The Holy Bible

[128:1] Happy are those who obey the Lord, who live by his commands.

[128:2] Your work will provide for your needs; you will be happy and prosperous.

[128:3] Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in your home, and your children will be like young olive trees around your table.

[128:4] A man who obeys the Lord will surely be blessed like this.

[128:5] May the Lord bless you from Zion! May you see Jerusalem prosper all the days of your life!

[128:6] May you live to see your grandchildren! Peace be with Israel!

[129:1] Israel, tell us how your enemies have persecuted you ever since you were young.

[129:2] “Ever since I was young, my enemies have persecuted me cruelly, but they have not overcome me.

[129:3] They cut deep wounds in my back and made it like a plowed field.

[129:4] But the Lord, the righteous one, has freed me from slavery.”

[129:5] May everyone who hates Zion be defeated and driven back.

[129:6] May they all be like grass growing on the housetops, which dries up before it can grow;

[129:7] no one gathers it up or carries it away in bundles.

[129:8] No one who passes by will say, “May the Lord bless you! We bless you in the name of the Lord.”

[130:1] From the depths of my despair I call to you, Lord.

[130:2] Hear my cry, O Lord; listen to my call for help!

[130:3] If you kept a record of our sins, who could escape being condemned?

[130:4] But you forgive us, so that we should stand in awe of you.

[130:5] I wait eagerly for the Lord's help, and in his word I trust.

[130:6] I wait for the Lord more eagerly than sentries wait for the dawn— than sentries wait for the dawn.

[130:7] Israel, trust in the Lord, because his love is constant and he is always willing to save.

[130:8] He will save his people Israel from all their sins.

[131:1] Lord, I have given up my pride and turned away from my arrogance. I am not concerned with great matters or with subjects too difficult for me.

[131:2] Instead, I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother's arms, so my heart is quiet within me.

[131:3] Israel, trust in the Lord now and forever!

[132:1] Lord, do not forget David and all the hardships he endured.

[132:2] Remember, Lord, what he promised, the vow he made to you, the Mighty God of Jacob:

[132:3] “I will not go home or go to bed;

[132:4] I will not rest or sleep,

[132:5] until I provide a place for the Lord, a home for the Mighty God of Jacob.”

[132:6] In Bethlehem we heard about the Covenant Box, and we found it in the fields of Jearim.

[132:7] We said, “Let us go to the Lord's house; let us worship before his throne.”

[132:8] Come to the Temple, Lord, with the Covenant Box, the symbol of your power, and stay here forever.

[132:9] May your priests do always what is right; may your people shout for joy!

[132:10] You made a promise to your servant David; do not reject your chosen king, Lord.

[132:11] You made a solemn promise to David— a promise you will not take back: “I will make one of your sons king, and he will rule after you.

[132:12] If your sons are true to my covenant and to the commands I give them, their sons, also, will succeed you for all time as kings.”

[132:13] The Lord has chosen Zion; he wants to make it his home:

[132:14] “This is where I will live forever; this is where I want to rule.

[132:15] I will richly provide Zion with all she needs; I will satisfy her poor with food.

[132:16] I will bless her priests in all they do, and her people will sing and shout for joy.

[132:17] Here I will make one of David's descendants a great king; here I will preserve the rule of my chosen king.

[132:18] I will cover his enemies with shame, but his kingdom will prosper and flourish.”

[133:1] How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God's people to live together in harmony!

[133:2] It is like the precious anointing oil running down from Aaron's head and beard, down to the collar of his robes.

[133:3] It is like the dew on Mount Hermon, falling on the hills of Zion. That is where the Lord has promised his blessing— life that never ends.

[134:1] Come, praise the Lord, all his servants, all who serve in his Temple at night.

[134:2] Raise your hands in prayer in the Temple, and praise the Lord!

[134:3] May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Zion!

[135:1] Praise the Lord! Praise his name, you servants of the Lord,

[135:2] who stand in the Lord's house, in the Temple of our God.

[135:3] Praise the Lord, because he is good; sing praises to his name, because he is kind.

[135:4] He chose Jacob for himself, the people of Israel for his own.

[135:5] I know that our Lord is great, greater than all the gods.

[135:6] He does whatever he wishes in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in the depths below.

[135:7] He brings storm clouds from the ends of the earth; he makes lightning for the storms, and he brings out the wind from his storeroom.

[135:8] In Egypt he killed all the first-born of people and animals alike.

[135:9] There he performed miracles and wonders to punish the king and all his officials.

[135:10] He destroyed many nations and killed powerful kings:

[135:11] Sihon, king of the Amorites, Og, king of Bashan, and all the kings in Canaan.

[135:12] He gave their lands to his people; he gave them to Israel.

[135:13] Lord, you will always be proclaimed as God; all generations will remember you.

[135:14] The Lord will defend his people; he will take pity on his servants.

[135:15] The gods of the nations are made of silver and gold; they are formed by human hands.

[135:16] They have mouths, but cannot speak, and eyes, but cannot see.

[135:17] They have ears, but cannot hear; they are not even able to breathe.

[135:18] May all who made them and who trust in them become like the idols they have made!

[135:19] Praise the Lord, people of Israel; praise him, you priests of God!

[135:20] Praise the Lord, you Levites; praise him, all you that worship him!

[135:21] Praise the Lord in Zion, in Jerusalem, his home. Praise the Lord!

[136:1] Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal.

[136:2] Give thanks to the greatest of all gods; his love is eternal.

[136:3] Give thanks to the mightiest of all lords; his love is eternal.

[136:4] He alone performs great miracles; his love is eternal.

[136:5] By his wisdom he made the heavens; his love is eternal;

[136:6] he built the earth on the deep waters; his love is eternal.

[136:7] He made the sun and the moon; his love is eternal;

[136:8] the sun to rule over the day; his love is eternal;

[136:9] the moon and the stars to rule over the night; his love is eternal.

[136:10] He killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians; his love is eternal.

[136:11] He led the people of Israel out of Egypt; his love is eternal;

[136:12] with his strong hand, his powerful arm; his love is eternal.

[136:13] He divided the Red Sea; his love is eternal;

[136:14] he led his people through it; his love is eternal;

[136:15] but he drowned the king of Egypt and his army; his love is eternal.

[136:16] He led his people through the desert; his love is eternal.

[136:17] He killed powerful kings; his love is eternal;

[136:18] he killed famous kings; his love is eternal;

[136:19] Sihon, king of the Amorites; his love is eternal;

[136:20] and Og, king of Bashan; his love is eternal.

[136:21] He gave their lands to his people; his love is eternal;

[136:22] he gave them to Israel, his servant; his love is eternal.

[136:23] He did not forget us when we were defeated; his love is eternal;

[136:24] he freed us from our enemies; his love is eternal.

[136:25] He gives food to every living creature; his love is eternal.

[136:26] Give thanks to the God of heaven; his love is eternal.

[137:1] By the rivers of Babylon we sat down; there we wept when we remembered Zion.

[137:2] On the willows near by we hung up our harps.

[137:3] Those who captured us told us to sing; they told us to entertain them: “Sing us a song about Zion.”

[137:4] How can we sing a song to the Lord in a foreign land?

[137:5] May I never be able to play the harp again if I forget you, Jerusalem!

[137:6] May I never be able to sing again if I do not remember you, if I do not think of you as my greatest joy!

[137:7] Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did the day Jerusalem was captured. Remember how they kept saying, “Tear it down to the ground!”

[137:8] Babylon, you will be destroyed. Happy are those who pay you back for what you have done to us—

[137:9] who take your babies and smash them against a rock.