Psalms 136:3
in Psalms 136Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His loving devotion endures forever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Oh give thanks unto the Lord of lords; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever:
KJV
O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
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This verse in Psalms 136
Commentary
9 notes on this verseConfess to the Lord of lords. This is referred to the Son, and "to the God of gods" to the Father. To the Father, then, and to the Son we confess: for the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father.
This site's exposition
Give thanks to the LORD
on Psalms 136:1-3
Three titles open the psalm, the LORD, the God of gods, and the Lord of lords. Every one of its twenty-six verses closes with the same line, that His loving devotion endures forever. No act of God is named yet.
This site's exposition
Give thanks to the Lord of lords
The Hebrew adon is the word for a master, used of men as well as of God. Lord of lords sets Him above every such master. Pharaoh in verse 15 and the kings Sihon and Og in verses 19 and 20 are the lords the psalm will see brought down.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
What we must give thanks for, not as the Pharisee that made all his thanksgivings terminate in his own praise ( God, I thank thee, that I am so and so), but directing them all to God's glory. (1.) We must give thanks to God for his goodness and mercy (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
As God over all, ver. 25, 26. Commentary on Chapter 136 2. The God of gods - Who is infinitely superior to all that are called gods, whether angels, or princes, or idols.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-25-anchored-3-3
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
O give thanks to the Lord of lords. There are lords many, but Jehovah is the Lord of them. All lordship is vested in the Eternal. He makes and administers law, he rules and governs mind and matter, he possesses in himself all sovereignty and power. All lords in the plural are summed up in this Lord in the singular; he is more lordly than all emperors and kings condensed into one. For this we may well be thankful, for we know the superior Sovereign will rectify the abuses of the underlings who now lord it over mankind. He will call these lords to his bar, and reckon with them for every oppression and injustice. He is as truly the Lord of lords as he is Lord over the meanest of the land, and he rules with a strict impartiality, for which every just man should give heartiest thanks. For his mercy endureth for ever. Yes, he mingles mercy with his justice, and reigns for the benefit of his subjects. He pities the sorrowful, protects the helpless, provides for the needy, and pardons the guilty; and this he does from generation to generation, never wearying of his grace, "because he delighteth in mercy." Let us arouse ourselves to laud our glorious Lord! A third time let us thank him who is our Jehovah, our God, and our Lord; and let this one reason suffice us for three thanksgivings, or for three thousand—
O give thanks to the Lord of lords. There are lords many, but Jehovah is the Lord of them. All lordship is vested in the Eternal. He makes and administers law, he rules and governs mind and matter, he possesses in himself all sovereignty and power. All lords in the plural are summed up in this Lord in the singular; he is more lordly than all emperors and kings condensed into one. For this we may well be thankful, for we know the superior Sovereign will rectify the abuses of the underlings who now lord it over mankind.
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
O give thanks to the Lord of lords - The Lord or Ruler of all in authority - all kings, princes, rulers. He is supreme over all. This is an attribute of Divinity; yet this is ascribed to the Lord Jesus, thus proving that he is divine. See the notes at Rev 19:16. For his mercy ... - The ground of praise here, as in the previous verse, is, that this God - the Supreme Ruler over all the potentates and magistrates of earth - is a merciful Being. He is kind and benignant toward those rulers, and through them to mankind.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֭וֹדוּ | hodu | give thanks | H3034 → | 114 times |
| לַאֲדֹנֵ֣י | laadonei | to [the] lord<s> of | H113 → | 333 times |
| הָאֲדֹנִ֑ים | haadonim | the lords | H113 → | 333 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְעֹלָ֣ם | leolam | [is] for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
| חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ | chasdo | covenant loyalty his | H2617 → | 247 times |
ה֭וֹדוּgive thanks
hoduH3034 →114 times
לַאֲדֹנֵ֣יto [the] lord<s> of
laadoneiH113 →333 times
הָאֲדֹנִ֑יםthe lords
haadonimH113 →333 times
כִּ֖יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לְעֹלָ֣ם[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
Revelation 19:16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
it leads to
- Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Timothy 6:15
which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 2:47
The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
- Revelation 17:14
Through
Revelation 17:14They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
it leads to
- Romans 8:30
And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
- Matthew 22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.”
- Revelation 3:21
To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
- Romans 8:30
Through
1 Timothy 6:15which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.
it leads to
- Revelation 19:16
And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
- 1 Timothy 1:17
Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Revelation 19:16
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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); Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jerome, Homily 47, on Psalm 135; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.