God & Savior

Psalm 136:1

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His loving devotion endures forever.
Psalm 136:1
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Study notes

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever.

Explanation

Every one of the 26 verses of Psalm 136 ends with "His loving devotion endures forever". The psalm retells creation and Israel's history, and after each event repeats that God's covenant love lasts forever.

Original language
  • הוֹד֣וּ (ho.Du): to give thanks
    Hebrew · Verb, hiphil, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, plural · Strong's H3034 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Give thanks.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 136:1, word 1

  • ט֑וֹב (Tov): pleasant
    Hebrew · Adjective, masculine, singular, absolute · Strong's H2896A · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Good.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 136:1, word 4

  • חַסְדּֽוֹ (chas.Do): kindness
    Hebrew · Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H2617A · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Covenant loyalty: God's steadfast, faithful love. The BSB often translates it "loving devotion".

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Psalm 136:1, word 7

Cross-references
  • Psalm 107:1 · Parallel account

    The same words open Psalm 107.

  • 2 Chronicles 7:3 · Related verse

    The people sing this at the dedication of the temple.

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Hebrew)

הוֹד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה כִּי־ט֑וֹב כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃

  1. הוֹד֣וּho.Du“give thanks”
    Verb, hiphil, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, plural · from יָדָה · “to give thanks” · Strong's H3034
  2. לַיהוָ֣הla.Yah.weh“to Yahweh”
    Preposition + Noun, proper name, title · from יהוה · “LORD” · Strong's H3068G
  3. כִּי־ki-“for”
    Particle · from כִּי · “for” · Strong's H3588A
  4. ט֑וֹבTov“[he is] good”
    Adjective, masculine, singular, absolute · from טוֹב · “pleasant” · Strong's H2896A
  5. כִּ֖יki“for”
    Particle · from כִּי · “for” · Strong's H3588A
  6. לְעוֹלָ֣םle.'o.Lam“[is] for ever”
    Preposition + Noun, masculine, singular, absolute · from עוֹלָם · “enduring” · Strong's H5769G
  7. חַסְדּֽוֹ׃chas.Do“covenant loyalty his”
    Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from חֶ֫סֶד · “kindness” · Strong's H2617A
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)