Psalms 135:9
in Psalms 135He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Who sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants;
KJV
Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants.
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This verse in Psalms 135
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWho sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants. The Lord is still seen by the Psalmist as sending judgments upon rebellious men; he keeps before us the personal action of God, "who sent tokens", etc. The more distinctly God is seen the better. Even in plagues he is to be seen, as truly as in mercies. The plagues were not only terrible wonders which astounded men, but forcible tokens or signs by which they were instructed.
This site's exposition
struck down the firstborn of Egypt
on Psalms 135:8-12
The recital runs from the firstborn of Egypt and the signs against Pharaoh to the kings struck down and their land given to Israel. John Gill reads Sihon and Og as named because they were the first slain and the most powerful. Psalm 136:19 to 22 names the same two.
This site's exposition
He sent signs and wonders
The psalm turns in the middle of the recital to speak to Egypt itself. Signs and wonders is the pairing of Exodus 7:3, where the LORD says He will multiply them, and of Deuteronomy 6:22. The Hebrew words are otot and mophetim.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt!" You know, you have read what the hand of the Lord did by Moses in Egypt, to crush and cast down the proud Egyptians, "on Pharaoh and on all his servants." Little did He in Egypt: what did He after His people was led out thence?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt,.... Or, "signs and wonders".
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants. The Lord is still seen by the Psalmist as sending judgments upon rebellious men; he keeps before us the personal action of God, "who sent tokens", etc. The more distinctly God is seen the better. Even in plagues he is to be seen, as truly as in mercies. The plagues were not only terrible wonders which astounded men, but forcible tokens or signs by which they were instructed. No doubt the plagues were aimed at the various deities of the Egyptians, and were a grand exposure of their impotence; each one had its own special significance. The judgments of the Lord were no side blows, they struck the nation at the heart; he sent his bolts "into the midst of thee, O Egypt!" These marvels happened in the centre of the proud and exclusive nation of Egypt, which thought itself far superior to other lands; and many of these plagues touched the nation in points upon which it prided itself. The Psalmist addresses that haughty nation, saying, "O Egypt", as though reminding it of the lessons which it had been taught by the Lord's right hand. Imperious Pharaoh had been the ringleader in defying Jehovah, and he was made personally to smart for it; nor did his flattering courtiers escape, upon each one of them the scourge fell heavily. God's servants are far better off than Pharaoh's servants: those who stand in the courts of Jehovah are delivered, but the courtiers of Pharaoh are smitten all of them, for they were all partakers in his evil deeds. The Lord is to be praised for thus rescuing his own people, and causing their cruel adversaries to bite the dust. Let no true Israelite forget the song of the Red Sea, but anew let us hear a voice summoning us to exulting praise: "Sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously."
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Who sent tokens and wonders - Tokens: that is, signs or evidences of the divine power. Wonders: things suited to impress the mind with awe; things outside of the ordinary course of events; things not produced by natural laws, but by the direct power of God. The allusion here is, of course, to the plagues of Egypt, as recorded in Exodus. See the notes at Psa 105:27-36.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁלַ֤ח׀ | shalach | he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֹת֣וֹת | ʾotot | signs | H226 → | 80 times |
| וּ֭מֹפְתִים | umofetim | and wonders | H4159 → | 36 times |
| בְּתוֹכֵ֣כִי | betokhekhi | in [the] midst of you | H8432 → | 418 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | O Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בְּ֝פַרְעֹ֗ה | befaroh | on Pharaoh | H6547 → | |
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and on all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲבָדָֽיו׃ | ʾavadav | servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
שָׁלַ֤ח׀he sent
shalachH7971 →845 times
אֹת֣וֹתsigns
ʾototH226 →80 times
וּ֭מֹפְתִיםand wonders
umofetimH4159 →36 times
בְּתוֹכֵ֣כִיin [the] midst of you
betokhekhiH8432 →418 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםO Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בְּ֝פַרְעֹ֗הon Pharaoh
befarohH6547 →
וּבְכָל־and on all
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲבָדָֽיו׃servants his
ʾavadavH5650 →799 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 7:36He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:21
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were…
- Exodus 12:41
At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions went out of the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 33:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and…
- Exodus 7:1–14
The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
- Psalms 78:12–33
He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
- Exodus 14:21
Through
Psalms 136:15but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. His loving devotion endures forever.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:53
He led them safely, so they did not fear, but the sea engulfed their enemies.
- Psalms 78:53
Through
Deuteronomy 6:22Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household.
it leads to
- Psalms 58:10–11
The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
- Deuteronomy 4:34
Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the…
- Psalms 58:10–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 135; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.