Psalm 133-139

New American Standard Bible

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For ^(A)brothers to live together in unity!
²It is like the precious ^(B)oil on the head,
Running down upon the beard,
As on Aaron’s beard,
The oil which ran down upon the ^(C)edge of his robes.
³It is like the ^(D)dew of ^(E)Hermon
Coming down upon the ^(F)mountains of Zion;
For the Lord ^(G)commanded the blessing there—^(H)life forever.

Greetings of Night Watchers.

A Song of Ascents.

134 Behold, ^(I)bless the Lord, all you ^(J)servants of the Lord,
Who ^[a]^(K)serve ^(L)by night in the house of the Lord!
²^(M)Lift up your hands to the ^(N)sanctuary
And bless the Lord.
³May the Lord ^(O)bless you from Zion,
He who ^(P)made heaven and earth.

Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Futility of Idols.

135 ^[b]^(Q)Praise ^[c]the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, you ^(R)servants of the Lord,
²You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the ^(S)courtyards of the house of our God!
³^[d]Praise ^[e]the Lord, for ^(T)the Lord is good;
^(U)Sing praises to His name, ^(V)for it is lovely.
⁴For ^[f]the Lord has ^(W)chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel as His ^(X)own possession.

⁵For I know that ^(Y)the Lord is great
And that our Lord is ^(Z)above all gods.
⁶^(AA)Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the ocean depths.
⁷^[g]He ^(AB)causes the ^[h]mist to ascend from the ends of the earth,
^[i]He ^(AC)makes lightning for the rain;
^[j]He ^(AD)brings forth the wind from His treasuries.

⁸^[k]He ^(AE)struck the firstborn of Egypt,
^[l]Both human firstborn and animal.
⁹^[m]He sent ^(AF)signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
Upon ^(AG)Pharaoh and all his servants.
¹⁰^[n]^(AH)He ^(AI)struck many nations
And brought death to mighty kings,
¹¹^(AJ)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
^(AK)Og, king of Bashan,
And ^(AL)all the kingdoms of Canaan;
¹²And He ^(AM)gave their land as an inheritance,
An inheritance to His people Israel.
¹³Your ^(AN)name, Lord, is everlasting,
The mention of You, Lord, is ^[o]throughout all generations.
¹⁴For the Lord will ^(AO)judge His people
And ^(AP)will have compassion on His servants.
¹⁵The ^(AQ)idols of the nations are nothing but silver and gold,
The work of human hands.
¹⁶They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
¹⁷They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
¹⁸Those who make them will become like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.

¹⁹House of ^(AR)Israel, bless the Lord;
House of Aaron, bless the Lord;
²⁰House of Levi, bless the Lord;
You ^(AS)who ^[p]revere the Lord, bless the Lord.
²¹Blessed be the Lord ^(AT)from Zion,
Who ^(AU)dwells in Jerusalem.
^[q]Praise ^[r]the Lord!

Thanks for the Lord’s Goodness to Israel.

136 ^(AV)Give thanks to the Lord, for ^(AW)He is good,
For ^(AX)His ^[s]faithfulness is everlasting.
²Give thanks to the ^(AY)God of gods,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
³Give thanks to the ^(AZ)Lord of lords,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
⁴To Him who ^(BA)alone does great ^[t]wonders,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
⁵To Him who ^(BB)made the heavens ^[u]^(BC)with skill,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
⁶To Him who ^(BD)spread out the earth above the waters,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
⁷To Him who ^(BE)made the great lights,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
⁸The ^(BF)sun to rule ^[v]by day,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
⁹The ^(BG)moon and stars to rule ^[w]by night,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.

¹⁰To Him who ^(BH)struck ^[x]the Egyptians, that is, their firstborn,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹¹And ^(BI)brought Israel out from their midst,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹²With a ^(BJ)strong hand and an ^(BK)outstretched arm,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
¹³To Him who ^(BL)divided the ^[y]Red Sea in parts,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹⁴And ^(BM)allowed Israel to pass through the midst of it,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
¹⁵But ^(BN)He ^[z]overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the ^[aa]Red Sea,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
¹⁶To Him who ^(BO)led His people through the wilderness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
¹⁷To Him who ^(BP)struck great kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
¹⁸And ^(BQ)brought death to ^[ab]mighty kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
¹⁹^(BR)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²⁰And ^(BS)Og, king of Bashan,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²¹And ^(BT)gave their land as an inheritance,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²²An inheritance to His ^(BU)servant Israel,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.

²³Who ^(BV)remembered us in our lowliness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
²⁴And has ^(BW)rescued us from our enemies,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
²⁵Who ^(BX)gives food to all flesh,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
²⁶Give thanks to the ^(BY)God of heaven,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.

An Experience of the Captivity.

137 By the ^(BZ)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and ^(CA)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
²Upon the ^[ac]^(CB)willows in the midst of it
We ^(CC)hung our ^[ad]harps.
³For there our captors ^[ae]^(CD)demanded of us ^[af]songs,
And ^(CE)our tormentors, jubilation, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!”

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

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

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.

138 ^(CO)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing Your praises before the ^(CP)gods.
²I will bow down ^(CQ)toward Your holy temple
And ^(CR)give thanks to Your name for Your mercy and Your ^[ak]truth;
For You have ^(CS)made Your ^[al]word great ^[am]according to all Your name.
³On the day I ^(CT)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with ^(CU)strength in my soul.

⁴^(CV)All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
⁵And they will ^(CW)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For ^(CX)great is the glory of the Lord.
⁶For ^(CY)the Lord is exalted,
Yet He ^(CZ)looks after the lowly,
But He knows the ^(DA)haughty from afar.

⁷Though I ^(DB)walk in the midst of trouble, You will ^[an]^(DC)revive me;
You will ^(DD)reach out with Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will ^(DE)save me.
⁸The Lord will ^(DF)accomplish what concerns me;
Your ^(DG)faithfulness, Lord, is everlasting;
^(DH)Do not abandon the ^(DI)works of Your hands.

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

139 Lord, You have ^(DJ)searched me and known me.
²You ^(DK)know ^[ao]when I sit down and ^[ap]when I get up;
You ^(DL)understand my thought from far away.
³You ^[aq]^(DM)scrutinize my ^[ar]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴^[as]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You ^(DN)know it all.
⁵You have ^(DO)encircled me behind and in front,
And ^(DP)placed Your hand upon me.
⁶Such ^(DQ)knowledge is ^(DR)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.

⁷^(DS)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸^(DT)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in ^[at]Sheol, behold, ^(DU)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 ^(DV)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the ^(DW)darkness will ^[au]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
¹²Even ^(DX)darkness is not dark ^[av]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
^(DY)Darkness and light are alike to You.

¹³For You ^(DZ)created my innermost parts;
You ^(EA)wove me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I will give thanks to You, because ^[aw]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
^(EB)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵My ^[ax]^(EC)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the ^(ED)depths of the earth;
¹⁶Your ^(EE)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in ^(EF)Your book were written
All the ^(EG)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

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

¹⁹If only You would ^(EK)put the wicked to death, God;
^(EL)Leave me, ^(EM)you men of bloodshed.
²⁰For they ^(EN)speak ^[ay]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies ^[az]^(EO)take Your name in vain.
²¹Do I not ^(EP)hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not ^(EQ)loathe those who rise up against You?
²²I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

²³^(ER)Search me, God, and know my heart;
^(ES)Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
²⁴And see if there is any ^[ba]^(ET)hurtful way in me,
And ^(EU)lead me in the ^(EV)everlasting way.