Psalm 135

Footnotes

1. 5 Psalm 135. The psalmist urges God’s people to praise him because he is the incomparable God and ruler of the world who has accomplished great things for Israel.
2. 1 Heb “stand.”
3. 2 Heb “for [it is] pleasant.” The translation assumes that it is the Lord’s “name” that is pleasant. Another option is to understand the referent of “it” as the act of praising (see Ps 147:1).
4. 3 Or “for.”
5. 4 His special possession. The language echoes Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18. See also Mal 3:17.
6. 5 Or “for.”
7. 6 Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).
8. 7 Or “portents”; “omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are alluded to here.
9. 8 Or “is forever.”
10. 9 Heb “O Lord, your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.” See Ps 102:12.
11. 10 Heb “judges,” but here the idea is that the Lord “judges on behalf of” his people. The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic actions.
12. 11 Verse 14 echoes Deut 32:36, where Moses affirms that God mercifully relents from fully judging his wayward people.
13. 12 Heb “the work of the hands of man.”
14. 13 Heb “indeed, there is not breath in their mouth.” For the collocation אַף אֵין (’af ’en, “indeed, there is not”) see Isa 41:26. Another option is to take אַף as “nose” (see Ps 115:6), in which case one might translate, “a nose, [but] they have no breath in their mouths.”
15. 14 Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.” Because the idols are lifeless, they cannot help their worshipers in times of crisis. Consequently the worshipers end up as dead as the gods in which they trust.
16. 15 Heb “house” (here and in the next two lines).
17. 16 Heb “fearers.”
18. 17 Heb “praised be the Lord from Zion.”
19. 18 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .