The Psalter is divided into twenty sections called kathismata, read in order through the week at Vespers and Matins. Kathisma 19 contains Psalms 134–142 (Septuagint numbering).
Psalm 134 (135)
Alleluia.
1Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise the Lord, ye his servants,
2who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
3Praise ye the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises to his name; for it is good.
4For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.
5For I know that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods;
6all that the Lord willed, he did in heaven, and on the earth, in the sea, and in all deeps.
7Who brings up clouds from the extremity of the earth: he has made lightnings for the rain: he brings winds out of his treasures.
8Who smote the first-born of Egypt, both of man and beast.
9He sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, on Pharao, and on all his servants.
10Who smote many nations, and slew mighty kings;
11Seon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Basan, and all the kingdoms of Chanaan:
12and gave their land for an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel his people.
13O Lord, thy name endures for ever, and thy memorial to all generations.
14For the Lord shall judge his people, and comfort himself concerning his servants.
15The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the works of men’s hands.
16They have a mouth, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see;
17they have ears, but they cannot hear; for there is no breath in their mouth.
18Let those who make them be made like to them; and all those who trust in them.
19O house of Israel, bless ye the Lord: O house of Aaron, bless ye the Lord:
20O house of Levi, bless ye the Lord: ye that fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
21Blessed in Sion be the Lord, who dwells in Jerusalem.
Psalm 135 (136)
Alleluia.
1Give thanks to the Lord: for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever.
2Give thanks to the God of gods: for his mercy endures for ever.
3Give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endures for ever.
4To him who alone has wrought great wonders: for his mercy endures for ever.
5To him who made the heavens by understanding; for his mercy endures for ever.
6To him who established the earth on the waters; for his mercy endures for ever.
7To him who alone made great lights; for his mercy endures for ever.
8The sun to rule the day; for his mercy endures for ever.
9The moon and the stars to rule the night; for his mercy endures for ever.
10To him who smote Egypt with their first-born; for his mercy endures for ever.
11And brought Israel out of the midst of them; for his mercy endures for ever:
12with a strong hand, and a high arm: for his mercy endures for ever.
13To him who divided the Red Sea into parts: for his mercy endures for ever:
14and brought Israel through the midst of it: for his mercy endures for ever:
15and overthrew Pharao and his host in the Red Sea: for his mercy endures for ever.
16To him who led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endures for ever.
17To him who smote great kings: for his mercy endures for ever:
18and slew mighty kings; for his mercy endures for ever:
19Seon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endures for ever:
20and Og king of Basan: for his mercy endures for ever:
21and gave their land for an inheritance: for his mercy endures for ever:
22even an inheritance to Israel his servant: for his mercy endures for ever.
23For the Lord remembered us in our low estate; for his mercy endures for ever:
24and redeemed us from our enemies; for his mercy endures for ever.
25Who gives food to all flesh; for his mercy endures for ever.
26Give thanks to the God of heaven; for his mercy endures for ever.
Psalm 136 (137)
For David, a Psalm of Jeremias.
1By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat; and wept when we remembered Sion.
2We hung our harps on the willows in the midst of it.
3For there they that had taken us captive asked of us the words of a song; and they that had carried us away asked a hymn, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Sion.
4How should we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
5If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.
6May my tongue cleave to my throat, if I do not remember thee; if I do not prefer Jerusalem as the chief of my joy.
7Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to its foundations.
8Wretched daughter of Babylon! blessed shall he be who shall reward thee as thou hast rewarded us.
9Blessed shall he be who shall seize and dash thine infants against the rock.
Psalm 137 (138)
A Psalm for David, of Aggæus and Zacharias.
1I 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.
2I 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 every thing.
3In whatsoever day I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily; thou shalt abundantly provide me with thy power in my soul.
4Let all the kings of the earth, O Lord, give thanks unto thee; for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.
5And let them sing in the ways of the Lord; for great is the glory of the Lord.
6For the Lord is high, and yet regards the lowly; and he knows high things from afar off.
7Though I should walk in the midst of affliction, thou wilt quicken me; thou hast stretched forth thine hands against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand has saved me.
8O Lord, thou shalt recompense them on my behalf: thy mercy, O Lord, endures for ever: overlook not the works of thine hands.
Psalm 138 (139)
For the end, a Psalm of David.
1O Lord, thou hast proved me, and known me.
2Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising: thou understandest my thoughts long before.
3Thou hast traced my path and my bed, and hast foreseen all my ways.
4For there is no unrighteous word in my tongue: behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things,
5the last and the first: thou hast fashioned me, and laid thine hand upon me.
6The knowledge of thee is too wonderful for me; it is very difficult, I cannot attain to it.
7Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? and whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8If I should go up to heaven, thou art there: if I should go down to hell, thou art present.
9If I should spread my wings to fly straight forward, and sojourn at the extremity of the sea, it would be vain,
10for even there thy hand would guide me, and thy right hand would hold me.
11When I said, Surely the darkness will cover me; even the night was light in my luxury.
12For darkness will not be darkness with thee; but night will be light as day: as its darkness, so shall its light be to thee.
13For thou, O Lord, hast possessed my reins; thou hast helped me from my mother’s womb.
14I will give thee thanks; for thou art fearfully wondrous; wondrous are thy works; and my soul knows it well.
15My bones which thou madest in secret were not hidden from thee, nor my substance, in the lowest parts of the earth.
16Thine eyes saw my unwrought substance, and all men shall be written in thy book; they shall be formed by day, though there should for a time be no one among them.
17But thy friends, O God, have been greatly honoured by me; their rule has been greatly strengthened.
18I will number them, and they shall be multiplied beyond the sand; I awake, and am still with thee.
19Oh that thou wouldest slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, ye men of blood.
20For thou wilt say concerning their thought, that they shall take thy cities in vain.
21Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hate thee? and wasted away because of thine enemies?
22I have hated them with perfect hatred; they were counted my enemies.
23Prove me, O God, and know my heart; examine me, and know my paths;
24and see if there is any way of iniquity in me, and lead me in an everlasting way.
Psalm 139 (140)
For the end, a Psalm of David.
2Rescue me, O Lord, from the evil man; deliver me from the unjust man.
3Who have devised injustice in their hearts; all the day they prepared war.
4They have sharpened their tongue as the tongue of a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips. Pause.
5Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the sinner; rescue me from unjust men; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.
6The proud have hid a snare for me, and have stretched out ropes for snares for my feet; they set a stumbling-block for me near the path. Pause.
7I said to the Lord, Thou art my God; hearken, O Lord, to the voice of my supplication.
8O Lord God, the strength of my salvation; thou hast screened my head in the day of battle.
9Deliver me not, O Lord, to the sinner, according to my desire: they have devised mischief against me; forsake me not, lest they should be exalted. Pause.
10As for the head of them that compass me, the mischief of their lips shall cover them.
11Coals of fire shall fall upon them on the earth; and thou shalt cast them down in afflictions: they shall not bear up under them.
12A talkative man shall not prosper on the earth: evils shall hunt the unrighteous man to destruction.
13I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the poor, and the right of the needy ones.
14Surely the righteous shall give thanks to thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
Psalm 140 (141)
A Psalm of David.
1O Lord, I have cried to thee; hear me: attend to the voice of my supplication, when I cry to thee.
2Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
3Set a watch, O Lord, on my mouth, and a strong door about my lips.
4Incline not my heart to evil things, to employ pretexts for sins, with men who work iniquity: and let me not unite with their choice ones.
5The righteous shall chasten me with mercy, and reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head: for yet shall my prayer also be in their pleasures.
6Their mighty ones have been swallowed up near the rock: they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.
7As a lump of earth is crushed upon the ground, our bones have been scattered by the mouth of the grave.
8For mine eyes are to thee, O Lord God: I have hoped in thee; take not away my life.
9Keep me from the snare which they have set for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of them that work iniquity.
10Sinners shall fall by their own net: I am alone until I shall escape.
Psalm 141 (142)
A Psalm of instruction for David, when he was in the cave,—a Prayer.
2I cried to the Lord with my voice; with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
3I will pour out before him my supplication: I will declare before him mine affliction.
4When my spirit was fainting within me, then thou knewest my paths; in the very way wherein I was walking, they hid a snare for me.
5I looked on my right hand, and behold, for there was none that noticed me; refuge failed me; and there was none that cared for my soul.
6I cried unto thee, O Lord, and said, Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
7Attend to my supplication, for I am brought very low; deliver me from them that persecute me; for they are stronger than I.
8Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to thy name, O Lord; the righteous shall wait for me, until thou recompense me.
Psalm 142 (143)
A Psalm of David, when his son pursued him.
1O Lord, attend to my prayer: hearken to my supplication in thy truth; hear me in thy righteousness.
2And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
3For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has brought my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in a dark place, as those that have been long dead.
4Therefore my spirit was grieved in me; my heart was troubled within me.
5I remembered the days of old; and I meditated on all thy doings: yea, I meditated on the works of thine hands.
6I spread forth my hands to thee; my soul thirsts for thee, as a dry land. Pause.
7Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit has failed; turn not away thy face from me, else I shall be like to them that go down to the pit.
8Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning; for I have hoped in thee; make known to me, O Lord, the way wherein I should walk; for I have lifted up my soul to thee.
9Deliver me from mine enemies, O Lord; for I have fled to thee for refuge.
10Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God; thy good Spirit shall guide me in the straight way.
11Thou shalt quicken me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake; in thy righteousness thou shalt bring my soul out of affliction.
12And in thy mercy thou wilt destroy mine enemies, and wilt destroy all those that afflict my soul; for I am thy servant.
Text: The Septuagint Psalter, translated by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton (1851). Public domain.