Psalms 135 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Composed or compiled after the return from exile in Babylon, roughly 500 to 400 BC, though it retells events from the exodus around 1400 BC
Location
The rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, with the singers standing in its courtyards on the ridge of Mount Zion
Audience
Worshipers of Israel gathered for festival worship, and especially the priests and Levites who led the singing
Situation
A call to praise addressed first to the temple staff, then a recital of what God did in Egypt and in the conquest of Sihon and Og, then a mocking description of idols that have mouths and eyes but cannot speak or see.
Key Background
This psalm is stitched together almost entirely out of lines borrowed from other parts of the Hebrew scriptures, including Exodus, Deuteronomy, Jeremiah and earlier psalms. Reusing familiar wording was a respected craft in ancient Hebrew poetry rather than a shortcut, because a worshiper who recognized the source heard the older story layered under the new song. The taunt against idols reflects a real setting where returning exiles lived among neighbors whose gods were physical statues, cared for and dressed by priests.
Yahweh! Praise the of Yahweh. Praise him, you who
you who stand in the of Yahweh, in the of our God's
Praise Yahweh, because Yahweh is good. Sing to his name — it is
Because Yahweh for himself, Israel as his
I know this — Yahweh is great. Our surpasses every
Yahweh does he — in the skies and on the earth, in the seas and every
He pulls clouds up from the edge of the earth, sends with the rain, and releases wind from his
He down the of Egypt, both human and animal alike.
He sent and into your midst, Egypt — against and all who served him.
He defeated many nations and killed kings —
king of the Amorites, Og, king of Bashan, and every kingdom of
Then he gave their land as an inheritance, an to Israel, his people.
Yahweh, your endures forever. Yahweh, your stretches across every generation.
Because Yahweh will his people; he will to those who serve him.
The of the nations are just silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
They have mouths but cannot speak. They have eyes but cannot see.
They have ears but cannot hear. There is no in their mouths.
The people who make them will become just like them — so will everyone who in them.
of praise Yahweh! House of praise Yahweh!
of praise Yahweh! Everyone who in of Yahweh, praise Yahweh!
Praise Yahweh from — he who in Jerusalem. Praise Yahweh!