135  ^uPraise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord,

give praise, O ^vservants of the Lord,

2  who ⁿstand in the house of the Lord,

in ^wthe courts of the house of our God!

3  Praise the Lord, for ^xthe Lord is good;

sing to his name, ^yfor it is pleasant!¹

4  For the Lord has ^zchosen Jacob for himself,

Israel as his ^aown possession.

5  For I know that ^bthe Lord is great,

and that our Lord is above all gods.

6  ^cWhatever the Lord pleases, he does,

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and all deeps.

7  ^dHe it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,

who ^emakes lightnings for the rain

and brings forth the wind from his ^fstorehouses.

8  He it was who ^gstruck down the firstborn of Egypt,

both of man and of beast;

9  who in your midst, O Egypt,

sent ^hsigns and wonders

against Pharaoh and all his servants;

10  ⁱwho struck down many nations

and killed mighty kings,

11  ^jSihon, king of the Amorites,

and ^kOg, king of Bashan,

and ^lall the kingdoms of Canaan,

12  and ^mgave their land as a heritage,

a heritage to his people Israel.

13  ⁿYour name, O Lord, endures forever,

^oyour renown,² O Lord, throughout all ages.

14  ^pFor the Lord will vindicate his people

and ^qhave compassion on his servants.

15  ^rThe idols of the nations are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

16  They have mouths, but do not speak;

they have eyes, but do not see;

17  they have ears, but do not hear,

nor is there any breath in their mouths.

18  Those who make them become like them,

so do all who trust in them.

19  ^sO house of Israel, bless the Lord!

O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!

20  O house of Levi, bless the Lord!

You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!

21  Blessed be the Lord ^tfrom Zion,

he who ^udwells in Jerusalem!

^vPraise the Lord!

136  ^wGive thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

^xfor his steadfast love endures forever.

2  Give thanks to ^ythe God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

3  Give thanks to ^ythe Lord of lords,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

4  to him who alone ^zdoes great wonders,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

5  to him who ^aby understanding ^bmade the heavens,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

6  to him who ^cspread out the earth ^dabove the waters,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

7  to him who ^emade the great lights,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

8  the sun to rule over the day,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

9  the moon and stars to rule over the night,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

10  to him who ^fstruck down the firstborn of Egypt,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

11  and ^gbrought Israel out from among them,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

12  with ^ha strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

13  to him who ⁱdivided the Red Sea in two,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

14  ^jand made Israel pass through the midst of it,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

15  but ^koverthrew¹ Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

16  to him who ^lled his people through the wilderness,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

17  to him ^mwho struck down great kings,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

18  and killed mighty kings,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

19  Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

20  and Og, king of Bashan,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

21  and gave their land as a heritage,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

22  a heritage to Israel his ⁿservant,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

23  It is he who ^oremembered us in our low estate,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

24  and ^prescued us from our foes,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

25  he who ^qgives food to all flesh,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

26  Give thanks to ^rthe God of heaven,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

137  By the waters of Babylon,

there we sat down and wept,

when we remembered Zion.

2  On the willows¹ there

we hung up our lyres.

3  For there our captors

required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4  ^sHow shall we sing the Lord’s song

in a foreign land?

5  If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

^tlet my right hand forget its skill!

6  Let my ^utongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy!

7  Remember, O Lord, against the ^vEdomites

^wthe day of Jerusalem,

how they said, ^x“Lay it bare, lay it bare,

down to its foundations!”

8  O daughter of Babylon, ^ydoomed to be destroyed,

blessed shall he be who ^zrepays you

with what you have done to us!

9  Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones

and ^adashes them against the rock!

138  ^bI give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before ^cthe gods I sing your praise;

2  I bow down ^dtoward your ^eholy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.¹

3  On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.²

4  ^fAll the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

5  and they shall sing of ^gthe ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

6  ^hFor though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

7  ⁱThough I walk in the midst of trouble,

you ^jpreserve my life;

you ^kstretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your ^lright hand delivers me.

8  The Lord will ^mfulfill his purpose for me;

ⁿyour steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake ^othe work of your hands.

139  O Lord, you have ^psearched me and known me!

2  You ^qknow when I sit down and when I rise up;

you ^rdiscern my thoughts from afar.

3  You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

4  Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, ^syou know it altogether.

5  You ^them me in, behind and before,

and ^ulay your hand upon me.

6  ^vSuch knowledge is ^wtoo wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

7  ^xWhere shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where ^yshall I flee from your presence?

8  ^zIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!

^aIf I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

9  If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10  even there your hand shall ^blead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

11  If I say, ^c“Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

12  ^deven the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

13  For you ^eformed my inward parts;

you ^fknitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.¹

^gWonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

15  ^hMy frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in ⁱthe depths of the earth.

16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your ^jbook were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

17  How precious to me are your ^kthoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18  ^lIf I would count them, they are more than ^mthe sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

19  Oh that you would ⁿslay the wicked, O God!

O ^omen of blood, ^pdepart from me!

20  They ^qspeak against you with malicious intent;

your enemies ^rtake your name in vain.²

21  ^sDo I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not ^tloathe those who ^urise up against you?

22  I hate them with complete hatred;

I count them my enemies.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart!

^vTry me and know my thoughts!³

24  And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and ^wlead me in ^xthe way everlasting!⁴