Psalm 136-142

New King James Version

Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy

136 Oh, ^(A)give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
^(B)For His mercy endures forever.
²Oh, give thanks to ^(C)the God of gods!
For His mercy endures forever.
³Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His mercy endures forever:

⁴To Him ^(D)who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever;
⁵^(E)To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever;
⁶^(F)To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,
For His mercy endures forever;
⁷^(G)To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever—
⁸^(H)The sun to rule by day,
For His mercy endures forever;
⁹The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His mercy endures forever.

¹⁰^(I)To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹¹^(J)And brought out Israel from among them,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹²^(K)With a strong hand, and with ^[a]an outstretched arm,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹³^(L)To Him who divided the Red Sea in two,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹⁴And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹⁵^(M)But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹⁶^(N)To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹⁷^(O)To Him who struck down great kings,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹⁸^(P)And slew famous kings,
For His mercy endures forever—
¹⁹^(Q)Sihon king of the Amorites,
For His mercy endures forever;
²⁰^(R)And Og king of Bashan,
For His mercy endures forever—
²¹^(S)And gave their land as a ^[b]heritage,
For His mercy endures forever;
²²A heritage to Israel His servant,
For His mercy endures forever.

²³Who ^(T)remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
²⁴And ^(U)rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
²⁵^(V)Who gives food to all flesh,
For His mercy endures forever.

²⁶Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.

Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land

137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
²We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
³For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who ^(W)plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴How shall we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
⁶If I do not remember you,
Let my ^(X)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.

⁷Remember, O Lord, against ^(Y)the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, ^[c]“Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!”

⁸O daughter of Babylon, ^(Z)who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one ^(AA)who repays you as you have served us!
⁹Happy the one who takes and ^(AB)dashes
Your little ones against the rock!

The Lord’s Goodness to the Faithful

A Psalm of David.

138 I will praise You with my whole heart;
^(AC)Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
²^(AD)I will worship ^(AE)toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have ^(AF)magnified Your word above all Your name.
³In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

⁴^(AG)All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
⁵Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
⁶^(AH)Though the Lord is on high,
Yet ^(AI)He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.

⁷^(AJ)Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
⁸^(AK)The Lord will ^[d]perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
^(AL)Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, ^(AM)You have searched me and known me.
²^(AN)You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You ^(AO)understand my thought afar off.
³^(AP)You ^[e]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, ^(AQ)You know it altogether.
⁵You have ^[f]hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶^(AR)Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷^(AS)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸^(AT)If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
^(AU)If I make my bed in ^[g]hell, behold, You are there.
⁹If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall ^[h]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
¹²Indeed, ^(AV)the darkness ^[i]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

¹³For You formed my inward parts;
You ^[j]covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I will praise You, for ^[k]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵^(AW)My ^[l]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

¹⁷^(AX)How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
¹⁸If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹Oh, that You would ^(AY)slay the wicked, O God!
^(AZ)Depart from me, therefore, you ^[m]bloodthirsty men.
²⁰For they ^(BA)speak against You wickedly;
^[n]Your enemies take Your name in vain.
²¹^(BB)Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
²²I hate them with ^[o]perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

²³^(BC)Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
²⁴And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And ^(BD)lead me in the way everlasting.

Prayer for Deliverance from Evil Men

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

140 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men,
²Who plan evil things in their hearts;
^(BE)They continually gather together for war.
³They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The ^(BF)poison of asps is under their lips. Selah

⁴^(BG)Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men,
Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.
⁵The proud have hidden a ^(BH)snare for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah

⁶I said to the Lord: “You are my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.
⁷O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have ^[p]covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further his wicked scheme,
^(BI)Lest they be exalted. Selah

⁹“As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;
¹⁰^(BJ)Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
¹¹Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”

¹²I know that the Lord will ^(BK)maintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.
¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

Prayer for Safekeeping from Wickedness

A Psalm of David.

141 Lord, I cry out to You;
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
²Let my prayer be set before You ^(BL)as incense,
^(BM)The lifting up of my hands as ^(BN)the evening sacrifice.

³Set a guard, O Lord, over my ^(BO)mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
^(BP)And do not let me eat of their delicacies.

⁵^(BQ)Let the righteous strike me;
It shall be a kindness.
And let him rebuke me;
It shall be as excellent oil;
Let my head not refuse it.

For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
⁶Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the ^[q]cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
⁷Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,
As when one plows and breaks up the earth.

⁸But ^(BR)my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
^[r]Do not leave my soul destitute.
⁹Keep me from ^(BS)the snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
¹⁰^(BT)Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely.

A Plea for Relief from Persecutors

A ^(BU)Contemplation^[s] of David. A Prayer ^(BV)when he was in the cave.

142 I cry out to the Lord with my voice;
With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
²I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.

³When my spirit ^[t]was ^(BW)overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly ^(BX)set a snare for me.
⁴Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.

⁵I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
⁶^[u]Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
⁷Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may ^(BY)praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.”