Psalms 134:1-2

Psalm 134 ¹ 

A song of ascents. ² 

134:1 Attention! ³  Praise the Lord,

all you servants of the Lord,

who serve ⁴  in the Lord’s temple during the night.

134:2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary

and praise the Lord!

Psalms 135:1-3

Psalm 135 ⁵ 

135:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord!

Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,

135:2 who serve ⁶  in the Lord’s temple,

in the courts of the temple of our God.

135:3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good!

Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant! ⁷ 

[134:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 134. The psalmist calls on the temple servants to praise God (vv. 1-2). They in turn pronounce a blessing on the psalmist (v. 3).

[134:1]  ² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[134:1]  ³ tn Heb “Look!”

[134:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “stand.”

[135:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 135. The psalmist urges God’s people to praise him because he is the incomparable God and ruler of the world who has accomplished great things for Israel.

[135:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “stand.”

[135:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “for [it is] pleasant.” The translation assumes that it is the Lord’s “name” that is pleasant. Another option is to understand the referent of “it” as the act of praising (see Ps 147:1).