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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 135

Psalm 135: praise from the house of the Lord, from Egypt to Canaan, against idols

General context

The psalm opens with a call to praise the Lord, addressed to the servants of the Lord who stand in the house of the Lord and in the courts of the house of our God. It gives reasons: the Lord is good, it is pleasant to sing praises, and the Lord has chosen Jacob and Israel as his peculiar treasure. The speaker says he knows the Lord is great and above all gods, that he does whatever he pleases in heaven, earth, seas and deep places, and that he raises vapours, makes lightnings for the rain and brings the wind from his treasuries. It recounts that he smote the firstborn of Egypt, sent tokens and wonders on Pharaoh and his servants, smote great nations and slew mighty kings, Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan and all the kingdoms of Canaan, and gave their land as an heritage to Israel. The Lord's name and memorial endure for ever, and he will judge his people and repent himself concerning his servants. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, with mouths, eyes and ears that do not work and no breath; those who make and trust them are like them. The psalm closes by calling the house of Israel, the house of Aaron, the house of Levi and those who fear the Lord to bless him, and blesses the Lord out of Zion, who dwells at Jerusalem.

Cited passages: Psalms 135:1, Psalms 135:2, Psalms 135:3, Psalms 135:4, Psalms 135:5, Psalms 135:6, Psalms 135:7, Psalms 135:8, Psalms 135:9, Psalms 135:10, Psalms 135:11, Psalms 135:12, Psalms 135:13, Psalms 135:14, Psalms 135:15, Psalms 135:16, Psalms 135:17, Psalms 135:18, Psalms 135:19, Psalms 135:20, Psalms 135:21

Psalms 135 (KJV)

1Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord.

2Ye that 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 praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

4For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

5For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

6Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.

7He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.

8Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.

9Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants.

10Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings;

11Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan:

12And gave their land for an heritage, an heritage unto Israel his people.

13Thy name, O Lord, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations.

14For the Lord will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants.

15The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

16They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;

17They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.

18They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.

19Bless the Lord, O house of Israel: bless the Lord, O house of Aaron:

20Bless the Lord, O house of Levi: ye that fear the Lord, bless the Lord.

21Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The source prints no heading for this psalm; verse 1 begins with "Praise ye the Lord", so no title, author or occasion is given and none is asserted. The persons and peoples named are Jacob, Israel, Egypt, Pharaoh, Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, the kingdoms of Canaan, and the houses of Israel, Aaron and Levi; the places are the house of the Lord and its courts, Zion and Jerusalem. The acts in Egypt and against the two kings are recounted as past events without dates, and the same names, Sihon and Og, appear in the next psalm's list of the Lord's acts. A single "I" speaks in verse 5, "For I know", and the rest of the psalm is addressed to groups or spoken about the Lord; the speaker is not named. Verse 9 turns to address Egypt directly, and verse 13 addresses the Lord. "Repent himself concerning his servants" is stated as something the Lord will do, and the text does not explain the phrase. The idols are described as silver and gold made by men, and the psalm names no particular idol or nation among "the heathen". No Selah occurs.

Cited passages: Psalms 135:1, Psalms 135:4, Psalms 135:11, Psalms 136:19, Psalms 136:20, Psalms 135:5, Psalms 135:9, Psalms 135:13, Psalms 135:14, Psalms 135:15, Psalms 135:19, Psalms 135:21

Literary context

The psalm is framed by "Praise ye the Lord" at its first and last words. Inside the frame, the opening call to praise (verses 1-3) is addressed to those who stand in the house of the Lord, and the closing call to bless (verses 19-21) to the houses of Israel, Aaron and Levi and to those who fear the Lord. Between them two reasons are introduced with "For", the Lord chose Jacob and the Lord is great, and verse 6 adds that he did whatever he pleased. After the weather of verse 7, the Lord's acts are told in a chain of "Who" clauses, from Egypt's firstborn to kings and land, and the list ends with the land given as heritage, a word said twice in one verse. Verses 15-18 set the idols against this record: each part named, mouths, eyes, ears, is followed by what it cannot do, and the section ends by making the makers like the made. The three houses in the closing call, Israel, Aaron and Levi, are followed by "ye that fear the Lord". The psalm looks at the Lord's works in nature and history and at idols that do nothing, and gives no place to the speaker's own trouble.

Cited passages: Psalms 135:1, Psalms 135:21, Psalms 135:2, Psalms 135:20, Psalms 135:4, Psalms 135:6, Psalms 135:8, Psalms 135:12, Psalms 135:16, Psalms 135:18, Psalms 135:19

Key moments

  1. Servants called to praise (Psalms 135:1). The servants of the Lord are called to praise his name.
  2. Jacob chosen (Psalms 135:4). The Lord is said to have chosen Jacob and Israel as his peculiar treasure.
  3. Whatever the Lord pleased (Psalms 135:6). The Lord is said to do whatever he pleases in heaven, earth, seas and deep places.
  4. Firstborn of Egypt (Psalms 135:8). The Lord smote the firstborn of Egypt, both man and beast.
  5. Sihon, Og and Canaan (Psalms 135:11). The slain kings are named as Sihon, Og and the kingdoms of Canaan.
  6. Idols that cannot speak (Psalms 135:16). The idols have mouths and eyes but neither speak nor see.
  7. Blessed out of Zion (Psalms 135:21). The Lord is blessed out of Zion as the one who dwells at Jerusalem.

For reflection

The psalm says the Lord does whatever he pleases in heaven, earth and sea, then describes idols that have mouths and eyes and cannot use them. Why might the poem place the description of what idols cannot do right after the record of what the Lord has done?

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