Israel the people close to Him Praise God
What it means
His splendor is over earth and heaven. He raised up the strength of His people, praise for all His devoted ones, for the children of Israel, the people close to Him. Praise God.
A horn stands for power. Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi, a medieval commentator on Tehillim) reads this as God gathering His people from exile and lifting them above the nations. Metzudat David, a short plain-meaning commentary, reads the last words as "the people close to God."
Radak and Metzudat David on Tehillim 148:14On weekdays, as the scroll is carried to the ark, say Psalm 24 (on Shabbat, Psalm 29 is said instead):
לְדָוִד מִזְמוֹר לַייָ הָאָרֶץ וּמְלוֹאָהּ תֵּבֵל וְיֹשְׁבֵי בָהּ.
A psalm of David The earth and all that fills it belong to Hashem the world and all who live in it
What it means
A psalm of David. The earth and everything in it belong to Hashem, the world and all who live in it.
The Levites, the Temple singers, sang this psalm on the first day of the week. A teaching in the name of Rabbi Akiva (a leading rabbi of the Mishnah) explains why: on that day God acquired the world, handed it over to people, and ruled over it. Radak says David wrote it to be sung when the ark entered the Holy of Holies, the Temple's inner room.
Mishnah Tamid 7:4; Rosh Hashanah 31a; Radak on Tehillim 24:1כִּי הוּא עַל יַמִּים יְסָדָהּ וְעַל נְהָרוֹת יְכוֹנְנֶהָ.
For He founded it upon seas and keeps it standing upon rivers
What it means
Radak reads this verse as the setup for the next two. God set up the whole earth for every creature. But the Temple mountain was set up not even for all people, he says, only for those with clean hands and a pure heart, the children of Yaakov.
Radak on Tehillim 24:2מִי יַעֲלֶה בְהַר יְיָ וּמִי יָקוּם בִּמְקוֹם קָדְשׁוֹ.
Who may go up the mountain of Hashem and who may stand in His holy place
What it means
Ibn Ezra (a Spanish Torah commentator of the 1100s) says "the mountain of Hashem" is Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount. He says David wrote this psalm after the story of Aravnah the Jebusite's threshing floor, where David bought the site and built an altar.
Ibn Ezra on Tehillim 24:3; Shmuel Bet 24:24-25נְקִי כַפַּיִם וּבַר לֵבָב אֲשֶׁר לֺא נָשָׂא לַשָּׁוְא נַפְשִׁי וְלֺא נִשְׁבַּע לְמִרְמָה.
Clean hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up My soul in vain and has not sworn deceitfully
What it means
Radak says this verse names three parts of a person: what you do (clean hands), what you think (a pure heart), and what you say (not swearing falsely). Ibn Ezra says the same.
Radak and Ibn Ezra on Tehillim 24:4יִשָּׂא בְרָכָה מֵאֵת יְיָ וּצְדָקָה מֵאֱלֺהֵי יִשְׁעוֹ.
He will receive a blessing from Hashem and righteousness from the God who saves him
What it means
The verb "lift up" comes back. The person who did not "lift up" My soul for nothing will "lift up" a blessing. Ibn Ezra says one line answers the other. Radak says the verb here means to take, to receive.
Ibn Ezra and Radak on Tehillim 24:5זֶה דּוֹר דּוֹרְשָׁיו מְבַקְשֵׁי פָנֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה.
This is the generation of those who look for Him who seek Your face that is, Yaakov Selah
What it means
Radak says the answer to "who may go up" is Israel. Halfway through, the poet turns and speaks straight to God, and "Yaakov" stands for all of Yaakov's descendants.
Radak on Tehillim 24:6שְׂאוּ שְׁעָרִים רָאשֵׁיכֶם וְהִנָּשְׂאוּ פִּתְחֵי עוֹלָם וְיָבוֹא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד.
Lift up your heads, gates and be lifted up, doorways of forever so the King of Glory may come in
What it means
Lift up your heads, gates. Be lifted up, doorways of forever, so the King of Glory may come in.
מִי זֶה מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד יְיָ עִזּוּז וְגִבּוֹר יְיָ גִּבּוֹר מִלְחָמָה.
Who is this King of Glory Hashem, strong and mighty Hashem, mighty in war
What it means
Who is this King of Glory? Hashem, strong and mighty. Hashem, mighty in battle.
שְׂאוּ שְׁעָרִים רָאשֵׁיכֶם וּשְׂאוּ פִּתְחֵי עוֹלָם וְיָבוֹא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד.
Lift up your heads, gates and lift up the doorways of forever so the King of Glory may come in
What it means
Lift up your heads, gates. Lift up, doorways of forever, so the King of Glory may come in.
Why say it twice? Radak says Hebrew often repeats an idea in different words. He also quotes Ibn Ezra, who says the second time hints at God's glory returning when the redeemer comes, because it was not in the Second Temple, the one built after the exile in Babylon.
Radak and Ibn Ezra on Tehillim 24:9מִי הוּא זֶה מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד יְיָ צְבָאוֹת הוּא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד סֶלָה.
Who is He, this King of Glory Hashem of Armies He is the King of Glory Selah
As the scroll is placed in the ark, say this. It is the Torah verse right after Vayehi Binsoa, said when the ark was opened:
וּבְנֻחֹה יֹאמַר שׁוּבָה יְיָ רִבְבוֹת אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
And when it rested, he would say Come to rest, Hashem among the tens of thousands, the thousands of Israel
קוּמָה יְיָ לִמְנוּחָתֶךָ אַתָּה וַאֲרוֹן עֻזֶּךָ.
Arise, Hashem, to Your resting place You and the ark of Your strength
What it means
These three verses are from Tehillim 132. Radak says King Shlomo (Solomon) also said them when the Temple was dedicated. They appear in Shlomo's prayer in Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 2, chapter 6.
Radak on Tehillim 132:8; Divrei HaYamim II 6:41כֹּהֲנֶיךָ יִלְבְּשׁוּ צֶדֶק וַחֲסִידֶיךָ יְרַנֵּנוּ.
Your priests will wear righteousness and Your devoted ones will sing with joy
What it means
In Divrei HaYamim II 6:41 the same prayer says the priests are dressed in "salvation," not righteousness, and the devoted ones rejoice "in good." Radak says the "clothes of righteousness" here are the priests' special garments.
Divrei HaYamim II 6:41; Radak on Tehillim 132:9בַּעֲבוּר דָּוִד עַבְדֶּךָ אַל תָּשֵׁב פְּנֵי מְשִׁיחֶךָ.
For the sake of David, Your servant do not turn away the face of Your anointed
What it means
In a story in the Gemara (the rabbis' discussions built on the Mishnah), a line almost the same as this one is what finally opened the stuck Temple gates for Shlomo. The Mizmor Shir prayer tells the story.
Shabbat 30aכִּי לֶקַח טוֹב נָתַתִּי לָכֶם תּוֹרָתִי אַל תַּעֲזֹבוּ.
For a good teaching I gave you My Torah do not abandon
What it means
For I gave you a good teaching: My Torah. Do not abandon it.
In Mishlei (the book of Proverbs) a father says this to his sons. The Gemara reads it as God speaking about the Torah. The Story section has its comparison to a sale.
Mishlei 4:1-2; Berakhot 5aעֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ וְתוֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר.
It is a tree of life for those who hold on to it and those who support it are fortunate
What it means
This verse and the next are also said when the Torah is lifted up, right after Vezot HaTorah. The Vezot HaTorah prayer tells why the Gemara compares Torah to a tree.
Siddur Sefard, Torah Reading; Mishlei 3:18דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם וְכָל נְתִיבוֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם.
Its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace
What it means
Rambam (Maimonides, a great medieval codifier of Jewish law) uses this verse to say what the whole Torah is for: "Great is peace, for the whole Torah was given to make peace in the world."
Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Megillah and Chanukah 4:14הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְיָ אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם.
Bring us back, Hashem, to You and we will come back renew our days as of old
What it means
Bring us back to You, Hashem, and we will come back. Renew our days as of old.