Psalm 137–139
1 By the rivers of Babylonp we sat and weptq
when we remembered Zion.r
2 There on the poplarss
we hung our harps,t
3 for there our captorsu asked us for songs,
our tormentors demandedv songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”w
4 How can we sing the songs of the Lordx
while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you,y Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roofz of my mouth
if I do not remembera you,
if I do not consider Jerusalemb
my highest joy.
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomitesc did
on the day Jerusalem fell.d
“Tear it down,” they cried,
“tear it down to its foundations!”e
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,f
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes themg against the rocks.
1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
before the “gods”h I will singi your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy templej
and will praise your namek
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,l
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.m
3 When I called,n you answered me;o
you greatly emboldenedp me.
4 May all the kings of the earthq praise you, Lord,
when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they singr of the ways of the Lord,
for the glory of the Lords is great.
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;t
though lofty, he sees themu from afar.
7 Though I walkv in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.w
You stretch out your handx against the anger of my foes;y
with your right handz you save me.a
8 The Lord will vindicateb me;
your love, Lord, endures foreverc—
do not abandond the works of your hands.e
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me,f Lord,
and you knowg me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;h
you perceive my thoughtsi from afar.
3 You discern my going outj and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.k
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.l
5 You hem me inm behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,n
too loftyo for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I fleep from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens,q you are there;
if I make my bedr in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,s
your right handt will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be darku to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;v
you knit me togetherw in my mother’s womb.x
14 I praise youy because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,z
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was madea in the secret place,
when I was woven togetherb in the depths of the earth.c
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordainedd for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,a e God!f
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,g
they would outnumber the grains of sandh—
when I awake,i I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!j
Away from me,k you who are bloodthirsty!l
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversariesm misuse your name.n
21 Do I not hate thoseo who hate you, Lord,
and abhorp those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.q
23 Search me,r God, and know my heart;s
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive wayt in me,
and lead meu in the way everlasting.