Psalms 136:10
in Psalms 136He struck down the firstborn of Egypt His loving devotion endures forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
To him that smote Egypt in their first-born; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever;
KJV
To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:
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This verse in Psalms 136
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWe have heard of the glory of the world's creation, we are now to praise the Lord for the creation of his favoured nation by their Exodus from Egypt. Because the monarch of Egypt stood in the way of the Lord's gracious purposes it became needful for the Lord to deal with him in justice; but the great design was mercy to Israel, and through Israel mercy to succeeding ages, and to all the world. To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn. The last and greatest of the plagues struck all Egypt to the heart.
This site's exposition
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt
on Psalms 136:10-15
The acts begin in Egypt, with the firstborn struck down and Israel brought out under a mighty hand and outstretched arm. Deuteronomy 4:34 names the same strong hand and an outstretched arm at work in Egypt. One sea carried Israel through and drowned Pharaoh's army.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But what means, "who alone does great wonders"? Is it because many wonderful things He has done by means of angels and men? Some wonderful things there are which God does alone, and these he enumerates, saying, "who by His wisdom made the heavens" [Psalm 136:5], "who stretched out the earth above the waters" [Psalm 136:6], "who alone made great lights" [Psalm 136:7]. For this reason did he add "alone" in this verse also, because the other wonders which he is about to tell of, God did by means of man. For having said, "who alone made great lights," he goes on to explain what these are, "the sun to rule the day" [Psalm 136:8], "the moon and stars to govern the night" [Psalm 136:9]; then he begins to tell the wonders which He did by means of angels and men: "who smote Egypt with their first-born" [Psalm 136:10], and the rest. The whole creation then God manifestly made, not by means of any creature, but "alone;" and of this creation he has mentioned certain more eminent parts, that they might make us think on the whole; the heavens we can understand, and the earth we see. And as there are visible heavens too, by mentioning the lights in them, he has bid us look on the whole body of the heavens as made by Him.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That was a mercy which endured long to them, and our redemption by Christ, which was typified by that, does indeed endure for ever, for it is an eternal redemption.
To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
We have heard of the glory of the world's creation, we are now to praise the Lord for the creation of his favoured nation by their Exodus from Egypt. Because the monarch of Egypt stood in the way of the Lord's gracious purposes it became needful for the Lord to deal with him in justice; but the great design was mercy to Israel, and through Israel mercy to succeeding ages, and to all the world. To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn. The last and greatest of the plagues struck all Egypt to the heart. The sorrow and the terror which it caused throughout the nation it is hardly possible to exaggerate. From king to slave each one was wounded in the most tender point. The joy and hope of every household was struck down in one moment, and each family had its own wailing. The former blows had missed their aim compared with the last; but that "smote Egypt." The Lord's firstborn had been oppressed by Egypt, and at last the Lord fulfilled his threatening, "I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn." Justice lingered but it struck home at last. "For his mercy endureth for ever." Yes, even to the extremity of vengeance upon a whole nation the Lord's mercy to his people endured. He is slow to anger, and judgment is his strange work; but when mercy to men demands severe punishments he will not hold back his hand from the needful surgery. What were all the firstborn of Egypt compared with those divine purposes of mercy to all generations of men which were wrapped up in the deliverance of the elect people? Let us even when the Lord's judgments are abroad in the earth continue to sing of his unfailing grace.
Smote Egypt in their first-born - This was one of the heaviest of strokes: a great part of the rising generation was cut off; few but old persons and children left remaining.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
To him that smote Egypt in their first-born - Exo 12:29. That is, he struck them down, or destroyed them, by his own direct power. For his mercy ... - It was in mercy to his people. It was the means of their deliverance from bondage, for the Egyptians would not otherwise have suffered them to depart. By all the results of their deliverance both to themselves and to mankind, the act was seen to be an act of mercy to the world. It was better for mankind that the Hebrews should be delivered even at this sacrifice than it would have been that they should not be brought into the promised land.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
To Him Who smote the Egyptians with their firstborn It does not say, “their firstborn,” but “with their firstborn.” The firstborn arose and beat their fathers’ legs because they detained Israel, when they heard about the tenth plague from Moses.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְמַכֵּ֣ה | lemakeh | to [one who] struck down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| מִ֭צְרַיִם | mitzrayim | <of> Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בִּבְכוֹרֵיהֶ֑ם | bivkhoreihem | <in> firstborn<s> their | H1060 → | 122 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְעוֹלָ֣ם | leolam | [is] for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
| חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | chasdo | covenant loyalty his | H2617 → | 247 times |
לְמַכֵּ֣הto [one who] struck down
lemakehH5221 →499 times
מִ֭צְרַיִם<of> Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בִּבְכוֹרֵיהֶ֑ם<in> firstborn<s> their
bivkhoreihemH1060 →122 times
כִּ֖יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לְעוֹלָ֣ם[is] for ever
leolamH5769 →438 times
חַסְדּֽוֹ׃covenant loyalty his
chasdoH2617 →247 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
Exodus 12:29Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon,…
it leads to
- Psalms 105:36
Then He struck all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their vigor.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 135:8
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 78:51
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 4:23
and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”
- Psalms 105:36
Through
Exodus 12:12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am…
it leads to
- Numbers 33:4
who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them; for the LORD had executed judgment against their gods.
- Psalms 82:6
I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’
- Exodus 12:23
When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow…
- Numbers 33:4
Through
Psalms 78:51He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
it leads to
- Exodus 13:15
And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 13:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Psalms
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 136; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.