< Psalms 135 >
1 Praise Yahweh. Praise the name of Yahweh. Praise him, you servants of Yahweh,
Praise Yahweh! You who (do work for/serve) Yahweh, praise him!
2 you who stand in Yahweh's house, in the courtyards of the house of our God.
You who stand in the temple of Yahweh our God and in the surrounding courtyard, praise him [MTY]!
3 Praise Yahweh, for he is good; sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant to do so.
Praise Yahweh, because he does good things [for us]; sing to him [MTY], because he is kind [to us].
4 For Yahweh has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his possession.
He has chosen [us, the descendants of] Jacob; he has chosen [us] Israelis to belong to him [DOU].
5 I know that Yahweh is great, that our Lord is above all gods.
I know that Yahweh is great; he is greater than all the gods.
6 Whatever Yahweh desires, he does in heaven, on earth, in the seas and all the ocean depths.
Yahweh does whatever he desires to do, in heaven and on the earth and in the seas/oceans, [down] to the bottom of the seas.
7 He brings the clouds from far away, making lightning bolts accompany the rain and bringing the wind out of his storehouse.
He is the one who causes clouds to appear from very distant places on the earth; he sends lightning with the rain, and he brings the winds from the places where he stores them.
8 He killed the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and animals.
He is the one who killed [all] the firstborn [males] in Egypt, the firstborn of people and of animals.
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.
There he performed many kinds of miracles [DOU] to punish the king and all his officials.
10 He attacked many nations and killed mighty kings,
He destroyed many nations and the powerful kings [who ruled them]:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, and Og, the king of Bashan [region], and all the other kings in Canaan [land].
12 He gave us their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel his people.
Then he gave their land to [us] Israeli people to belong to us [forever].
13 Your name, Yahweh, endures forever; your renown, Yahweh, endures throughout all generations.
Yahweh your name will endure forever, and people who are not yet born will remember the great things [that you have done].
14 For Yahweh defends his people and has compassion on his servants.
Yahweh, [you] declare that we your people (are innocent/have not done things that are wrong), and you are merciful to us.
15 The nations' idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
But the idols that the [other] people-groups [worship] are only [statues made of] silver and gold, things that humans have made.
16 Those idols have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see;
Their idols have mouths, but they cannot say [anything]; they have eyes, but they cannot see [anything].
17 they have ears, but they do not hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.
They have ears, but they cannot hear [anything], and they are not [even able to] breathe.
18 Those who make them are like them, as is everyone who trusts in them.
The people who make those idols are as [powerless as] those idols, and those who trust in those idols [can accomplish no more than] their idols can!
19 Descendants of Israel, bless Yahweh; descendants of Aaron, bless Yahweh.
[My fellow] Israelis, praise Yahweh! You [priests] who are descended from Aaron, praise Yahweh!
20 Descendants of Levi, bless Yahweh; you who honor Yahweh, bless Yahweh.
You [men] who are descended from Levi, [you who assist the priests], praise Yahweh! [All] you who revere Yahweh, praise him!
21 Blessed be Yahweh in Zion, he who lives in Jerusalem. Praise Yahweh.
Praise Yahweh in [the temple on] Zion [Hill] in Jerusalem, where he lives! Praise Yahweh!