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Psalms 135:1–21, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Psalms 135:1–21
Praise the sovereign LORD above idols and kings
Praise is aimed at a choosing God who does what he pleases, in temple and in weather
Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD. Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
Servants in house and courts are addressed. Goodness and pleasant praise precede the claim of election: Jacob chosen, Israel as treasured property. Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, earth, seas, and deeps. Vapours, lightnings, wind from treasuries: weather is not a rival deity.
Exodus, land, and the satire of idols end as a call to bless from Zion
Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. Signs and wonders against Pharaoh. Sihon, Og, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, their land an heritage. Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever. The idols of the nations are silver and gold: mouths that do not speak, eyes that do not see. They that make them are like unto them.
Bless the LORD, O house of Israel, O house of Aaron, O house of Levi, ye that fear the LORD. Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. The psalm recycles 115's idol satire and 136's history in a new gathering hymn. Firstborn-smiting and dispossessed kings are Israel's memory of how they got a land, not a modern warrant to smite. Dwelling at Jerusalem is why the servants stand where they stand.
How this should shape us
Praise the God who chooses, who rules sea and storm, and who is not a handmade mouth. Bless him in the house. Do not become like what you trust, and do not turn Sihon and Og into a policy for seizing land today.
Teach it back
Explain Psalms 135:1–21 in your own words. Name the poetic voice and movement, trace its place in Psalm 135 and Book V, identify one exact source control or uncertainty, and reject one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Psalms 135:1–21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 135:1–21
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 135:1–21.
Official NET Bible Psalm 135 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 135:1–21
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Enter the Bible Psalms course, Summary, Outline, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to Psalms 135:1–21
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 135 for Psalms 135:1–21
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 135:1–21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 135:1–21
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 135:1–21.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 135 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 135:1–21
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Summary, Outline, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to Psalms 135:1–21
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 135 for Psalms 135:1–21
Open NETS Psalms ↗