Psalm 136-140
New American Standard Bible 1995
Thanks for the Lord’s Goodness to Israel.
136 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, for (B)He is good,
For (C)His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the (D)God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
3 Give thanks to the (E)Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
4 To Him who (F)alone does great [a]wonders,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
5 To Him who (G)made the heavens [b](H)with skill,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
6 To Him who (I)spread out the earth above the waters,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
7 To Him who (J)made the great lights,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
8 The (K)sun to rule [c]by day,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
9 The (L)moon and stars to rule [d]by night,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
10 To Him who (M)smote [e]the Egyptians in their firstborn,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
11 And (N)brought Israel out from their midst,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
12 With a (O)strong hand and an (P)outstretched arm,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
13 To Him who (Q)divided the [f]Red Sea [g]asunder,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
14 And (R)made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
15 But (S)He [h]overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the [i]Red Sea,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
16 To Him who (T)led His people through the wilderness,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
17 To Him who (U)smote great kings,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
18 And (V)slew [j]mighty kings,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting:
19 (W)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
20 And (X)Og, king of Bashan,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
21 And (Y)gave their land as a heritage,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
22 Even a heritage to Israel His (Z)servant,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
23 Who (AA)remembered us in our low estate,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
24 And has (AB)rescued us from our adversaries,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
25 Who (AC)gives food to all flesh,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
26 Give thanks to the (AD)God of heaven,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
An Experience of the Captivity.
137 By the (AE)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and (AF)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [k](AG)willows in the midst of it
We (AH)hung our [l]harps.
3 For there our captors [m](AI)demanded of us [n]songs,
And (AJ)our tormentors mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing (AK)the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I (AL)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [o]forget her skill.
6 May my (AM)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [p](AN)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of (AO)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it
(AP)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you [q](AQ)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (AR)repays you
With [r]the recompense with which you have repaid us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (AS)dashes your little ones
Against the rock.
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.
A Psalm of David.
138 (AT)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the (AU)gods.
2 I will bow down (AV)toward Your holy temple
And (AW)give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your [s]truth;
For You have (AX)magnified Your [t]word [u]according to all Your name.
3 On the day I (AY)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with (AZ)strength in my soul.
4 (BA)All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will (BB)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For (BC)great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For (BD)though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He (BE)regards the lowly,
But the (BF)haughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I (BG)walk in the midst of trouble, You will [v](BH)revive me;
You will (BI)stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will (BJ)save me.
8 The Lord will (BK)accomplish what concerns me;
Your (BL)lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
(BM)Do not forsake the (BN)works of Your hands.
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, You have (BO)searched me and known me.
2 You (BP)know [w]when I sit down and [x]when I rise up;
You (BQ)understand my thought from afar.
3 You [y](BR)scrutinize my [z]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [aa]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You (BS)know it all.
5 You have (BT)enclosed me behind and before,
And (BU)laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such (BV)knowledge is (BW)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 (BX)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (BY)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [ab]Sheol, behold, (BZ)You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (CA)lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (CB)darkness will [ac]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the (CC)darkness is not dark [ad]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(CD)Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You (CE)formed my [ae]inward parts;
You (CF)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [af]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
(CG)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [ag](CH)frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the (CI)depths of the earth;
16 Your (CJ)eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in (CK)Your book were all written
The (CL)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your (CM)thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would (CN)outnumber the sand.
When (CO)I awake, I am still with You.
19 O that You would (CP)slay the wicked, O God;
(CQ)Depart from me, therefore, (CR)men of bloodshed.
20 For they (CS)speak [ah]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [ai](CT)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (CU)hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not (CV)loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
23 (CW)Search me, O God, and know my heart;
(CX)Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any [aj](CY)hurtful way in me,
And (CZ)lead me in the (DA)everlasting way.
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
140 (DB)Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from (DC)violent men
2 Who (DD)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (DE)continually stir up wars.
3 They (DF)sharpen their tongues as a serpent;
(DG)Poison of a viper is under their lips. [ak]Selah.
4 (DH)Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(DI)Preserve me from violent men
Who have [al]purposed to [am](DJ)trip up my feet.
5 The proud have (DK)hidden a trap for me, and cords;
They have spread a (DL)net by the [an]wayside;
They have set (DM)snares for me. Selah.
6 I (DN)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(DO)Give ear, O Lord, to the (DP)voice of my supplications.
7 “O [ao]God the Lord, (DQ)the strength of my salvation,
You have (DR)covered my head in the day of [ap]battle.
8 “Do not grant, O Lord, the (DS)desires of the wicked;
Do not promote (DT)his evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah.
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (DU)mischief of their lips cover them.
10 “May (DV)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (DW)cast into the fire,
Into [aq]deep pits from which they (DX)cannot rise.
11 “May a [ar]slanderer not be established in the earth;
(DY)May evil hunt the violent man [as]speedily.”
12 I know that the Lord will (DZ)maintain the cause of the afflicted
And (EA)justice for the poor.
13 Surely the (EB)righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The (EC)upright will dwell in Your presence.
Footnotes
- Psalm 136:4 I.e. wonderful acts
- Psalm 136:5 Lit with understanding
- Psalm 136:8 Or over the
- Psalm 136:9 Or over the
- Psalm 136:10 Lit Egypt
- Psalm 136:13 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Psalm 136:13 Lit in parts
- Psalm 136:15 Lit shook off
- Psalm 136:15 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Psalm 136:18 Lit majestic
- Psalm 137:2 Or poplars
- Psalm 137:2 Lit lyres
- Psalm 137:3 Lit asked
- Psalm 137:3 Lit words of song
- Psalm 137:5 I.e. become lame
- Psalm 137:6 Lit cause to ascend
- Psalm 137:8 Or devastator
- Psalm 137:8 Lit your recompense
- Psalm 138:2 Or faithfulness
- Psalm 138:2 Or promise
- Psalm 138:2 Or together with
- Psalm 138:7 Or keep me alive
- Psalm 139:2 Lit my sitting
- Psalm 139:2 Lit my rising
- Psalm 139:3 Lit winnow
- Psalm 139:3 Or journeying
- Psalm 139:4 Lit For there is not
- Psalm 139:8 I.e. the nether world
- Psalm 139:11 Lit bruise; some commentators read cover
- Psalm 139:12 Lit from
- Psalm 139:13 Lit kidneys
- Psalm 139:14 Some ancient versions read You are fearfully wonderful
- Psalm 139:15 Lit bones were
- Psalm 139:20 Or of
- Psalm 139:20 Some mss read lift themselves up against You
- Psalm 139:24 Lit way of pain
- Psalm 140:3 Selah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude
- Psalm 140:4 Or devised
- Psalm 140:4 Lit push violently
- Psalm 140:5 Lit track
- Psalm 140:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Psalm 140:7 Lit weapons
- Psalm 140:10 Lit watery
- Psalm 140:11 Lit man of tongue
- Psalm 140:11 Lit thrust upon thrust
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
