The Great Hallel. Twenty-six verses, each ending with the refrain 'for His faithful love endures forever.' The psalm moves through creation (vv. 4-9), the Exodus (vv. 10-16), the conquest (vv. 17-22), God's rescue of Israel from lowliness (vv. 23-24), and His provision of food to all living things (v. 25), before closing with a final call to give thanks (v. 26). The refrain ki le-olam chasdo ('for His faithful love endures forever') is repeated in every single verse — twenty-six times.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The relentless repetition of the refrain is the psalm's genius. Twenty-six times the congregation responds with the same words, and the repetition is not redundancy but insistence. Each verse presents a different act of God — creating light, splitting the sea, killing kings, feeding all flesh — and after each one, the same truth is declared: His faithful love endures forever. The structure teaches that chesed is not one attribute among many but the interpretive key to everything God does. Creation is chesed. Liberation is chesed. Conquest is chesed. Daily bread is chesed. The psalm was likely performed antiphonally, with a cantor singing the first half of each verse and the congregation responding with the refrain. This means the congregation's most-repeated theological statement was a declaration about chesed.
Translation Friction
The Hebrew word chesed has no single English equivalent. 'Mercy' (KJV) is too narrow; 'lovingkindness' (older translations) is not a real English word; 'steadfast love' (many modern translations) is closer but still clinical. We render it 'faithful love' because chesed is love that is loyal, love that persists through covenant obligation, love that does not quit. It is God's self-binding commitment to His people expressed in ongoing acts of care. The twenty-six repetitions in this psalm may not be accidental — the numerical value of YHWH (yod-he-vav-he) in gematria is 26, suggesting the psalm's structure mirrors the divine name itself.
Connections
The refrain appears in 1 Chronicles 16:34, 2 Chronicles 5:13, 7:3, and Ezra 3:11 — always at moments of intense liturgical celebration (the ark's arrival, the temple dedication, the second temple's foundation). Jeremiah 33:11 prophesies a day when the refrain will be heard again in the restored land. The phrase ki le-olam chasdo is arguably the most repeated liturgical formula in the Hebrew Bible. Psalm 136 shares extensive content with Psalm 135, but where Psalm 135 narrates, Psalm 136 responds — each act of God becomes an occasion for the chesed declaration.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
חֶסֶדchesed
"faithful love"—loyal love, covenant faithfulness, kindness, mercy, devotion, steadfast commitment; love that persists through obligation and beyond it
The single most important relational word in the Hebrew Bible. Chesed describes the love that flows from covenant commitment — it is not feeling but action, not sentiment but loyalty. In Psalm 136, it is declared twenty-six times as the motive behind every act of God from creation to daily provision. The repetition teaches that chesed is not one divine attribute among many but the lens through which all of God's acts should be understood.
Translator Notes
The KJV renders chesed as 'mercy,' which captures only one dimension of the word. Chesed includes mercy but also encompasses loyalty, commitment, kindness, and covenant faithfulness. It is the word used when Ruth clings to Naomi, when David shows kindness to Jonathan's son, when God remembers His covenant with Abraham. We render it 'faithful love' throughout this psalm to hold together the love and the faithfulness.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The title Elohei ha-Elohim ('God of gods') uses the superlative construction common in Hebrew: the ultimate among all that could be called divine. It does not necessarily affirm the existence of other gods but asserts YHWH's supremacy over every possible claimant to divine status.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Adonei ha-Adonim ('Lord of lords') parallels the previous verse's 'God of gods.' Together they form a double superlative: supreme God, supreme ruler. The three opening verses (vv. 1-3) establish the recipient of thanks before the reasons begin in verse 4.
To the one who alone does great wonders,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word levaddo ('alone, by Himself') is theologically significant: no other being participates in God's wonder-working. The niflaot gedolot ('great wonders') encompasses everything that follows — creation, Exodus, conquest — all performed by God alone.
To the one who made the heavens with understanding,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word tevunah ('understanding, insight, intelligence') attributes the creation to divine wisdom, not raw power. The heavens are not brute-forced into existence but crafted with intelligence. This echoes Proverbs 3:19: 'The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens.'
To the one who spread out the earth upon the waters,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb roqa ('to spread out, to beat out, to flatten') is a metalworking term — like hammering gold into thin sheets. The image is of God flattening the earth and laying it over the primordial waters, reflecting the ancient cosmology of Genesis 1:9-10 where dry land emerges from the waters.
To the one who made the great lights,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The 'great lights' (orim gedolim) echoes Genesis 1:16 exactly — the same phrase used for the sun and moon on the fourth day of creation. The psalm follows the Genesis creation order, treating the creation narrative as a liturgical script.
The sun to rule the day,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb memsheleth ('to rule, to govern') assigns the sun a political role — it governs the day as a regent governs territory. In a world where surrounding cultures worshiped the sun as a god, the psalm reduces it to a servant assigned a shift by the true sovereign.
The moon and stars to rule the night,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The moon and stars together govern the night. The plural memshelot ('rules, governances') distributes the authority — the night has multiple governors, not one. This completes the creation section (vv. 4-9) before the psalm shifts to the Exodus in verse 10.
To the one who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The transition from creation to Exodus is seamless — the God who made the sun is the God who struck Egypt. The phrase bi-vekhoreihem ('through their firstborn') concentrates the tenth plague into a single word: the firstborn are both the target and the means of the blow. Declaring 'His faithful love endures forever' after an act of destruction is theologically challenging — the psalm insists that even judgment is an expression of chesed toward those being delivered.
And brought Israel out from among them,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb vayyotse ('and He brought out') is the Exodus verb — the hiphil of yatsa, the root of the entire Exodus narrative. God is the subject; Israel is the object. The deliverance is entirely God's act.
With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase be-yad chazaqah u-vi-zeroa netuyah ('with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm') is the Deuteronomic formula for the Exodus (Deuteronomy 4:34, 5:15, 7:19, 11:2, 26:8). It is one of the most formulaic phrases in the Hebrew Bible — an Israelite hearing these words would immediately think 'Exodus.' The hand and arm are anthropomorphisms for God's direct, personal intervention.
To the one who split the Sea of Reeds into sections,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb gozer ('to cut, split, divide') is graphic — God cut the sea into gezarim ('sections, pieces'), as one cuts meat or cloth. The Yam Suf ('Sea of Reeds') is the traditional body of water crossed during the Exodus. We render it 'Sea of Reeds' rather than 'Red Sea' because suf means 'reed, rush' (as in Exodus 2:3, where baby Moses is placed among the reeds).
And made Israel pass through the middle of it,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The hiphil verb he'evir ('He caused to pass through') emphasizes God's agency — Israel did not swim or wade; God caused them to cross. The preposition be-tokho ('through its midst') places Israel in the center of the divided sea, surrounded by walls of water on both sides.
And shook off Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb ni'er is more dismissive than 'overthrew' (KJV). It contains the idea of shaking something loose — like shaking insects off a garment. Applied to Pharaoh and his entire army, it reduces Egypt's military might to something God brushes away without effort.
To the one who led His people through the wilderness,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The participle molikhi ('the one leading') describes ongoing guidance — not a single act but forty years of sustained direction through the desert. The wilderness (midbar) was not merely a transit zone but the place where Israel was formed as a covenant people. God's faithful love endures even through the barren places.
To the one who struck down great kings,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The conquest section begins (vv. 17-22), moving from the wilderness to the Transjordanian victories. The 'great kings' (melakhim gedolim) are specified in the following verses — Sihon and Og, the same pair memorialized in Psalm 135:10-11.
And killed mighty kings,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word addirim ('mighty, majestic, powerful') elevates the defeated kings — these were not petty chieftains but formidable rulers. Their might makes their defeat more impressive and God's chesed more visible.
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Sihon ruled the territory between the Arnon and Jabbok rivers in Transjordan. His defeat is narrated in Numbers 21:21-31 and became one of the most frequently cited events in Israel's liturgical memory of the conquest.
And Og, king of Bashan,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Og ruled the fertile region of Bashan in the northern Transjordan. Deuteronomy 3:11 notes that his iron bed was nine cubits long — he was remembered as a giant. His defeat, narrated in Numbers 21:33-35, opened the way to the northern approaches to the promised land.
And gave their land as an inheritance,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word nachalah ('inheritance') reappears from Psalm 135:12. The conquered land is not plunder but inheritance — a divinely granted portion held in trust.
An inheritance for Israel His servant,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Israel is called avdo ('His servant') — a title of honor, not degradation. In the ancient Near East, the king's servant was his trusted agent. Israel serves the cosmic sovereign as His representative on earth. The land is the servant's portion, granted by the master.
Who remembered us in our lowliness,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb zakhar ('remembered') in Hebrew does not mean 'recalled to mind' (as if God had forgotten) but 'turned His attention to with intent to act.' Divine remembering is always the prelude to divine intervention.
And tore us free from our enemies,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb vayyifreqeinu (from paraq, 'to tear away, to rescue by force, to snatch free') is more violent than 'redeemed.' It describes a forceful extraction — God ripped Israel from the grip of enemies the way one tears prey from a predator's jaws. The word tsareinu ('our enemies,' literally 'our adversaries, our distressers') comes from the root tsarar ('to bind, to press, to distress').
The one who gives food to all living things,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase kol basar ('all flesh') encompasses not just all humans but all living creatures — animals, birds, sea life. The psalm's movement from Israel-specific salvation (vv. 10-24) to universal provision (v. 25) prevents the theology from becoming exclusively national. God's chesed has a particular expression (Israel's history) but a universal scope (all living things eat because of Him).
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for His faithful love endures forever.
KJV O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The title El ha-shamayim ('God of heaven') appears in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel as a way of identifying Israel's God to non-Israelite audiences. Its use here universalizes the psalm's closing: this is not merely Israel's tribal deity but the God of heaven itself — the creator, liberator, and sustainer of all.