labor in vain on it;
unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman keeps vigil in vain.
2In vain do you rise early
and stay up late,
you who toil for the bread you eat;
a-He provides as much for His loved ones while they sleep.-a
3Sons are the provisionb of the LORD;
the fruit of the womb, His reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are sons born to a man in his youth.
5Happy is the man who fills his quiver with them;
they shall not be put to shame
when they contend with the enemy in the gate.
128 A song of ascents.
Happy are all who fear the LORD,
who follow His ways.
2You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors;
you shall be happy and you shall prosper.
3Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your sons, like olive saplings around your table.
4So shall the man who fears the LORD be blessed.
5May the LORD bless you from Zion;
may you share the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life,
6and live to see your children’s children.
May all be well with Israel!
129 A song of ascents.
Since my youth they have often assailed me,
let Israel now declare,
2since my youth they have often assailed me,
but they have never overcome me.
3Plowmen plowed across my back;
they made long furrows.
4The LORD, the righteous one,
has snapped the cords of the wicked.
5Let all who hate Zion
fall back in disgrace.
6Let them be like grass on roofs
that fades before it can be pulled up,
7that affords no handful for the reaper,
no armful for the gatherer of sheaves,
8no exchange with passersby:
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you.”
“We bless you by the name of the LORD.”
130 A song of ascents.
Out of the depths I call You, O LORD.
2O Lord, listen to my cry;
let Your ears be attentive
to my plea for mercy.
3If You keep account of sins, O LORD,
Lord, who will survive?
4Yours is the power to forgive
so that You may be held in awe.
5I look to the LORD;
I look to Him;
I await His word.
6I am more eager for the Lord
than watchmen for the morning,
watchmen for the morning.
7O Israel, wait for the LORD;
for with the LORD is steadfast love
and great power to redeem.
8It is He who will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.
131 A song of ascents. Of David.
O LORD, my heart is not proud
nor my look haughty;
I do not aspire to great things
or to what is beyond me;
2a-but I have taught myself to be contented
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child am I in my mind.-a
3O Israel, wait for the LORD
now and forever.
132 A song of ascents.
O LORD, remember in David’s favor
his extreme self-denial,
2how he swore to the LORD,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3“I will not enter my house,
nor will I mount my bed,
4I will not give sleep to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelidsa
5until I find a place for the LORD,
an abode for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6We heard it was in Ephrath;
we came upon it in the region of Jaar.b
7Let us enter His abode,
bow at His footstool.
8Advance, O LORD, to Your resting-place,
You and Your mighty Ark!
9Your priests are clothed in triumph;
Your loyal ones sing for joy.
10For the sake of Your servant David
do not reject Your anointed one.
11The LORD swore to David
a firm oath that He will not renounce,
“One of your own issue I will set upon your throne.
12If your sons keep My covenant
and My decrees that I teach them,
then their sons also,
to the end of time,
shall sit upon your throne.”
13For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His seat.
14“This is my resting-place for all time;
here I will dwell, for I desire it.
15I will amply bless its store of food,
give its needy their fill of bread.
16I will clothe its priests in victory,
its loyal ones shall sing for joy.
17There I will make a horn sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.
18I will clothe his enemies in disgrace,
while on him his crown shall sparkle.”
133 A song of ascents. Of David.
How good and how pleasant it is
that brothers dwell together.
2It is like fine oil on the head
running down onto the beard,
the beard of Aaron,
that comes down over the collar of his robe;
3like the dew of Hermon
that falls upon the mountains of Zion.
There the LORD ordained blessing,
everlasting life.
134 A song of ascents.
Now bless the LORD,
all you servants of the LORD
who stand nightly
in the house of the LORD.
2Lift your hands toward the sanctuary
and bless the LORD.
3May the LORD,
maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.
135 Hallelujah.
Praise the name of the LORD;
give praise, you servants of the LORD
2who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing hymns to His name, for it is pleasant.
4For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel, as His treasured possession.
5For I know that the LORD is great,
that our LORD is greater than all gods.
6Whatever the LORD desires He does
in heaven and earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7He makes clouds rise from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He releases the wind from His vaults.
8He struck down the first-born of Egypt,
man and beast alike;
9He sent signs and portents againsta Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10He struck down many nations
and slew numerous kings—
11Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and all the royalty of Canaan—
12and gave their lands as a heritage,
as a heritage to His people Israel.
13O LORD, Your name endures forever,
Your fame, O LORD, through all generations;
14for the LORD will champion His people,
and obtain satisfaction for His servants.
15bThe idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
16They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
17they have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18Those who fashion them,
all who trust in them,
shall become like them.
19O house of Israel, bless the LORD;
O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;
20O house of Levi, bless the LORD;
you who fear the LORD, bless the LORD.
21Blessed is the LORD from Zion,
He who dwells in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah.
136 Praise the LORD; for He is good,
His steadfast love is eternal.
2Praise the God of gods,
His steadfast love is eternal.
3Praise the Lord of lords,
His steadfast love is eternal;
4Who alone works great marvels,
His steadfast love is eternal;
5Who made the heavens with wisdom,
His steadfast love is eternal;
6Who spread the earth over the water,
His steadfast love is eternal;
7Who made the great lights,
His steadfast love is eternal;
8the sun to dominate the day,
His steadfast love is eternal;
9the moon and the stars to dominate the night,
His steadfast love is eternal;
10Who struck Egypt through their first-born,
His steadfast love is eternal;
11and brought Israel out of their midst,
His steadfast love is eternal;
12with a strong hand and outstretched arm,
His steadfast love is eternal;
13Who split apart the Sea of Reeds,
His steadfast love is eternal;
14and made Israel pass through it,
His steadfast love is eternal;
15Who hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds,
His steadfast love is eternal;
16Who led His people through the wilderness,
His steadfast love is eternal;
17Who struck down great kings,
His steadfast love is eternal;
18and slew mighty kings—
His steadfast love is eternal;
19Sihon, king of the Amorites,
His steadfast love is eternal;
20Og, king of Bashan—
His steadfast love is eternal;
21and gave their land as a heritage,
His steadfast love is eternal;
22a heritage to His servant Israel,
His steadfast love is eternal;
23Who took note of us in our degradation,
His steadfast love is eternal;
24and rescued us from our enemies,
His steadfast love is eternal;
25Who gives food to all flesh,
His steadfast love is eternal.
26Praise the God of heaven,
His steadfast love is eternal.
137 By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat,
sat and wept,
as we thought of Zion.
2There on the poplars
we hung up our lyres,
3for our captors asked us there for songs,
our tormentors,a for amusement,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4How can we sing a song of the LORD
on alien soil?
5If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither;b
6let my tongue stick to my palate
if I cease to think of you,
if I do not keep Jerusalem in memory
even at my happiest hour.
7Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem’s fall;
how they cried, “Strip her, strip her
to her very foundations!”
8Fair Babylon, you predator,c
a blessing on him who repays you in kind
what you have inflicted on us;
9a blessing on him who seizes your babies
and dashes them against the rocks!
138 Of David.
I praise You with all my heart,
sing a hymn to You before the divine beings;
2I bow toward Your holy temple
and praise Your name for Your steadfast love and
faithfulness,
because You have exalted a-Your name, Your word,
above all.-a
3When I called, You answered me,
a-You inspired me with courage.-a
4All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD,
for they have heard the words You spoke.
5They shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
“Great is the majesty of the LORD!”
6High though the LORD is, He sees the lowly;
lofty, He perceives from afar.
7Though I walk among enemies,
You preserve me in the face of my foes;
You extend Your hand;
with Your right hand You deliver me.
8The LORD will settle accounts for me.
O LORD, Your steadfast love is eternal;
do not forsake the work of Your hands.
139 For the leader. Of David. A psalm.
O LORD, You have examined me and know me.
2When I sit down or stand up You know it;
You discern my thoughts from afar.
3a-You observe-a my walking and reclining,
and are familiar with all my ways.
4There is not a word on my tongue
but that You, O LORD, know it well.
5You hedge me before and behind;
You lay Your hand upon me.
6It is beyond my knowledge;
it is a mystery; I cannot fathom it.
7Where can I escape from Your spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
8If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
if I descend to Sheol, You are there too.
9If I take wing with the dawn
to come to rest on the western horizon,
10even there Your hand will be guiding me,
Your right hand will