Psalm 138

Of David.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    before the “gods”(A) I will sing(B) your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple(C)
    and will praise your name(D)
    for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,(E)
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
    that it surpasses your fame.(F)
When I called,(G) you answered me;(H)
    you greatly emboldened(I) me.

May all the kings of the earth(J) praise you, Lord,
    when they hear what you have decreed.
May they sing(K) of the ways of the Lord,
    for the glory of the Lord(L) is great.

Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;(M)
    though lofty, he sees them(N) from afar.
Though I walk(O) in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life.(P)
You stretch out your hand(Q) against the anger of my foes;(R)
    with your right hand(S) you save me.(T)
The Lord will vindicate(U) me;
    your love, Lord, endures forever(V)
    do not abandon(W) the works of your hands.(X)

138 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth.

Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.

Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer(A) to Ashdod.(B) Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon.(C) When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen(D) on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken(E) off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.(F)

The Lord’s hand(G) was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation(H) on them and afflicted them with tumors.[a](I) When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” So they called together all the rulers(J) of the Philistines and asked them, “What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?”

They answered, “Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath.(K)” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.

But after they had moved it, the Lord’s hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic.(L) He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.[b] 10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.(M)

As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.” 11 So they called together all the rulers(N) of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it[c] will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. 12 Those who did not die(O) were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 5:6 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate tumors. And rats appeared in their land, and there was death and destruction throughout the city
  2. 1 Samuel 5:9 Or with tumors in the groin (see Septuagint)
  3. 1 Samuel 5:11 Or he

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.

When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.

And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof.

And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts.

10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.

11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

12 And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

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Awaiting the New Body

For we know that if the earthly(A) tent(B) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan,(C) longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,(D) because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan(E) and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,(F) so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.(G)

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For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:

If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

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