Psalm 135-138

New American Standard Bible

Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Futility of Idols.

135 ^[a]^(A)Praise ^[b]the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, you ^(B)servants of the Lord,
²You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the ^(C)courtyards of the house of our God!
³^[c]Praise ^[d]the Lord, for ^(D)the Lord is good;
^(E)Sing praises to His name, ^(F)for it is lovely.
⁴For ^[e]the Lord has ^(G)chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel as His ^(H)own possession.

⁵For I know that ^(I)the Lord is great
And that our Lord is ^(J)above all gods.
⁶^(K)Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the ocean depths.
⁷^[f]He ^(L)causes the ^[g]mist to ascend from the ends of the earth,
^[h]He ^(M)makes lightning for the rain;
^[i]He ^(N)brings forth the wind from His treasuries.

⁸^[j]He ^(O)struck the firstborn of Egypt,
^[k]Both human firstborn and animal.
⁹^[l]He sent ^(P)signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
Upon ^(Q)Pharaoh and all his servants.
¹⁰^[m]^(R)He ^(S)struck many nations
And brought death to mighty kings,
¹¹^(T)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
^(U)Og, king of Bashan,
And ^(V)all the kingdoms of Canaan;
¹²And He ^(W)gave their land as an inheritance,
An inheritance to His people Israel.
¹³Your ^(X)name, Lord, is everlasting,
The mention of You, Lord, is ^[n]throughout all generations.
¹⁴For the Lord will ^(Y)judge His people
And ^(Z)will have compassion on His servants.
¹⁵The ^(AA)idols of the nations are nothing but silver and gold,
The work of human hands.
¹⁶They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
¹⁷They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
¹⁸Those who make them will become like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.

¹⁹House of ^(AB)Israel, bless the Lord;
House of Aaron, bless the Lord;
²⁰House of Levi, bless the Lord;
You ^(AC)who ^[o]revere the Lord, bless the Lord.
²¹Blessed be the Lord ^(AD)from Zion,
Who ^(AE)dwells in Jerusalem.
^[p]Praise ^[q]the Lord!

Thanks for the Lord’s Goodness to Israel.

136 ^(AF)Give thanks to the Lord, for ^(AG)He is good,
For ^(AH)His ^[r]faithfulness is everlasting.
²Give thanks to the ^(AI)God of gods,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
³Give thanks to the ^(AJ)Lord of lords,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
⁴To Him who ^(AK)alone does great ^[s]wonders,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
⁵To Him who ^(AL)made the heavens ^[t]^(AM)with skill,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
⁶To Him who ^(AN)spread out the earth above the waters,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
⁷To Him who ^(AO)made the great lights,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
⁸The ^(AP)sun to rule ^[u]by day,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
⁹The ^(AQ)moon and stars to rule ^[v]by night,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.

¹⁰To Him who ^(AR)struck ^[w]the Egyptians, that is, their firstborn,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹¹And ^(AS)brought Israel out from their midst,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹²With a ^(AT)strong hand and an ^(AU)outstretched arm,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
¹³To Him who ^(AV)divided the ^[x]Red Sea in parts,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹⁴And ^(AW)allowed Israel to pass through the midst of it,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
¹⁵But ^(AX)He ^[y]overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the ^[z]Red Sea,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
¹⁶To Him who ^(AY)led His people through the wilderness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
¹⁷To Him who ^(AZ)struck great kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹⁸And ^(BA)brought death to ^[aa]mighty kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
¹⁹^(BB)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²⁰And ^(BC)Og, king of Bashan,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²¹And ^(BD)gave their land as an inheritance,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²²An inheritance to His ^(BE)servant Israel,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.

²³Who ^(BF)remembered us in our lowliness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²⁴And has ^(BG)rescued us from our enemies,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
²⁵Who ^(BH)gives food to all flesh,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
²⁶Give thanks to the ^(BI)God of heaven,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.

An Experience of the Captivity.

137 By the ^(BJ)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and ^(BK)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
²Upon the ^[ab]^(BL)willows in the midst of it
We ^(BM)hung our ^[ac]harps.
³For there our captors ^[ad]^(BN)demanded of us ^[ae]songs,
And ^(BO)our tormentors, jubilation, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴How can we sing ^(BP)the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
⁵If I ^(BQ)forget you, Jerusalem,
May my right hand ^[af]forget its skill.
⁶May my ^(BR)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not ^[ag]^(BS)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.

⁷Remember, Lord, against the sons of ^(BT)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Those who said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare
^(BU)To its foundation!”
⁸Daughter of Babylon, you ^[ah]^(BV)devastated one,
Blessed will be one who ^(BW)repays you
With ^[ai]the retribution with which you have repaid us.
⁹Blessed will be one who seizes and ^(BX)dashes your children
Against the rock.

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.

138 ^(BY)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing Your praises before the ^(BZ)gods.
²I will bow down ^(CA)toward Your holy temple
And ^(CB)give thanks to Your name for Your mercy and Your ^[aj]truth;
For You have ^(CC)made Your ^[ak]word great ^[al]according to all Your name.
³On the day I ^(CD)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with ^(CE)strength in my soul.

⁴^(CF)All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
⁵And they will ^(CG)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For ^(CH)great is the glory of the Lord.
⁶For ^(CI)the Lord is exalted,
Yet He ^(CJ)looks after the lowly,
But He knows the ^(CK)haughty from afar.

⁷Though I ^(CL)walk in the midst of trouble, You will ^[am]^(CM)revive me;
You will ^(CN)reach out with Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will ^(CO)save me.
⁸The Lord will ^(CP)accomplish what concerns me;
Your ^(CQ)faithfulness, Lord, is everlasting;
^(CR)Do not abandon the ^(CS)works of Your hands.