Psalm 136-139
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 136
God’s Love Is Eternal
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.(A)
His love is eternal.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love is eternal.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.(B)
His love is eternal.
4 He alone does great wonders.(C)
His love is eternal.
5 He made the heavens skillfully.(D)
His love is eternal.
6 He spread the land on the waters.(E)
His love is eternal.
7 He made the great lights:(F)
His love is eternal.
8 the sun to rule by day,
His love is eternal.
9 the moon and stars to rule by night.(G)
His love is eternal.
10 He struck the firstborn of the Egyptians(H)
His love is eternal.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love is eternal.
12 with a strong hand and outstretched arm.(I)
His love is eternal.
13 He divided the Red Sea(J)
His love is eternal.
14 and led Israel through,(K)
His love is eternal.
15 but hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.(L)
His love is eternal.
16 He led His people in the wilderness.(M)
His love is eternal.
17 He struck down great kings
His love is eternal.
18 and slaughtered famous kings—
His love is eternal.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love is eternal.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love is eternal.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love is eternal.
22 an inheritance to Israel His servant.(N)
His love is eternal.
23 He remembered us in our humiliation(O)
His love is eternal.
24 and rescued us from our foes.(P)
His love is eternal.
25 He gives food to every creature.(Q)
His love is eternal.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven!(R)
His love is eternal.
Psalm 137
Lament of the Exiles
1 By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down and wept
when we remembered Zion.(S)
2 There we hung up our lyres
on the poplar trees,(T)
3 for our captors there asked us for songs,
and our tormentors, for rejoicing:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”(U)
4 How can we sing the Lord’s song
on foreign soil?(V)
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.(W)
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!(X)
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said
that day[a] at Jerusalem:
“Destroy it! Destroy it
down to its foundations!”(Y)
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who pays you back
what you have done to us.(Z)
9 Happy is he who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rocks.(AA)
Psalm 138
A Thankful Heart
Davidic.
1 I will give You thanks with all my heart;(AB)
I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings.[b](AC)
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your constant love and truth.
You have exalted Your name
and Your promise above everything else.(AD)
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You increased strength within me.[c](AE)
4 All the kings on earth will give You thanks, Lord,
when they hear what You have promised.[d](AF)
5 They will sing of the Lord’s ways,
for the Lord’s glory is great.(AG)
6 Though the Lord is exalted,
He takes note of the humble;
but He knows the haughty from a distance.(AH)
7 If I walk into the thick of danger,
You will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.(AI)
You will extend Your hand;
Your right hand will save me.(AJ)
8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.(AK)
Lord, Your love is eternal;
do not abandon the work of Your hands.(AL)
Psalm 139
The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, You have searched me and known me.(AM)
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
You understand my thoughts from far away.(AN)
3 You observe my travels and my rest;
You are aware of all my ways.(AO)
4 Before a word is on my tongue,
You know all about it, Lord.(AP)
5 You have encircled me;
You have placed Your hand on me.(AQ)
6 This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.(AR)
7 Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence?(AS)
8 If I go up to heaven, You are there;(AT)
if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.(AU)
9 If I live at the eastern horizon
or settle at the western limits,[e]
10 even there Your hand will lead me;
Your right hand will hold on to me.(AV)
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night”(AW)—
12 even the darkness is not dark to You.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to You.(AX)
13 For it was You who created my inward parts;[f]
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.(AY)
14 I will praise You
because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.[g][h]
Your works are wonderful,
and I know this very well.(AZ)
15 My bones were not hidden from You
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.(BA)
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in Your book and planned
before a single one of them began.(BB)
17 God, how difficult[i] Your thoughts are
for me to comprehend;
how vast their sum is!
18 If I counted them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;(BC)
when I wake up,[j] I am still with You.(BD)
19 God, if only You would kill the wicked—
you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me(BE)—
20 who invoke You deceitfully.
Your enemies swear by You falsely.(BF)
21 Lord, don’t I hate those who hate You,
and detest those who rebel against You?
22 I hate them with extreme hatred;
I consider them my enemies.(BG)
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.(BH)
24 See if there is any offensive[k] way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.(BI)
Footnotes
- Psalm 137:7 The day Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 b.c.
- Psalm 138:1 Or before the gods, or before judges, or before kings; Hb elohim
- Psalm 138:3 Hb obscure
- Psalm 138:4 Lit hear the words of Your mouth
- Psalm 139:9 Lit I take up the wings of the dawn; I dwell at the end of the sea
- Psalm 139:13 Lit my kidneys
- Psalm 139:14 DSS, some LXX mss, Syr, Jer read because You are remarkable and wonderful
- Psalm 139:14 Hb obscure
- Psalm 139:17 Or precious
- Psalm 139:18 Some Hb mss read I come to an end
- Psalm 139:24 Or idolatrous
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