Psalm 136–140

Psalm 136

1 Give thankse to the Lord, for he is good.f

His love endures forever.g

2 Give thanksh to the God of gods.i

His love endures forever.

3 Give thanksj to the Lord of lords:k

His love endures forever.

4 to him who alone does great wonders,l

His love endures forever.

5 who by his understandingm made the heavens,n

His love endures forever.

6 who spread out the eartho upon the waters,p

His love endures forever.

7 who made the great lightsq—

His love endures forever.

8 the sun to governr the day,

His love endures forever.

9 the moon and stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever.

10 to him who struck down the firstborns of Egypt

His love endures forever.

11 and brought Israel outt from among them

His love endures forever.

12 with a mighty handu and outstretched arm;v

His love endures forever.

13 to him who divided the Red Seaa w asunder

His love endures forever.

14 and brought Israel throughx the midst of it,

His love endures forever.

15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;y

His love endures forever.

16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;z

His love endures forever.

17 to him who struck down great kings,a

His love endures forever.

18 and killed mighty kingsb—

His love endures forever.

19 Sihon king of the Amoritesc

His love endures forever.

20 and Og king of Bashand—

His love endures forever.

21 and gave their lande as an inheritance,f

His love endures forever.

22 an inheritanceg to his servant Israel.h

His love endures forever.

23 He remembered usi in our low estate

His love endures forever.

24 and freed usj from our enemies.k

His love endures forever.

25 He gives foodl to every creature.

His love endures forever.

26 Give thanksm to the God of heaven.n

His love endures forever.o

Psalm 137

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.

Psalm 138

Of David.

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

Psalm 139

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.

Psalm 140a

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 Rescue me,v Lord, from evildoers;

protect me from the violent,w

2 who devise evil plansx in their hearts

and stir up wary every day.

3 They make their tongues as sharp asz a serpent’s;

the poison of vipersa is on their lips.b

4 Keep me safe,b Lord, from the hands of the wicked;c

protect me from the violent,

who devise ways to trip my feet.

5 The arrogant have hidden a snared for me;

they have spread out the cords of their nete

and have set trapsf for me along my path.

6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”g

Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.h

7 Sovereign Lord,i my strong deliverer,

you shield my head in the day of battle.

8 Do not grant the wickedj their desires, Lord;

do not let their plans succeed.

9 Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;

may the mischief of their lips engulf them.k

10 May burning coals fall on them;

may they be thrown into the fire,l

into miry pits, never to rise.

11 May slanderers not be established in the land;

may disaster hunt down the violent.m

12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poorn

and upholds the causeo of the needy.p

13 Surely the righteous will praise your name,q

and the upright will liver in your presence.s