Psalm 138
By David.
I will give you thanks with my whole heart.
Before the gods,+ I will sing praises to you.
I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your Name for your loving kindness and for your truth;
for you have exalted your Name and your Word above all.
In the day that I called, you answered me.
You encouraged me with strength in my soul.
All the kings of the earth will give you thanks, Yahweh,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.
Yes, they will sing of the ways of Yahweh;
for great is Yahweh’s glory.
For though Yahweh is high, yet he looks after the lowly;
but the proud, he knows from afar.
Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me.
You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies.
Your right hand will save me.
Yahweh will fulfill that which concerns me;
your loving kindness, Yahweh, endures forever.
Don’t forsake the works of your own hands.
+1:2“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.+2:2The word “Anointed” is the same as the word for “Messiah” or “Christ”+2:4The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”+2:12or, Kiss the son+3:2The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).+6:5Sheol is the place of the dead.+7:14“Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.+8:5Hebrew: Elohim. The word Elohim, used here, usually means “God”, but can also mean “gods”, “princes”, or “angels”. The Septuagint reads “angels” here.+9:17Sheol is the place of the dead.+16:10Sheol is the place of the dead.+18:5Sheol is the place of the dead.+18:50or, seed+22:16So Dead Sea Scrolls. Masoretic Text reads, “Like a lion, they pin my hands and feet.”+25:13or, seed+30:3Sheol is the place of the dead.+31:17Sheol is the place of the dead.+34:1Psalm 34 is an acrostic poem, with each verse starting with a letter of the alphabet (ordered from Alef to Tav).+37:26or, seed+42:1The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).+42:8“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.+44:23The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”+45:17Alamoth is a musical term.+49:14Sheol is the place of the dead.+49:14Sheol is the place of the dead.+49:15Sheol is the place of the dead.+55:15Sheol is the place of the dead.+73:1The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).+73:20The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”+73:28“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.+86:13Sheol is the place of the dead.+87:4Rahab is a reference to Egypt.+88:3Sheol is the place of the dead.+89:4or, seed+89:29or, seed+89:36or, seed+89:48Sheol is the place of the dead.+89:52The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).+90:1The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”+90:13“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.+97:7LXX reads “angels” instead of “gods”.+102:28or, seed+104:4or, angels+105:6or, seed+106:27or, seed+107:1“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.+107:11The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).+109:21The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”+111:1Psalm 111 is an acrostic poem, with each verse after the initial “Praise Yah!” starting with a letter of the alphabet (ordered from Alef to Tav).+112:1Psalm 112 is an acrostic poem, with each verse after the initial “Praise Yah!” starting with a letter of the alphabet (ordered from Alef to Tav).+112:2or, seed+116:3Sheol is the place of the dead.+118:22Literally,head118:22of the corner+138:1The word elohim, used here, usually means “God” but can also mean “gods”, “princes”, or “angels”.