Psalms 136:3

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Give thanks to the Lord of lords; For his loving kindness endures forever:

World English Bible · Public Domain

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Word by word

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ה֭וֹדוּ

yâdâh

H3034

“throw”

Verb, Hiphil, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural

Appears 114× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 29:35

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root; used only as denominative from H3027

TWOT: 847

to throw, shoot, cast - (Qal) to shoot (arrows) - (Piel) to cast, cast down, throw down - (Hiphil) - to give thanks, laud, praise - to confess, confess (the name of God) - (Hithpael) - to confess (sin) - to give thanks

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

6: words
5: distinct lemmas
Wisdom: section

Grammatical profile

1 verb
4 nouns
1 conjunction

Verb forms

ה֭וֹדוּ Hiphil · Imperative

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

לַאֲדֹנֵ֣י lord H113 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 13 words from the Hebrew and 13 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the same length.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Psalms 136:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Revelation 17:14 These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful."
1 Timothy 6:15 which in its own times he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
Revelation 19:16 He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

You’re reading Greek Psalm 135 (Hebrew Psalm 136). The Septuagint counts the superscription, so verse numbers can differ from the Hebrew — chapter-level alignment, not verse-by-verse. Numbering follows Rahlfs.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Psalms 136:3 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

ה֭וֹדוּ לַאֲדֹנֵ֣י הָאֲדֹנִ֑ים כִּ֖י לְעֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ

Give thanks to the Lord of lords; For his loving kindness endures forever:

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Greek Psalm 135:3 Septuagint · lemma form

ἐκὁμολογέω ὁ κύριος ὁ κύριος ὅτι εἰς ὁ αἰών ὁ ἔλεος αὐτός

Give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endures for ever.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Commentary

Notes on Psalms 136:3 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Psa 136:3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy [endureth] for ever.

Ver. 3. O give thanks unto the Lord of lords] That is, to God the Son, saith Jerome; as by God of gods, saith he, in the former verse, is meant God the Father; who, because they are no more but one God only, it is added,

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

J. A. Alexander on Psalms

Joseph Addison Alexander

3. (Psa 136:3) Give thanks unto the Lord of lords for unto eternity (is) his mercy. The Lord of lords, i.e. the supreme Lord, the Lord by way of excellence, as in the English phrase heart of hearts for inmost heart.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

3. O give thanks unto the keeper of Israel (Psa_121:4), for &c.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

O give thanks to the Lord of lords,.... Which is not only the title of the God of Israel, as the former, Deu 10:17; but of the Messiah, Rev 19:16; who is the Prince of the kings of the earth; under whom they are, by whom they reign, and to whom they are accountable, being higher than they; as nature, so by office, Rev 1:5, Psa 89:27;

for his mercy endureth for ever; in putting it into the hearts of kings and princes, which he has in his hands, to show favour to his people, even to be their nursing fathers; and in curbing the power, restraining the wrath, of oppressors; and protecting his people from their rage and violence.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

O give thanks to the Lord of lords - The Lord or Ruler of all in authority - all kings, princes, rulers. He is supreme over all. This is an attribute of Divinity; yet this is ascribed to the Lord Jesus, thus proving that he is divine. See the notes at Rev 19:16.

For his mercy ... - The ground of praise here, as in the previous verse, is, that this God - the Supreme Ruler over all the potentates and magistrates of earth - is a merciful Being. He is kind and benignant toward those rulers, and through them to mankind.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Treasury of David

Charles H. Spurgeon

Ver. 3. O give thanks to the Lord of lords. There are lords many, but Jehovah is the Lord of them. All lordship is vested in the Eternal. He makes and administers law, he rules and governs mind and matter, he possesses in himself all sovereignty and power. All lords in the plural are summed up in this Lord in the singular; he is more lordly than all emperors and kings condensed into one. For this we may well be thankful, for we know the superior Sovereign will rectify the abuses of the underlings who now lord it over mankind. He will call these lords to his bar, and reckon with them for every oppression and injustice. He is as truly the Lord of lords as he is Lord over the meanest of the land, and he rules with a strict impartiality, for which every just man should give heartiest thanks.

For his mercy endureth for ever. Yes, he mingles mercy with his justice, and reigns for the benefit of his subjects. He pities the sorrowful, protects the helpless, provides for the needy, and pardons the guilty; and this he does from generation to generation, never wearying of his grace, "because he delighteth in mercy." Let us arouse ourselves to laud our glorious Lord! A third time let us thank him who is our Jehovah, our God, and our Lord; and let this one reason suffice us for three thanksgivings, or for three thousand

"For his mercy shall endure,

Ever faithful, ever sure."

Ver. 3. The Lord of lords. The meaning of the title "Lord", as distinct from "Jehovah" and "God", is "Governor." And in this view also he is eminently entitled to praise and thanksgiving, in that his rule and government of the world are also eminently marked by "mercy" and "goodness": not the display of power only, but of power declared chiefly in showing mercy and pity: as again all subject to that rule are witnesses. Such is God in himself. Nor is it without intention that the doxology is threefold, indicating, doubtless, like the threefold invocation of the Name of the Lord in the blessing of the people (Nu 6:24-26) God in Trinity, "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost", as now fully revealed. William De Burgh.

Psalms 136:4*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

Oh give thanks to the Lord of lords. "Lord of lords" occurs also first in Deu_10:17. It is used likewise by St. Paul (2Ti 6:1-5) and St. John. (Rev_17:14 Rev_19:16) For his mercy, etc.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ibn Ezra

Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra

"Thank the Lord of lords" - the angels are the lords of the earth.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Psalms, in the Wisdom, opens this verse with 6 words (5 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is yâdâh (“to throw”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word yâdâh carries the sense “to throw.” How does it shape the verse?
How does Revelation 17:14, which shares this passage’s theme, read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “lord” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
«ה֭וֹדוּ» is a Hiphil Imperative verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Trapp's Complete Commentary and J. A. Alexander on Psalms read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

These translations choose different wording for 10 words in this verse.
“lord” occurs 2× in this single verse.
5 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 6 words in this verse.