Psalm 137-139 New American Standard Bible

An Experience of the Captivity.

137 By the ^(A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and ^(B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
²Upon the ^[a]^(C)willows in the midst of it
We ^(D)hung our ^[b]harps.
³For there our captors ^[c]^(E)demanded of us ^[d]songs,
And ^(F)our tormentors, jubilation, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!”

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

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

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.

138 ^(P)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing Your praises before the ^(Q)gods.
²I will bow down ^(R)toward Your holy temple
And ^(S)give thanks to Your name for Your mercy and Your ^[i]truth;
For You have ^(T)made Your ^[j]word great ^[k]according to all Your name.
³On the day I ^(U)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with ^(V)strength in my soul.

⁴^(W)All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
⁵And they will ^(X)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For ^(Y)great is the glory of the Lord.
⁶For ^(Z)the Lord is exalted,
Yet He ^(AA)looks after the lowly,
But He knows the ^(AB)haughty from afar.

⁷Though I ^(AC)walk in the midst of trouble, You will ^[l]^(AD)revive me;
You will ^(AE)reach out with Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will ^(AF)save me.
⁸The Lord will ^(AG)accomplish what concerns me;
Your ^(AH)faithfulness, Lord, is everlasting;
^(AI)Do not abandon the ^(AJ)works of Your hands.

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

139 Lord, You have ^(AK)searched me and known me.
²You ^(AL)know ^[m]when I sit down and ^[n]when I get up;
You ^(AM)understand my thought from far away.
³You ^[o]^(AN)scrutinize my ^[p]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴^[q]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You ^(AO)know it all.
⁵You have ^(AP)encircled me behind and in front,
And ^(AQ)placed Your hand upon me.
⁶Such ^(AR)knowledge is ^(AS)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.

⁷^(AT)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸^(AU)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in ^[r]Sheol, behold, ^(AV)You are there.
⁹If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
¹⁰Even there Your hand will ^(AW)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the ^(AX)darkness will ^[s]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
¹²Even ^(AY)darkness is not dark ^[t]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
^(AZ)Darkness and light are alike to You.

¹³For You ^(BA)created my innermost parts;
You ^(BB)wove me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I will give thanks to You, because ^[u]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
^(BC)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵My ^[v]^(BD)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the ^(BE)depths of the earth;
¹⁶Your ^(BF)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in ^(BG)Your book were written
All the ^(BH)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

¹⁷How precious also are Your ^(BI)thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸Were I to count them, they would ^(BJ)outnumber the sand.
When ^(BK)I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹If only You would ^(BL)put the wicked to death, God;
^(BM)Leave me, ^(BN)you men of bloodshed.
²⁰For they ^(BO)speak ^[w]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies ^[x]^(BP)take Your name in vain.
²¹Do I not ^(BQ)hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not ^(BR)loathe those who rise up against You?
²²I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

²³^(BS)Search me, God, and know my heart;
^(BT)Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
²⁴And see if there is any ^[y]^(BU)hurtful way in me,
And ^(BV)lead me in the ^(BW)everlasting way.