Psalm 135-137

English Standard Version

Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever

135 ^(A)Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
    give praise, O ^(B)servants of the Lord,
²who ^(C)stand in the house of the Lord,
    in ^(D)the courts of the house of our God!
³Praise the Lord, for ^(E)the Lord is good;
    sing to his name, ^(F)for it is pleasant!^[a]
⁴For the Lord has ^(G)chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel as his ^(H)own possession.

⁵For I know that ^(I)the Lord is great,
    and that our Lord is above all gods.
⁶^(J)Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
⁷^(K)He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who ^(L)makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his ^(M)storehouses.

⁸He it was who ^(N)struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    both of man and of beast;
⁹who in your midst, O Egypt,
    sent ^(O)signs and wonders
    against Pharaoh and all his servants;
¹⁰^(P)who struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings,
¹¹^(Q)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    and ^(R)Og, king of Bashan,
    and ^(S)all the kingdoms of Canaan,
¹²and ^(T)gave their land as a heritage,
    a heritage to his people Israel.

¹³^(U)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
^(V)your renown,^[b] O Lord, throughout all ages.
¹⁴^(W)For the Lord will vindicate his people
and ^(X)have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵^(Y)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
¹⁶They have mouths, but do not speak;
    they have eyes, but do not see;
¹⁷they have ears, but do not hear,
    nor is there any breath in their mouths.
¹⁸Those who make them become like them,
    so do all who trust in them.

¹⁹^(Z)O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
    O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
²⁰O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
    You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
²¹Blessed be the Lord ^(AA)from Zion,
    he who ^(AB)dwells in Jerusalem!
^(AC)Praise the Lord!

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

136 ^(AD)Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    ^(AE)for his steadfast love endures forever.
²Give thanks to ^(AF)the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
³Give thanks to ^(AG)the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

⁴to him who alone ^(AH)does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁵to him who ^(AI)by understanding ^(AJ)made the heavens,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁶to him who ^(AK)spread out the earth ^(AL)above the waters,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁷to him who ^(AM)made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁸the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
⁹the moon and stars to rule over the night,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁰to him who ^(AN)struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹¹and ^(AO)brought Israel out from among them,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹²with ^(AP)a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹³to him who ^(AQ)divided the Red Sea in two,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁴^(AR)and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁵but ^(AS)overthrew^[c] Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁶to him who ^(AT)led his people through the wilderness,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁷to him ^(AU)who struck down great kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁸and killed mighty kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
¹⁹Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁰and Og, king of Bashan,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²¹and gave their land as a heritage,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²²a heritage to Israel his ^(AV)servant,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

²³It is he who ^(AW)remembered us in our low estate,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁴and ^(AX)rescued us from our foes,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
²⁵he who ^(AY)gives food to all flesh,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

²⁶Give thanks to ^(AZ)the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song?

137 By the waters of Babylon,
    there we sat down and wept,
    when we remembered Zion.
²On the willows^[d] there
    we hung up our lyres.
³For there our captors
    required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴^(BA)How shall we sing the Lord's song
    in a foreign land?
⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    ^(BB)let my right hand forget its skill!
⁶Let my ^(BC)tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
    above my highest joy!

⁷Remember, O Lord, against the ^(BD)Edomites
    ^(BE)the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, ^(BF)“Lay it bare, lay it bare,
    down to its foundations!”
⁸O daughter of Babylon, ^(BG)doomed to be destroyed,
    blessed shall he be who ^(BH)repays you
    with what you have done to us!
⁹Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
    and ^(BI)dashes them against the rock!