Psalm 128-138

New Living Translation

¹ How joyful are those who fear the Lord—
    all who follow his ways!
² You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
    How joyful and prosperous you will be!
³ Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine,
    flourishing within your home.
Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees
    as they sit around your table.
⁴ That is the Lord’s blessing
    for those who fear him.

⁵ May the Lord continually bless you from Zion.
    May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.
⁶ May you live to enjoy your grandchildren.
    May Israel have peace!

¹ From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me.
    Let all Israel repeat this:
² From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me,
    but they have never defeated me.
³ My back is covered with cuts,
    as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.
⁴ But the Lord is good;
    he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.

⁵ May all who hate Jerusalem^[a]
    be turned back in shameful defeat.
⁶ May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop,
    turning yellow when only half grown,
⁷ ignored by the harvester,
    despised by the binder.
⁸ And may those who pass by
    refuse to give them this blessing:
“The Lord bless you;
    we bless you in the Lord’s name.”

¹ From the depths of despair, O Lord,
    I call for your help.
² Hear my cry, O Lord.
    Pay attention to my prayer.

³ Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,
    who, O Lord, could ever survive?
⁴ But you offer forgiveness,
    that we might learn to fear you.

⁵ I am counting on the Lord;
    yes, I am counting on him.
    I have put my hope in his word.
⁶ I long for the Lord
    more than sentries long for the dawn,
    yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord;
    for with the Lord there is unfailing love.
    His redemption overflows.
⁸ He himself will redeem Israel
    from every kind of sin.

¹ Lord, my heart is not proud;
    my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
    or too awesome for me to grasp.
² Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
    like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
    Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³ O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
    now and always.

¹ Lord, remember David
    and all that he suffered.
² He made a solemn promise to the Lord.
    He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel,^[b]
3 “I will not go home;
    I will not let myself rest.
⁴ I will not let my eyes sleep
    nor close my eyelids in slumber
⁵ until I find a place to build a house for the Lord,
    a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.”

⁶ We heard that the Ark was in Ephrathah;
    then we found it in the distant countryside of Jaar.
⁷ Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord;
    let us worship at the footstool of his throne.
⁸ Arise, O Lord, and enter your resting place,
    along with the Ark, the symbol of your power.
⁹ May your priests be clothed in godliness;
    may your loyal servants sing for joy.
¹⁰ For the sake of your servant David,
    do not reject the king you have anointed.
¹¹ The Lord swore an oath to David
    with a promise he will never take back:
“I will place one of your descendants
    on your throne.
¹² If your descendants obey the terms of my covenant
    and the laws that I teach them,
then your royal line
    will continue forever and ever.”

¹³ For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem^[c];
    he has desired it for his home.
¹⁴ “This is my resting place forever,” he said.
    “I will live here, for this is the home I desired.
¹⁵ I will bless this city and make it prosperous;
    I will satisfy its poor with food.
¹⁶ I will clothe its priests with godliness;
    its faithful servants will sing for joy.
¹⁷ Here I will increase the power of David;
    my anointed one will be a light for my people.
¹⁸ I will clothe his enemies with shame,
    but he will be a glorious king.”

¹ How wonderful and pleasant it is
    when brothers live together in harmony!
² For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil
    that was poured over Aaron’s head,
    that ran down his beard
    and onto the border of his robe.
³ Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon
    that falls on the mountains of Zion.
And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing,
    even life everlasting.

¹ Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
    you who serve at night in the house of the Lord.
² Lift your hands toward the sanctuary,
    and praise the Lord.

³ May the Lord, who made heaven and earth,
    bless you from Jerusalem.^[d]

Praise the name of the Lord!
    Praise him, you who serve the Lord,
² you who serve in the house of the Lord,
    in the courts of the house of our God.

³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
    celebrate his lovely name with music.
⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel for his own special treasure.

⁵ I know the greatness of the Lord—
    that our Lord is greater than any other god.
⁶ The Lord does whatever pleases him
    throughout all heaven and earth,
    and on the seas and in their depths.
⁷ He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth.
    He sends the lightning with the rain
    and releases the wind from his storehouses.

⁸ He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home,
    both people and animals.
⁹ He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt
    against Pharaoh and all his people.
¹⁰ He struck down great nations
    and slaughtered mighty kings—
¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites,
    Og king of Bashan,
    and all the kings of Canaan.
¹² He gave their land as an inheritance,
    a special possession to his people Israel.

¹³ Your name, O Lord, endures forever;
    your fame, O Lord, is known to every generation.
¹⁴ For the Lord will give justice to his people
    and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold,
    shaped by human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths but cannot speak,
    and eyes but cannot see.
¹⁷ They have ears but cannot hear,
    and mouths but cannot breathe.
¹⁸ And those who make idols are just like them,
    as are all who trust in them.

¹⁹ O Israel, praise the Lord!
    O priests—descendants of Aaron—praise the Lord!
²⁰ O Levites, praise the Lord!
    All you who fear the Lord, praise the Lord!
²¹ The Lord be praised from Zion,
    for he lives here in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

⁴ Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
⁵ Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.
⁶ Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.
His faithful love endures forever.
⁷ Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
⁸ the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
⁹ and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁰ Give thanks to him who killed the firstborn of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹¹ He brought Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹² He acted with a strong hand and powerful arm.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹³ Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea.^[e]
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁴ He led Israel safely through,
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁵ but he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁶ Give thanks to him who led his people through the wilderness.
His faithful love endures forever.

¹⁷ Give thanks to him who struck down mighty kings.
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁸ He killed powerful kings—
His faithful love endures forever.
¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites,
His faithful love endures forever.
²⁰ and Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love endures forever.
²¹ God gave the land of these kings as an inheritance—
His faithful love endures forever.
²² a special possession to his servant Israel.
His faithful love endures forever.

²³ He remembered us in our weakness.
His faithful love endures forever.
²⁴ He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love endures forever.
²⁵ He gives food to every living thing.
His faithful love endures forever.
²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His faithful love endures forever.

⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
⁶ May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
    if I fail to remember you,
    if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.

⁷ O Lord, remember what the Edomites did
    on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.
“Destroy it!” they yelled.
    “Level it to the ground!”
⁸ O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
    Happy is the one who pays you back
    for what you have done to us.
⁹ Happy is the one who takes your babies
    and smashes them against the rocks!

¹ I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
    I will sing your praises before the gods.
² I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
    I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
    by all the honor of your name.
³ As soon as I pray, you answer me;
    you encourage me by giving me strength.

⁴ Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
    for all of them will hear your words.
⁵ Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
    for the glory of the Lord is very great.
⁶ Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
    but he keeps his distance from the proud.

⁷ Though I am surrounded by troubles,
    you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
    and the power of your right hand saves me.
⁸ The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
    for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Don’t abandon me, for you made me.