Psalms 135:1-17
Context135:1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,
135:2 who serve 2 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! 3
135:4 Indeed, 4 the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel to be his special possession. 5
135:5 Yes, 6 I know the Lord is great,
and our Lord is superior to all gods.
135:6 He does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the ocean depths.
135:7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth,
makes lightning bolts accompany the rain,
and brings the wind out of his storehouses.
135:8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
135:9 He performed awesome deeds 7 and acts of judgment 8
in your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
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, 9
your reputation, O Lord, lasts. 10
135:14 For the Lord vindicates 11 his people,
and has compassion on his servants. 12
135:15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold,
they are man-made. 13
135:16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
135:17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe. 14
[135:1] 1 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.
[135:3] 3 tn Heb “for [it is] pleasant.” The translation assumes that it is the
[135:4] 5 sn His special possession. The language echoes Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18. See also Mal 3:17.
[135:9] 7 tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).
[135:9] 8 tn Or “portents”; “omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are alluded to here.
[135:13] 9 tn Or “is forever.”
[135:13] 10 tn Heb “O
[135:14] 11 tn Heb “judges,” but here the idea is that the
[135:14] 12 sn Verse 14 echoes Deut 32:36, where Moses affirms that God mercifully relents from fully judging his wayward people.
[135:15] 13 tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”
[135:17] 14 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.”