Psalm 136-140
Complete Jewish Bible
136 Give thanks to Adonai, for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his grace continues forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his grace continues forever;
4 to him who alone has done great wonders,
for his grace continues forever;
5 to him who skillfully made the heavens,
for his grace continues forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth on the water,
for his grace continues forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his grace continues forever;
8 the sun to rule the day,
for his grace continues forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule the night,
for his grace continues forever;
10 to him who struck down Egypt’s firstborn,
for his grace continues forever;
11 and brought Isra’el out from among them,
for his grace continues forever;
12 with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
for his grace continues forever;
13 to him who split apart the Sea of Suf,
for his grace continues forever;
14 and made Isra’el cross right through it,
for his grace continues forever;
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Suf,
for his grace continues forever;
16 to him who led his people through the desert,
for his grace continues forever;
17 to him who struck down great kings,
for his grace continues forever;
18 yes, he slaughtered powerful kings,
for his grace continues forever;
19 Sichon king of the Emori,
for his grace continues forever;
20 and ‘Og king of Bashan,
for his grace continues forever;
21 then he gave their land as a heritage,
for his grace continues forever;
22 to be possessed by Isra’el his servant,
for his grace continues forever;
23 who remembers us whenever we are brought low,
for his grace continues forever;
24 and rescues us from our enemies,
for his grace continues forever;
25 who provides food for every living creature,
for his grace continues forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his grace continues forever.
137 By the rivers of Bavel we sat down and wept
as we remembered Tziyon.
2 We had hung up our lyres
on the willows that were there,
3 when those who had taken us captive
asked us to sing them a song;
our tormentors demanded joy from us —
“Sing us one of the songs from Tziyon!”
4 How can we sing a song about Adonai
here on foreign soil?
5 If I forget you, Yerushalayim,
may my right hand wither away!
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I fail to count Yerushalayim
the greatest of all my joys.
7 Remember, Adonai, against the people of Edom
the day of Yerushalayim’s fall,
how they cried, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
Raze it to the ground!”
8 Daughter of Bavel, you will be destroyed!
A blessing on anyone who pays you back
for the way you treated us!
9 A blessing on anyone who seizes your babies
and smashes them against a rock!
138 (0) By David:
(1) I give you thanks with all my heart.
Not to idols, but to you I sing praise.
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your grace and truth;
for you have made your word [even] greater
than the whole of your reputation.
3 When I called, you answered me,
you made me bold and strong.
4 All the kings of the earth will thank you, Adonai,
when they hear the words you have spoken.
5 They will sing about Adonai’s ways,
“Great is the glory of Adonai!”
6 For though Adonai is high, he cares for the lowly;
while the proud he perceives from afar.
7 You keep me alive when surrounded by danger;
you put out your hand when my enemies rage;
with your right hand you save me.
8 Adonai will fulfill his purpose for me.
Your grace, Adonai, continues forever.
Don’t abandon the work of your hands!
139 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
(1) Adonai, you have probed me, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I stand up,
you discern my inclinations from afar,
3 you scrutinize my daily activities.
You are so familiar with all my ways
4 that before I speak even a word, Adonai,
you know all about it already.
5 You have hemmed me in both behind and in front
and laid your hand on me.
6 Such wonderful knowledge is beyond me,
far too high for me to reach.
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I lie down in Sh’ol, you are there.
9 If I fly away with the wings of the dawn
and land beyond the sea,
10 even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Let darkness surround me,
let the light around me be night,”
12 even darkness like this
is not too dark for you;
rather, night is as clear as day,
darkness and light are the same.
13 For you fashioned my inmost being,
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I thank you because I am awesomely made,
wonderfully; your works are wonders —
I know this very well.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes could see me as an embryo,
but in your book all my days were already written;
my days had been shaped
before any of them existed.
17 God, how I prize your thoughts!
How many of them there are!
18 If I count them, there are more than grains of sand;
if I finish the count, I am still with you.
19 God, if only you would kill off the wicked!
Men of blood, get away from me!
20 They invoke your name for their crafty schemes;
yes, your enemies misuse it.
21 Adonai, how I hate those who hate you!
I feel such disgust with those who defy you!
22 I hate them with unlimited hatred!
They have become my enemies too.
23 Examine me, God, and know my heart;
test me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is in me any hurtful way,
and lead me along the eternal way.
140 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) Rescue me, Adonai, from evil people,
protect me from violent people.
3 (2) They plan evil things in their hearts —
they continually stir up bitter strife.
4 (3) They have made their tongues as sharp as a snake’s;
viper’s venom is under their lips. (Selah)
5 (4) Keep me, Adonai, from the hands of the wicked,
protect me from violent people
who are trying to trip me up.
6 (5) The arrogant hide snares for me;
they spread nets by the side of the road,
hoping to trap me there. (Selah)
7 (6) I said to Adonai, “You are my God;
listen, Adonai, to my plea for mercy.”
8 (7) Adonai, Adonai, my saving strength,
my helmet shielding my head in battle,
9 (8) Adonai, don’t grant the wicked their wishes;
make their plot fail, so they won’t grow proud. (Selah)
10 (9) May the heads of those who surround me
be engulfed in the evil they spoke of, themselves.
11 (10) May burning coals rain down on them,
may they be flung into the fire,
flung into deep pits,
never to rise again.
12 (11) Let slanderers find no place in the land;
let the violent and evil be hunted relentlessly.
13 (12) I know that Adonai gives justice to the poor
and maintains the rights of the needy.
14 (13) The righteous will surely give thanks to your name;
the upright will live in your presence.
Tehillim 136-140
Orthodox Jewish Bible
136 O give thanks unto Hashem; for He is tov; ki l’olam chasdo (His chesed indures forever).
2 O give thanks unto Elohei HaElohim; ki l’olam chasdo.
3 O give thanks to Adonei HaAdonim; ki l’olam chasdo.
4 To Him Who alone doeth nifla’ot gedolot; ki l’olam chasdo.
5 To Him that by tevunah (understanding) made HaShomayim; ki l’olam chasdo.
6 To Him that stretched out ha’aretz above the mayim; ki l’olam chasdo.
7 To Him that made ohrim gedolim (great lights); ki l’olam chasdo.
8 The shemesh to rule by yom; ki l’olam chasdo.
9 The yarei’ach and kokhavim to rule by lailah; ki l’olam chasdo.
10 To Him that struck down Mitzrayim in their bechorot (firstborn); ki l’olam chasdo.
11 And brought out Yisroel from among them; ki l’olam chasdo.
12 With a yad chazakah, and with a stretched out zero’a; ki l’olam chasdo.
13 To Him Who divided asunder Yam Suf; ki l’olam chasdo.
14 And made Yisroel to pass through the midst of it; ki l’olam chasdo.
15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Yam Suf; ki l’olam chasdo.
16 To Him Who led His people through the midbar; ki l’olam chasdo.
17 To Him Who struck down melachim gedolim; ki l’olam chasdo.
18 And slaughtered mighty melachim; ki l’olam chasdo.
19 Sichon Melech HaEmori; ki l’olam chasdo.
20 And Og Melech HaBashan; ki l’olam chasdo.
21 And gave their land for a nachalah; ki l’olam chasdo.
22 Even a nachalah unto Yisroel His eved; ki l’olam chasdo.
23 Who remembered us in our low estate; ki l’olam chasdo.
24 And hath released us from our enemies; ki l’olam chasdo.
25 Who giveth lechem to kol basar; ki l’olam chasdo.
26 O give thanks unto the G-d of Shomayim; ki l’olam chasdo.
137 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yes, we wept, when we remembered Tziyon.
2 We hung up our kinnorot (lyres) upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a shir (song); and they that tormented us required of us simchah, saying, Sing us one of the Shir Tziyon.
4 How shall we sing Shir Hashem in an admat nekhar (foreign land).
5 If I forget thee, O Yerushalayim, let my yamin (right hand) forget [i.e., have paralysis].
6 If I do not remember thee, let my leshon cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Yerushalayim above my rosh simchah (chief joy).
7 Remember, Hashem, the Bnei Edom in the Yom Yerushalayim; who said, Raze it, raze it, even to the yesod (foundation) thereof.
8 O Bat Bavel, who art to be destroyed, ashrei shall he be, that repayeth thee the gemul thou hast done to us.
9 Ashrei shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy olalim against the sela.
138 (Of Dovid) I will thank Thee with my whole lev; before the elohim will I sing praise unto Thee.
2 I will worship toward Thy Heikhal Kodesh, and praise Shmecha (Thy Name) for Thy chesed and for Thy emes; for Thou hast magnified Thy Word above Kol Shimcha (all Thy Name; Yn 1:1, 14 OJBC).
3 In the day when I called out, Thou answeredst me, and madest me bold with oz (strength) in my nefesh.
4 Kol Malchei Aretz shall praise Thee, Hashem, when they hear the words of Thy mouth.
5 Yes, they shall sing of the Darkhei Hashem; for gadol is the Kavod Hashem.
6 Though Hashem be on high, yet He looks upon the lowly; but the proud He knoweth from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of tzoros, Thou wilt preserve me alive; Thou shalt stretch forth Thine yad against the wrath of mine enemies, and Thy Yamin (Right Hand) shall save me.
8 Hashem will fulfill that which concerneth me; Thy chesed, O Hashem, endureth l’olam; forsake not the works of Thine own yadayim.
139 (For the one directing, Mizmor of Dovid). Hashem, Thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou hast binah of my thought from afar off.
3 Thou comprehendeth my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my drakhim.
4 For there is not a milah (word) in my leshon, but, lo, Hashem, Thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast enclosed me achor (behind) and kedem (before), and laid Thine hand upon me.
6 Such da’as is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7 To where can I go from Thy Ruach [Hakodesh]? Or to where shall I flee from Thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into Shomayim, Thou art there; if I make my bed in Sheol, hinei, Thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the shachar (dawn), and dwell in the uttermost acharit yam (the extreme end of the sea);
10 Even there shall Thy yad lead me, and Thy yamin shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the choshech shall cover me, even the lailah shall be ohr about me.
12 Even the choshech is not dark to Thee; but the lailah shineth as the yom; the choshech and the ohr are both alike to Thee.
13 For Thou hast created my inmost being; Thou didst interweave me in the beten immi.
14 I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Thy ma’asim; and that my nefesh knoweth very well.
15 My atzamim (bones, frame) were not hid from Thee, when I was made beseter (in secret), and skillfully wrought in the depths of the Eretz.
16 Thine eyes did see my golem (embryo), yet being unformed; and in Thy Sefer (Book) all the yamim (days) ordained for me were written down, when as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O El! How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the chol (sand); when I awake, I am still with Thee.
19 Surely Thou wilt slay the rasha, O Eloah; depart from me therefore, ye anshei damim (bloodthirsty men).
20 For they speak of Thee craftily, and it is taken lashav [Ex 20:7] by Thy enemies.
21 Should not I hate them, Hashem, that hate Thee? And am not I to be at odds with those that rise up against Thee?
22 I abhor them with complete sinah; I count them mine enemies.
23 Search me, O El, and know my levav; test me, and know my thoughts;
24 And see if there be any derech otzev (torturous crooked road) in me, and lead me in the Derech Olam.
140 (For the one directing. Mizmor of Dovid). Deliver me, Hashem, from adam rah; preserve me from ish chamasim (violent men);
2 (3) Which plan ra’ot (evils) in their lev; kol yom they incite milchamot (wars).
3 (4) They have sharpened their leshonot like a nachash; the venom of a spider is under their sfatayim (lips). Selah.
4 (5) Be shomer over me, Hashem, and keep me from the hands of the rashah; protect me from ish chamasim, whose scheme is to cause my steps to trip.
5 (6) The ge’im (proud, arrogant ones [of inordinate ambition]) have hid a pach for me, and chavalim (cords, ropes); they have spread a reshet (net) close by the path; they have set mokshim (traps) for me. Selah.
6 (7) I said unto Hashem, Thou art Eli; hear the kol tachanunai (voice of my supplications), Hashem.
7 (8) Hashem Adonoi, Oz Yeshuati (strength of my (salvation), Thou hast covered my rosh in the Yom Neshek (Day of Arms, Day of Battle).
8 (9) Grant not, Hashem, the desires of the rashah; let not his plot succeed; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
9 (10) As for the rosh of those that surround me, let the amal (trouble) of their own sfatayim (lips) cover them.
10 (11) Let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the eish; into mahamorot (watery pits), that they rise not up again.
11 (12) Let not an ish lashon (idle talker, slanderer) be established in ha’aretz; rah shall hunt down the ish chamas to overthrow him.
12 (13) I know that Hashem will maintain the din oni (cause of the poor), and the mishpat evyonim (the right of the needy).
13 (14) Surely the tzaddikim shall give thanks unto Thy Shem; the upright shall dwell in Thy presence.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International