Psalm 136-140

Tree of Life Version

¹ Praise Adonai, for He is good,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
² Praise the God of gods,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
³ Praise the Lord of lords,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁴ who alone did great wonders,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁵ who made the heavens by wisdom,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁶ who spread the earth on the waters,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁷ who made great lights,
for His lovingkindness endures forever—
⁸ the sun to rule by day,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁹ the moon and stars to rule by night,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁰ who struck Egypt in their firstborn,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹¹ and led out Israel from among them,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹² with a strong hand and outstretched arm,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹³ who cut the Sea of Reeds into parts,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁴ and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁵ but hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁶ who led His people through the desert,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁷ who struck down great kings,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁸ and slew mighty kings,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²⁰ and Og, king of Bashan,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²¹ and gave their land for an inheritance,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²² an inheritance for Israel His servant,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
²³ He remembered us in our lowly estate,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²⁴ and separated between us
and He delivered us from our adversaries,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²⁵ who gives food to all flesh,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
²⁶ Praise the God of heaven,
for His lovingkindness endures forever!

¹ By the rivers of Babylon,
we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
² On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
³ For there our captors demanded songs
and our tormentors asked for joy:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
⁴ How can we sing a song of Adonai in a foreign land?
⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither.
⁶ May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I cease to remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem above my chief joy.
⁷ Remember, Adonai, the children of Edom,
what they said on the day Jerusalem fell:
“Strip her, strip her to her very foundation!”
⁸ O daughter of Babylon, the devastated one,
happy is the one who repays you
as you have paid us.
⁹ Happy is the one who seizes your little ones
and dashes them upon the rock.

¹ Of David.
I praise You with all my heart.
In the presence of the mighty I will sing praises to You.
² I bow down toward Your holy Temple
and praise Your Name for Your love and Your faithfulness.
For You—magnified above all Your Name and Your word.
³ On the day I called, You answered me.
You made me bold with strength in my soul.
⁴ All the kings of the earth will praise You, Adonai,
when they hear Your mouth’s speech.
⁵ So they will sing of the ways of Adonai,
for great is the glory of Adonai.
⁶ For though Adonai is exalted,
yet He looks upon the lowly,
but the haughty He knows from afar.
⁷ Though I walk amid trouble,
You revive me.
You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand delivers me.
⁸ Adonai will fulfill His purpose for me.
Your lovingkindness, Adonai, endures forever.
Do not abandon the work of Your hands.

¹ For the music director: a psalm of David.
Adonai, You searched me and know me.
² Whenever I sit down or stand up, You know it.
You discern my thinking from afar.
³ You observe my journeying and my resting
and You are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, Adonai, You know all about it.
⁵ You hemmed me in behind and before,
and laid Your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
⁷ Where can I go from Your Ruach?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I go up to heaven, You are there,
and if I make my bed in Sheol,
look, You are there too.
⁹ If I take the wings of the dawn
and settle on the other side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there Your hand will lead me,
and Your right hand will lay hold of me.
¹¹ If I say: “Surely darkness covers me,
night keeps light at a distance from me,”
¹² even darkness is not dark for You,
    and night is as bright as day—
    darkness and light are alike.
¹³ For You have created my conscience.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise You, for I am awesomely, wonderfully made!
Wonderful are Your works—
and my soul knows that very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw me when I was unformed,
and in Your book were written the days that were formed—
when not one of them had come to be.
¹⁷ How precious are Your thoughts, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand!
When I awake, I am still with You.

¹ For the music director: a psalm of David.
² Rescue me, Adonai, from the evil man.
Protect me from the violent men—
³ who devise evil in their heart—
    every day they stir up wars.
⁴ They sharpen their tongue like a serpent’s
—viper’s venom is under their lips.^[a] Selah
⁵ Keep me safe, Adonai, from the clutches of the wicked.
Protect me from the man of violence who planned to push me off my feet.
⁶ The proud have hidden a trap and cords for me.
They spread out a net by the path.
They set snares for me. Selah
⁷ I said to Adonai: “You are my God!”
Hear, Adonai, the sound of my supplications.
⁸ God my Lord, the strength of my deliverance,
You shield my head in the day of battle.
⁹ Grant not, Adonai, the desires of the wicked.
Do not let their evil plan succeed,
or they will exalt themselves. Selah
¹⁰ As for the head of those surrounding me,
may the mischief of their lips overwhelm them.
¹¹ Let burning coals fall upon them.
May they be cast into the fire, into deep pits,
never to rise again.^[b]
12 May a slanderer not endure in the land.
May calamity hunt down a violent man.
¹³ I know Adonai will vindicate the poor,
and secure justice for the needy.
¹⁴ Surely, the righteous ones will praise Your name.
The upright will dwell in Your presence.