Beginning
Psalm 133
A song of David for those journeying to worship.
1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers and sisters live together in peace!
2 It is like the finest oils poured on the head,
sweet-smelling oils flowing down to cover the beard,
Flowing down the beard of Aaron,
flowing down the collar of his robe.
3 It is like the gentle rain of Mount Hermon
that falls on the hills of Zion.
Yes, from this place, the Eternal spoke the command,
from there He gave His blessing—life forever.
Psalm 134
A song for those journeying to worship.
1 Praise the Eternal, all you who serve Him—
who stand ready to serve in the house of the Eternal through the night.
2 Lift up your hands toward His sanctuary,
and praise the Eternal.
3 May the Eternal grant you His blessing from Zion,
God, the weaver of heaven and earth.
Psalm 135
1 Praise the Eternal!
Praise and glorify the name of the One who always has been and always will be;
praise Him, servants of the Eternal!
2 Join in the chorus, all you who minister in the Eternal’s temple;
in the courts of our God’s temple,
3 Glorify the Eternal, for He is good!
Sing praises, and honor His name for it is delightful.
4 For the Eternal made His choice; He selected Jacob as His own;
He claimed Israel as His possession.
5 Now I know this: the Eternal is great; His power is unmatched.
Our Master is above any so-called god.
6 He does whatever He pleases,
in heaven, on earth,
in the seas, and in all the ocean depths.
7 He draws up the clouds that rise over the whole earth,
He causes rain and the lightning to strike,
and He summons the wind from His storehouses.
8 He took the lives of Egypt’s firstborn,
human and beast alike.
9 O Egypt, He worked wonders and signs before your eyes,
signs against Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s servants.
10 He destroyed nation after nation
and killed mighty kings:
11 Sihon, the Amorite king;
Og, the king of Bashan;
and even all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12 He conquered their land and gave it as an inheritance—
an inheritance for His people, Israel.
13 Eternal One, Your name is everlasting.
Your legacy, Eternal One, will be known through all the ages.
14 For the Eternal will judge His people,
He will show compassion to those who serve Him.
15 The nations have idols of silver and gold,
crafted by human hands!
16 They shaped mouths for them, but they cannot speak;
they carved eyes into them, but they cannot see;
17 They placed ears on them, but they cannot hear;
they cannot breathe, not even a puff of air from their mouths!
18 The artisans who made them
are just like them,
and so are all who mistakenly trust in them, no exceptions.
19 House of Israel, praise the Eternal;
house of Aaron, praise the Eternal;
20 House of Levi, praise the Eternal;
all those who revere the Eternal, praise Him!
21 Blessed be the Eternal from Zion,
the One who has made Jerusalem His home.
Praise the Eternal!
Psalm 136
This hymn of praise recounts God’s actions in the past: creation, exodus, and the giving of the land to Israel. A repeated refrain indicates this psalm was chanted responsively.
1 Let your heart overflow with praise to the Eternal, for He is good,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
2 Praise the True God who reigns over all other gods,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
3 Praise the Lord who reigns over all other lords,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
4 To Him who alone does marvelous wonders,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
5 Who created the heavens with skill and artistry,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
6 Who laid out dry land over the waters,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
7 Who made the great heavenly lights,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
8 The sun to reign by day,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
9 The moon and stars to reign by night,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
10 To Him who struck down the firstborn of the Egyptians,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
11 Who set Israel free from Egyptian masters,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
12 With fierce strength, a mighty hand, and an outstretched arm,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
13 To Him who split the Red Sea[a] in two and made a path between the divided waters,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
14 Then allowed Israel to pass safely through on dry ground,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
15 To Him who crushed Pharaoh and his army in the waters of the Red Sea,[b]
for His faithful love lasts forever.
16 Who guided His people through the desert,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
17 Who struck down mighty kings,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
18 Who slaughtered famous kings,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
19 Sihon, the king of the Amorites,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
20 And Og, the king of Bashan,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
21 To Him who gave the conquered land as an inheritance,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
22 Who made the land a heritage to Israel, His servant,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
23 To Him who remembered us when we were nearly defeated,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
24 Who rescued us from our enemies,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
25 Who provides food for every living thing,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
26 Let your heart overflow with praise to the True God of heaven,
for His faithful love lasts forever.
Psalm 137
Psalm 137 is a lament written either during or shortly after the exile. It provides a vivid image of what life in exile must have been like.
1 By the rivers of Babylon,
we sat and wept
when we thought of Zion, our home, so far away.
2 On the branches of the willow trees,
we hung our harps and hid our hearts from the enemy.
3 And the men that surrounded us
made demands that we clap our hands and sing—
Songs of joy from days gone by,
songs from Zion, our home.
Such cruel men taunted us—haunted our memories.
4 How could we sing a song about the Eternal
in a land so foreign, while still tormented, brokenhearted, homesick?
Please don’t make us sing this song.
5-6 O Jerusalem, even still, don’t escape my memory.
I treasure you and your songs, even as I hide my harp from the enemy.
And if I can’t remember,
may I never sing a song again—
may my hands never play well again—
For what use would it be if I don’t remember Jerusalem
as my source of joy?
7 Remember, Eternal One, how the Edomites, our brothers, the descendants of Esau,
stood by and watched as Jerusalem fell.
Gloating, they said, “Destroy it;
tear it down to the ground,” when Jerusalem was being demolished.
8 O daughter of Babylon, you are destined for destruction!
Happy are those who pay you back for how you treated us
so you will no longer walk so proud.
9 Happy are those who dash your children against the rocks
so you will know how it feels.
Psalm 138
A song of David.
1 To You, Lord, I give my whole heart, a heart filled with praise, for I am grateful;
before the gods, my heart sings praises to You and You alone.
2 I bow before You, looking to Your holy temple,
and praise Your name, for Your unfailing love and Your truth;
for You have placed Your name and Your word over all things and all times.
3 On the day I needed You, I called, and You responded
and infused my soul with strength.
4 May all the kings of the earth praise You, O Eternal One,
because they have heard the words You have spoken.
5 They will marvel at the Eternal’s ways, and they will sing,
for great is the glory of the Eternal.
6 Although He is greatest of all, He is attentive to the needy
and keeps His distance from the proud and pompous.
7 Whenever I walk into trouble,
You are there to bring me out.
You hold out Your hand
to protect me against the wrath of my enemies,
and hold me safely in Your right hand.
8 The Eternal will finish what He started in me.
Your faithful love, O Eternal One, lasts forever;
do not give up on what Your hands have made.
Psalm 139
For the worship leader. A song of David.
1 O Eternal One, You have explored my heart and know exactly who I am;
2 You even know the small details like when I take a seat and when I stand up again.
Even when I am far away, You know what I’m thinking.
3 You observe my wanderings and my sleeping, my waking and my dreaming,
and You know everything I do in more detail than even I know.
4 You know what I’m going to say long before I say it.
It is true, Eternal One, that You know everything and everyone.
5 You have surrounded me on every side, behind me and before me,
and You have placed Your hand gently on my shoulder.
6 It is the most amazing feeling to know how deeply You know me, inside and out;
the realization of it is so great that I cannot comprehend it.
7 Can I go anywhere apart from Your Spirit?
Is there anywhere I can go to escape Your watchful presence?
8 If I go up into heaven, You are there.
If I make my bed in the realm of the dead, You are there.
9 If I ride on the wings of morning,
if I make my home in the most isolated part of the ocean,
10 Even then You will be there to guide me;
Your right hand will embrace me, for You are always there.
11 Even if I am afraid and think to myself, “There is no doubt that the darkness will swallow me,
the light around me will soon be turned to night,”
12 You can see in the dark, for it is not dark to Your eyes.
For You the night is just as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are the same to Your eyes.
13 For You shaped me, inside and out.
You knitted me together in my mother’s womb long before I took my first breath.
14 I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe.
You have approached even the smallest details with excellence;
Your works are wonderful;
I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.
15 You see all things; nothing about me was hidden from You
As I took shape in secret,
carefully crafted in the heart of the earth before I was born from its womb.
16 You see all things;
You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb;
Every detail of my life was already written in Your book;
You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it.
17 Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them!
How grand in scope! How many in number!
18 If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable!
Even when I wake up, I am still near to You.
19 I wish You would destroy all the wicked, O God.
So keep away from me, those who are thirsty for blood!
20 For they say such horrible things about You,
and those who are against You abuse Your good name.
21 Is it not true that I hate all who hate You, Eternal One?
Is it not true that I despise all who come against You?
22 Deep hatred boils within me toward them;
I am Your friend, and they are my enemies.
23 Explore me, O God, and know the real me. Dig deeply and discover who I am.
Put me to the test and watch how I handle the strain.
24 Examine me to see if there is an evil bone in me,
and guide me down Your path forever.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.