Psalms 137:1--139:24 
Context137:1 By the rivers of Babylon
we sit down and weep 2
when we remember Zion.
137:2 On the poplars in her midst
we hang our harps,
137:3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs; 3
those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: 4
“Sing for us a song about Zion!” 5
137:4 How can we sing a song to the Lord
in a foreign land?
137:5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand be crippled! 6
137:6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
and do not give Jerusalem priority
over whatever gives me the most joy. 7
137:7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell. 8
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, 9
right to its very foundation!”
137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! 10
How blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us! 11
137:9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them on a rock! 12
By David.
138:1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly 14 I will sing praises to you.
138:2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky. 15
138:3 When 16 I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me. 17
138:4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks 18 to you, O Lord,
when they hear the words you speak. 19
138:5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds, 20
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent. 21
138:6 Though the Lord is exalted, he takes note of the lowly,
and recognizes the proud from far away.
138:7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger, 22 you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies, 23
and your right hand delivers me.
O Lord, your loyal love endures.
Do not abandon those whom you have made! 25
For the music director, a psalm of David.
139:1 O Lord, you examine me 27 and know.
139:2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
even from far away you understand my motives.
139:3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; 28
you are aware of everything I do. 29
139:4 Certainly 30 my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it. 31
139:5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;
you place your hand on me.
139:6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;
it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. 32
139:7 Where can I go to escape your spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence? 33
139:8 If I were to ascend 34 to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. 35
139:9 If I were to fly away 36 on the wings of the dawn, 37
and settle down on the other side 38 of the sea,
139:10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
139:11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, 39
and the light will turn to night all around me,” 40
139:12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, 41
and the night is as bright as 42 day;
darkness and light are the same to you. 43
139:13 Certainly 44 you made my mind and heart; 45
you wove me together 46 in my mother’s womb.
139:14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. 47
You knew me thoroughly; 48
139:15 my bones were not hidden from you,
when 49 I was made in secret
and sewed together in the depths of the earth. 50
139:16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. 51
All the days ordained for me
were recorded in your scroll
before one of them came into existence. 52
139:17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! 53
How vast is their sum total! 54
139:18 If I tried to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
Even if I finished counting them,
I would still have to contend with you. 55
139:19 If only 56 you would kill the wicked, O God!
Get away from me, you violent men! 57
139:20 They 58 rebel against you 59 and act deceitfully; 60
your enemies lie. 61
139:21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,
and despise those who oppose you? 62
139:22 I absolutely hate them, 63
they have become my enemies!
139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! 64
Test me, and know my concerns! 65
139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency 66 in me,
and lead me in the reliable ancient path! 67
1 sn Psalm 137. The Babylonian exiles lament their condition, vow to remain loyal to Jerusalem, and appeal to God for revenge on their enemies.
2 tn Heb “there we sit down, also we weep.”
3 tn Heb “ask us [for] the words of a song.”
4 tn Heb “our [?] joy.” The derivation and meaning of the Hebrew phrase תוֹלָלֵינוּ (tolalenu, “our [?]”) are uncertain. A derivation from תָּלַל (talal, “to mock”) fits contextually, but this root occurs only in the Hiphil stem. For a discussion of various proposals, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 236.
5 tn Heb “from a song of Zion.” Most modern translations read, “one of the songs of Zion,” taking the preposition מִן (min, “from”) as partitive and “song” as collective. The present translation assumes the mem (ם) is enclitic, being misunderstood later as the prefixed preposition.
6 tn Heb “may my right hand forget.” In this case one must supply an object, such as “how to move.” The elliptical nature of the text has prompted emendations (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 236). The translation assumes an emendation to תִּכְשַׁח (tikhshakh), from an otherwise unattested root כשׁח, meaning “to be crippled; to be lame.” See HALOT 502 s.v. כשׁח, which cites Arabic cognate evidence in support of the proposal. The corruption of the MT can be explained as an error of transposition facilitated by the use of שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”) just before this.
7 tn Heb “if I do not lift up Jerusalem over the top of my joy.”
8 tn Heb “remember, O
9 tn Heb “lay [it] bare, lay [it] bare.”
10 tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.
11 tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”
12 sn For other references to the wholesale slaughter of babies in the context of ancient Near Eastern warfare, see 2 Kgs 8:12; Isa 13:16; Hos 13:16; Nah 3:10.
13 sn Psalm 138. The psalmist vows to thank the Lord for his deliverance and protection.
14 tn The referent of the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is unclear. It refers either to the angelic assembly (see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5) or to the pagan gods (see Pss 82:1, 6; 86:8; 97:7), in which case the psalmist’s praise takes on a polemical tone.
15 tc The MT reads, “for you have made great over all your name your word.” If retained, this must mean that God's mighty intervention, in fulfillment of his word of promise, surpassed anything he had done prior to this. However, the statement is odd and several emendations have been proposed. Some read, “for you have exalted over everything your name and your word,” while others suggest, “for you have exalted over all the heavens your name and your word.” The translation assumes an emendation of “your name” to “your heavens” (a construction that appears in Pss 8:3 and 144:5). The point is that God has been faithful to his promise and the reliability of that promise is apparent to all. For a fuller discussion of these options, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 244.
16 tn Heb “in the day.”
17 tn Heb “you made me bold in my soul [with] strength.”
18 tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in the following verse are understood as jussives, for the psalmist appears to be calling upon the kings to praise God. Another option is to take them as imperfects and translate, “the kings of the earth will give thanks…and will sing.” In this case the psalmist anticipates a universal response to his thanksgiving song.
19 tn Heb “the words of your mouth.”
20 tn Heb “ways.”
21 tn Heb “great.”
22 tn Or “distress.”
23 tn Heb “against the anger of my enemies you extend your hand.”
24 tn Heb “avenges on my behalf.” For the meaning “to avenge” for the verb גָּמַר (gamar), see HALOT 197-98 s.v. גמר.
25 tn Heb “the works of your hands.” Many medieval Hebrew
26 sn Psalm 139. The psalmist acknowledges that God, who created him, is aware of his every action and thought. He invites God to examine his motives, for he is confident they are pure.
27 tn The statement is understood as generalizing – the psalmist describes what God typically does.
28 tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).
29 tn Heb “all my ways.”
30 tn Or “for.”
31 tn Heb “look, O
32 tn Heb “too amazing [is this] knowledge for me, it is elevated, I cannot attain to it.”
33 tn Heb “Where can I go from your spirit, and where from your face can I flee?” God’s “spirit” may refer here (1) to his presence (note the parallel term, “your face,” and see Ps 104:29-30, where God’s “face” is his presence and his “spirit” is the life-giving breath he imparts) or (2) to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).
34 tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).
35 tn Heb “look, you.”
36 tn Heb “rise up.”
37 sn On the wings of the dawn. This personification of the “dawn” may find its roots in mythological traditions about the god Shachar, whose birth is described in an Ugaritic myth (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 126) and who is mentioned in Isa 14:12 as the father of Helel.
38 tn Heb “at the end.”
39 tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.
40 tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”
41 tn The words “to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
42 tn Heb “shines like.”
43 tn Heb “like darkness, like light.”
44 tn Or “for.”
45 tn Heb “my kidneys.” The kidneys were sometimes viewed as the seat of one’s emotions and moral character (cf. Pss 7:9; 26:2). A number of translations, recognizing that “kidneys” does not communicate this idea to the modern reader, have generalized the concept: “inmost being” (NAB, NIV); “inward parts” (NASB, NRSV); “the delicate, inner parts of my body” (NLT). In the last instance, the focus is almost entirely on the physical body rather than the emotions or moral character. The present translation, by using a hendiadys (one concept expressed through two terms), links the concepts of emotion (heart) and moral character (mind).
46 tn The Hebrew verb סָכַךְ (sakhakh, “to weave together”) is an alternate form of שָׂכַךְ (sakhakh, “to weave”) used in Job 10:11.
47 tc Heb “because awesome things, I am distinct, amazing [are] your works.” The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of פָּלָה (pala’) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from פָלָא (pala’; see GKC 216 §75.qq), which in the Niphal perfect means “to be amazing” (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Prov 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, “you are amazing” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 249, 251). The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants: נפלאים, the otherwise unattested masculine plural participle of פָלָא, and נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot), the usual (feminine) plural form of the Niphal participle. The latter has been changed to a verb by later scribes in an attempt to accommodate it syntactically. The original text likely read, נוראות נפלאותים מעשׂיך (“your works [are] awesome [and] amazing”).
48 tc Heb “and my being knows very much.” Better parallelism is achieved (see v. 15a) if one emends יֹדַעַת (yoda’at), a Qal active participle, feminine singular form, to יָדַעְתָּ (yada’ta), a Qal perfect second masculine singular perfect. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252.
49 tc The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) should probably be emended to כֲּאַשֶׁר (ka’asher, “when”). The kaf (כ) may have been lost by haplography (note the kaf at the end of the preceding form).
50 sn The phrase depths of the earth may be metaphorical (euphemistic) or it may reflect a prescientific belief about the origins of the embryo deep beneath the earth’s surface (see H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 96-97). Job 1:21 also closely associates the mother’s womb with the earth.
51 tn Heb “Your eyes saw my shapeless form.” The Hebrew noun גֹּלֶם (golem) occurs only here in the OT. In later Hebrew the word refers to “a lump, a shapeless or lifeless substance,” and to “unfinished matter, a vessel wanting finishing” (Jastrow 222 s.v. גּוֹלֶם). The translation employs the dynamic rendering “when I was inside the womb” to clarify that the speaker was still in his mother’s womb at the time he was “seen” by God.
52 tn Heb “and on your scroll all of them were written, [the] days [which] were formed, and [there was] not one among them.” This “scroll” may be the “scroll of life” mentioned in Ps 69:28 (see the note on the word “living” there).
53 tn Heb “and to me how precious are your thoughts, O God.” The Hebrew verb יָקַר (yaqar) probably has the sense of “difficult [to comprehend]” here (see HALOT 432 s.v. יקר qal.1 and note the use of Aramaic יַקִּר in Dan 2:11). Elsewhere in the immediate context the psalmist expresses his amazement at the extent of God’s knowledge about him (see vv. 1-6, 17b-18).
54 tn Heb “how vast are their heads.” Here the Hebrew word “head” is used of the “sum total” of God’s knowledge of the psalmist.
55 tc Heb “I awake and I [am] still with you.” A reference to the psalmist awaking from sleep makes little, if any, sense contextually. For this reason some propose an emendation to הֲקִצּוֹתִי (haqitsoti), a Hiphil perfect form from an otherwise unattested verb קָצַץ (qatsats) understood as a denominative of קֵץ (qets, “end”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252-53.
56 tn The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (see Pss 81:8; 95:7, as well as GKC 321 §109.b).
57 tn Heb “men of bloodshed.”
58 tn Heb “who.”
59 tc Heb “they speak [of] you.” The suffixed form of the verb אָמַר (’amar, “to speak”) is peculiar. The translation assumes an emendation to יַמְרֻךָ (yamrukha), a Hiphil form from מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”; see Ps 78:40).
60 tn Heb “by deceit.”
61 tc Heb “lifted up for emptiness, your cities.” The Hebrew text as it stands makes no sense. The form נָשֻׂא (nasu’; a Qal passive participle) should be emended to נָשְׂאוּ (nosÿu; a Qal perfect, third common plural, “[they] lift up”). Many emend עָרֶיךָ (’arekha, “your cities”) to עָלֶיךָ (’alekha, “against you”), but it is preferable to understand the noun as an Aramaism and translate “your enemies” (see Dan 4:16 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 253).
62 tc Heb “who raise themselves up against you.” The form וּבִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvitqomÿmekha) should be emended to וּבְמִתְקוֹמְמֶיךָ (uvÿmitqomÿmekha), a Hitpolel participle (the prefixed mem [מ] of the participle is accidentally omitted in the MT, though a few medieval Hebrew
63 tn Heb “[with] completeness of hatred I hate them.”
64 tn Heb “and know my heart.”
65 tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.
66 tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.
67 tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the
