Psalm 138

¹I will give you thanks with all my heart;

before the heavenly assembly I will sing praises to you.

²I 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.

³When I cried out for help, you answered me.[#tn Heb “in the day.”]

You made me bold and energized me.

⁴Let all the kings of the earth give thanks to you, O Lord ,[#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.]

when they hear the words you speak.

⁵Let them sing about the Lord ’s deeds,[#tn Heb “ways.”]

for the Lord ’s splendor is magnificent.

⁶Though the Lord is exalted, he takes note of the lowly,

and recognizes the proud from far away.

⁷Even when I must walk in the midst of danger, you revive me.[#tn Or “distress.”]

You oppose my angry enemies,

and your right hand delivers me.

⁸The Lord avenges me.[#tn Heb “avenges on my behalf.” For the meaning “to avenge” for the verb גָּמַר (gamar), see HALOT 197-98 s.v. גמר.]

O Lord , your loyal love endures.

Do not abandon those whom you have made!