Psalm 135

¹ Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD’s name! Praise him, you servants of the LORD,

² you who stand in the LORD’s house, in the courts of our God’s house.

³ Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good. Sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant.

⁴ For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own possession.

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

⁶ Whatever the LORD pleased, that he has done, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.

⁷ He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings with the rain. He brings the wind out of his treasuries.

⁸ He struck the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and animal.

⁹ He sent signs and wonders into the middle of you, Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his servants.

¹⁰ He struck many nations, and killed mighty kings—

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

¹² and gave their land for a heritage, a heritage to Israel, his people.

¹³ Your name, LORD, endures forever; your renown, LORD, throughout all generations.

¹⁴ For the LORD will judge his people and have compassion on his servants.

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

¹⁶ They have mouths, but they can’t speak. They have eyes, but they can’t see.

¹⁷ They have ears, but they can’t hear, neither is there any breath in their mouths.

¹⁸ Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them.

¹⁹ House of Israel, praise the LORD! House of Aaron, praise the LORD!

²⁰ House of Levi, praise the LORD! You who fear the LORD, praise the LORD!

²¹ Blessed be the LORD from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

Around Psalm 135

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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