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Thanks for the Lord’s Goodness to Israel.

136 [a]Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness endures forever.

To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

To Him who stretched out the earth upon the waters,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

To Him who made the great lights,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

The sun to rule over the day,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

10 
To Him who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;(A)
11 
And brought Israel out from among them,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;(B)
12 
With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
13 
To Him who divided the [b]Red Sea into parts,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;(C)
14 
And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
15 
But tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
16 
To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
17 
To Him who struck down great kings,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
18 
And killed mighty kings,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;(D)
19 
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;(E)
20 
And Og, king of Bashan,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;(F)
21 
And gave their land as a heritage,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
22 
Even a heritage to Israel His servant,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;(G)

23 
Who [faithfully] remembered us in our lowly condition,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
24 
And has rescued us from our enemies,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
25 
Who gives food to all flesh,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
26 
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

An Experience of the Captivity.

137 By the rivers of Babylon,
There we [captives] sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].

On the willow trees in the midst of Babylon
We hung our harps.

For there they who took us captive demanded of us a song with words,
And our tormentors [who made a mockery of us demanded] amusement, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”


How can we sing the Lord’s song
In a strange and foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget [her skill with the harp].

Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not prefer Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.(H)


Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom,
The day of [the fall of] Jerusalem,
Who said “Down, down [with her]
To her very foundation.”

O daughter of Babylon, you devastator,
How blessed will be the one
Who repays you [with destruction] as you have repaid us.(I)

How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones
Against the rock.

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.

138 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.

I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word together with Your name.

On the day I called, You answered me;
And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.


All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord,
When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].

Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts],
For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord.

Though the Lord is exalted,
He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship];
But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.(J)


Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.(K)

The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me;
Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever—
Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.(L)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 136:1 The ancient rabbis said that the twenty-six verses of this Psalm correspond to the twenty-six generations from Adam to Moses. They maintained that since these generations were not given the Torah (Law), they could not earn merit and were sustained only by God’s “lovingkindness.”
  2. Psalm 136:13 Lit Sea of Reeds.

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