The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 137

The Book of Psalms · the Psalter

Psalm 137

Psalm 138 in the KJV and most English Bibles

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1

A Psalm for David, of Haggai and Zechariah. I will give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; And I will sing psalms to thee before the angels; For thou hast heard all the words of my mouth.

Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυὶδ, Ἀγγαίου καὶ Ζαχαρίου. Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι Κύριε ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου, καὶ ἐναντίον ἀγγέλων ψαλῶ σοι, ὅτι ἤκουσας πάντα τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ στόματός μου.

2

I will worship toward thy holy temple, And give thanks to thy name, On account of thy mercy and thy truth; For thou hast magnified thy holy name above everything.

Προσκυνήσω πρὸς ναὸν ἅγιόν σου, καὶ ἐξομολογήσομαι τῷ ὀνόματί σου, ἐπὶ τῷ ἐλέει σου καὶ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου· ὅτι ἐμεγάλυνας ἐπὶ πᾶν τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἅγιόν σου.

3

In whatsoever day I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily; Thou shalt abundantly provide me with thy power in my soul.

Ἐν ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπικαλέσωμαί σε, ταχὺ ἐπάκουσόν μου· πολυωρήσεις με ἐν ψυχῇ μου δυνάμει σου.

4

Let all the kings of the earth, O Lord, give thanks unto thee; For they have heard all the words of thy mouth.

Ἐξομολογησάσθωσάν σοι Κύριε πάντες οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς, ὅτι ἤκουσαν πάντα τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ στόματός σου.

5

And let them sing in the ways of the Lord; For great is the glory of the Lord.

Καὶ ᾀσάτωσαν ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς Κυρίου, ὅτι μεγάλη ἡ δόξα Κυρίου.

6

For the Lord is high, and yet regards the lowly; And he knows high things from afar off.

Ὅτι ὑψηλὸς Κύριος, καὶ τὰ ταπεινὰ ἐφορᾷ, καὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ ἀπομακρόθεν γινώσκει.

7

Though I should walk in the midst of affliction, thou wilt quicken me; Thou hast stretched forth thy hands against the wrath of mine enemies, And thy right hand has saved me.

Ἐὰν πορευθῶ ἐν μέσῳ θλίψεως, ζήσεις με· ἐπʼ ὀργὴν ἐχθρῶν μου ἐξέτεινας χεῖράς σου, καὶ ἔσωσέ με ἡ δεξιά σου.

8

O Lord, thou shalt recompense them on my behalf: Thy mercy, O Lord, endures forever: Overlook not the works of thy hands.

Κύριε ἀνταποδώσεις ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ· Κύριε τὸ ἔλεός σου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν σου μὴ παρίδῃς.

About these notes

Every note is a real passage, quoted word for word from a published English translation, with its source. Nothing here is summarised or written by us. Some verses have many notes and some have none, because the Fathers wrote more on some passages than others.

  • Blessed Augustine, Expositions on the Book of Psalms, tr. A. Cleveland Coxe from the Oxford translation, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888).
  • Scripture: the Septuagint, in the translation of Sir Lancelot Brenton (1851), with spelling updated by Adam Boyd (2020); the Greek is Brenton's Septuagint text.

All of these translations are in the public domain. The passages were matched to their verses by the Historical Christian Commentaries project, which also hosts the full texts we link to. The Fathers are a treasury of the Church's mind, and they are best read alongside the life of the Church: if a passage raises a question, bring it to your priest.