Psalms 136

Give thanks to the LORD, because he is good. His faithful love lasts forever.

1O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Note"LORD" in capitals stands for the Hebrew personal name of God, YHWH, which later readers avoided pronouncing and replaced aloud with the ordinary word for "lord." The second half of every verse is a refrain: this psalm was built to be performed with a leader singing the first line and the congregation answering the same words back, twenty-six times. "Faithful love" translates the Hebrew word hesed, which covers loyalty, kindness and steady commitment inside a binding relationship all at once; the King James "mercy" is narrower than the Hebrew.

2Give thanks to the God who is above all gods. His faithful love lasts forever.

2O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Note"God of gods" is a standard Hebrew way of making a superlative, the same pattern as "song of songs" or "king of kings." It means the highest of the whole class.

3Give thanks to the Lord who is above all lords. His faithful love lasts forever.

3O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Note"Lord" here is a different Hebrew word from the name in verse 1: it is the everyday word for a master or owner, the person a servant answers to. "Lord of lords" is again the superlative pattern: the master over every master.

4Give thanks to the one who alone does great and wonderful things. His faithful love lasts forever.

4To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

5Give thanks to the one who made the heavens with skill and understanding. His faithful love lasts forever.

5To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

NoteThe Hebrew word behind "skill and understanding" is the term for a craftsman's practical know-how, the competence of someone who builds well, rather than abstract cleverness.

6Give thanks to the one who spread out the earth on top of the waters. His faithful love lasts forever.

6To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

NoteThis reflects the picture of the world assumed throughout the ancient Near East: dry land as a flat platform laid out over a great body of water underneath it. Verses 5–9 walk through the creation account of Genesis 1 in its own order and largely its own vocabulary.

7Give thanks to the one who made the great lights in the sky. His faithful love lasts forever.

7To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:

Note"The great lights" is the exact phrase used in Genesis 1:16. The Hebrew verb translated "rule" in the next two verses is the one used of a king governing a territory, not merely of shining on it.

8He made the sun to rule the day. His faithful love lasts forever.

8The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

9He made the moon and the stars to rule the night. His faithful love lasts forever.

9The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

10Give thanks to the one who struck down the firstborn sons of Egypt. His faithful love lasts forever.

10To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:

NoteThe firstborn son held the leading position in a household and inherited a double share of the estate, so the firstborn of a nation stood for its strength and its future. This is the last of the ten plagues in the Exodus story.

11He brought Israel out from among the Egyptians. His faithful love lasts forever.

11And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:

12He did it with a strong hand and an arm reached out. His faithful love lasts forever.

12With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Note"A strong hand and an arm reached out" is a fixed formula repeated throughout the Exodus story for God's power in action. Egyptian royal inscriptions described the pharaoh's own might in almost identical terms.

13Give thanks to the one who split the Red Sea into two parts. His faithful love lasts forever.

13To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:

NoteThe Hebrew name is yam suph, literally "sea of reeds"; which body of water it refers to has been debated since ancient times, and the traditional English "Red Sea" comes through the Greek translation. "Into two parts" renders a word for cutting something into pieces.

14He made Israel walk through the middle of it. His faithful love lasts forever.

14And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:

15But he swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. His faithful love lasts forever.

15But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Note"Pharaoh" is a title rather than a personal name: it means roughly "the great house," and was the ordinary way of referring to the king of Egypt. The Hebrew verb translated "swept in" means to shake something off, the way you shake dirt out of a garment.

16Give thanks to the one who led his people through the desert. His faithful love lasts forever.

16To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.

NoteThe Hebrew word covers dry, unsettled grazing country rather than sand dunes. It refers here to the forty years Israel spent between leaving Egypt and entering Canaan.

17Give thanks to the one who struck down great kings. His faithful love lasts forever.

17To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

18He killed mighty kings. His faithful love lasts forever.

18And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

NoteIn 1611 "famous" meant mighty or formidable, not merely well known. The Hebrew word means majestic or powerful.

19He killed Sihon, king of the Amorites. His faithful love lasts forever.

19Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:

NoteSihon ruled a kingdom east of the Jordan River; the story of his defeat is in Numbers 21. "Amorites" was a broad term for the peoples living in the region before Israel settled there.

20He killed Og, king of Bashan. His faithful love lasts forever.

20And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:

NoteOg's defeat follows immediately in Numbers 21. Bashan was the fertile high plateau east of the Sea of Galilee, proverbial in Hebrew for its cattle and its oak trees.

21He gave their land away to be owned and passed down. His faithful love lasts forever.

21And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:

NoteThe Hebrew word is nahalah, a family's permanent allotted share of land, handed down to heirs and, under Israelite law, not meant to be sold off for good. It is a legal term about property tenure, not a general word for a gift.

22He gave it to Israel, the people who serve him. His faithful love lasts forever.

22Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Note"Servant" translates a word for someone in a great king's employ. Applied to an official or a whole people, it functioned as a title of standing rather than an insult.

23He remembered us when we were brought low. His faithful love lasts forever.

23Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:

NoteThe Hebrew is literally "in our lowness", the condition of having been brought down, humiliated or reduced in circumstances. It does not specify which episode is meant.

24He set us free from our enemies. His faithful love lasts forever.

24And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

NoteThe Hebrew verb here means to tear or break something away, as one breaks off a yoke. It is not the usual redemption word, which pictures buying a person or a possession back.

25He gives food to every living creature. His faithful love lasts forever.

25Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Note"All flesh" is a Hebrew idiom for every living creature that breathes, animals included, not just human beings.

26Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love lasts forever.

26O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Note"The God of heaven" was a formal title that came into common use in the Persian period; it appears frequently in Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel, often in dealings with foreign officials.