135:10 He defeated many nations,
and killed mighty kings –
135:11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
135:12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
as an inheritance to Israel his people.
135:13 O Lord, your name endures, 1
your reputation, O Lord, lasts. 2
135:14 For the Lord vindicates 3 his people,
and has compassion on his servants. 4
135:15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold,
they are man-made. 5
135:16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
135:17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe. 6
135:18 Those who make them will end up 7 like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
1 tn Or “is forever.”
2 tn Heb “O
3 tn Heb “judges,” but here the idea is that the
4 sn Verse 14 echoes Deut 32:36, where Moses affirms that God mercifully relents from fully judging his wayward people.
5 tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”
6 tn Heb “indeed, there is not breath in their mouth.” For the collocation אַף אֵין (’af ’en, “indeed, there is not”) see Isa 41:26. Another option is to take אַף as “nose” (see Ps 115:6), in which case one might translate, “a nose, [but] they have no breath in their mouths.”
7 tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”