Psalm 135-142

English Standard Version

⁵ For I know that ^(I)the Lord is great,
    and that our Lord is above all gods.
^6 (J)Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
^7 (K)He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who ^(L)makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his ^(M)storehouses.

⁸ He it was who ^(N)struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    both of man and of beast;
⁹ who in your midst, O Egypt,
    sent ^(O)signs and wonders
    against Pharaoh and all his servants;
^10 (P)who struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings,
^11 (Q)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    and ^(R)Og, king of Bashan,
    and ^(S)all the kingdoms of Canaan,
¹² and ^(T)gave their land as a heritage,
    a heritage to his people Israel.

^13 (U)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
    ^(V)your renown,^[b] O Lord, throughout all ages.
^14 (W)For the Lord will vindicate his people
    and ^(X)have compassion on his servants.

^15 (Y)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but do not speak;
    they have eyes, but do not see;
¹⁷ they have ears, but do not hear,
    nor is there any breath in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them become like them,
    so do all who trust in them.

^19 (Z)O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
    O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
²⁰ O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
    You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
²¹ Blessed be the Lord ^(AA)from Zion,
    he who ^(AB)dwells in Jerusalem!
^(AC)Praise the Lord!

⁴ to him who alone ^(AH)does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁵ to him who ^(AI)by understanding ^(AJ)made the heavens,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁶ to him who ^(AK)spread out the earth ^(AL)above the waters,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁷ to him who ^(AM)made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁸ the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁹ the moon and stars to rule over the night,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁰ to him who ^(AN)struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹¹ and ^(AO)brought Israel out from among them,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹² with ^(AP)a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹³ to him who ^(AQ)divided the Red Sea in two,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
^14 (AR)and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁵ but ^(AS)overthrew^[c] Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁶ to him who ^(AT)led his people through the wilderness,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁷ to him ^(AU)who struck down great kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁸ and killed mighty kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁰ and Og, king of Bashan,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²¹ and gave their land as a heritage,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²² a heritage to Israel his ^(AV)servant,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

²³ It is he who ^(AW)remembered us in our low estate,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁴ and ^(AX)rescued us from our foes,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁵ he who ^(AY)gives food to all flesh,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

²⁶ Give thanks to ^(AZ)the God of heaven,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

^4 (BA)How shall we sing the Lord's song
    in a foreign land?
⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    ^(BB)let my right hand forget its skill!
⁶ Let my ^(BC)tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
    above my highest joy!

⁷ Remember, O Lord, against the ^(BD)Edomites
    ^(BE)the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, ^(BF)“Lay it bare, lay it bare,
    down to its foundations!”
⁸ O daughter of Babylon, ^(BG)doomed to be destroyed,
    blessed shall he be who ^(BH)repays you
    with what you have done to us!
⁹ Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
    and ^(BI)dashes them against the rock!

^4 (BN)All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
⁵ and they shall sing of ^(BO)the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.
^6 (BP)For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

^7 (BQ)Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you ^(BR)preserve my life;
you ^(BS)stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your ^(BT)right hand delivers me.
⁸ The Lord will ^(BU)fulfill his purpose for me;
    ^(BV)your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake ^(BW)the work of your hands.

^7 (CF)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where ^(CG)shall I flee from your presence?
^8 (CH)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    ^(CI)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall ^(CJ)lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, ^(CK)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
^12 (CL)even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

¹³ For you ^(CM)formed my inward parts;
    you ^(CN)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[g]
(CO)Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
^15 (CP)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in ^(CQ)the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your ^(CR)book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your ^(CS)thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
^18 (CT)If I would count them, they are more than ^(CU)the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

¹⁹ Oh that you would ^(CV)slay the wicked, O God!
    O ^(CW)men of blood, ^(CX)depart from me!
²⁰ They ^(CY)speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies ^(CZ)take your name in vain.^[h]
21 (DA)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not ^(DB)loathe those who ^(DC)rise up against you?
²² I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    ^(DD)Try me and know my thoughts!^[i]
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and ^(DE)lead me in ^(DF)the way everlasting!^[j]

⁴ Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from ^(DN)violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
⁵ The arrogant have ^(DO)hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread ^(DP)a net;^[k]
    beside the way they have set ^(DQ)snares for me. Selah

^6 (DR)I say to the Lord, You are my God;
    give ear to ^(DS)the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
⁷ O Lord, my Lord, ^(DT)the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
^8 (DU)Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their^[l] evil plot, or ^(DV)they will be exalted! Selah

⁹ As for the head of those who surround me,
    let ^(DW)the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰ Let ^(DX)burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
¹¹ Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

¹² I know that the Lord will ^(DY)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
    and ^(DZ)will execute justice for the needy.
¹³ Surely ^(EA)the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    ^(EB)the upright shall dwell in your presence.

^3 (EG)Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
    ^(EH)keep watch over the door of my lips!
^4 (EI)Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
    to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who ^(EJ)work iniquity,
    and ^(EK)let me not eat of their delicacies!

^5 (EL)Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
    let my head not refuse it.
Yet ^(EM)my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
⁶ When their judges are ^(EN)thrown over the cliff,^[m]
    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷ As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
    so shall our bones ^(EO)be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.^[n]

⁸ But ^(EP)my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
    ^(EQ)in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!^[o]
9 Keep me from ^(ER)the trap that they have laid for me
    and from the snares of evildoers!
¹⁰ Let the wicked ^(ES)fall into their own nets,
    while I pass by safely.

³ When my spirit ^(EX)faints within me,
    you know my way!
In the path where I walk
    they have ^(EY)hidden a trap for me.
^4 (EZ)Look to the ^(FA)right and see:
    ^(FB)there is none who takes notice of me;
^(FC)no refuge remains to me;
    no one cares for my soul.

⁵ I cry to you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my ^(FD)refuge,
    my ^(FE)portion in ^(FF)the land of the living.”
^6 (FG)Attend to my cry,
    for ^(FH)I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
    ^(FI)for they are too strong for me!
^7 (FJ)Bring me out of prison,
    that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
    for you will ^(FK)deal bountifully with me.