Psalm 115
The full text of Psalm 115 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say,
'Where is their God?'
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
12 The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the LORD,
both the small and the great.
14 May the LORD give you increase,
you and your children!
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth!
16 The heavens are the LORD's heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.
17 The dead do not praise the LORD,
nor do any who go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the LORD!
Translation notes (3)
- Psalm 115:2a In the ancient Near East a nation's fortunes were taken as proof of its god's power, so military defeat invited the mockery that the vanquished deity was absent or impotent. The same taunt appears in Psalm 79:10, Joel 2:17, and Micah 7:10, and the following verse answers it: Israel's God is not confined to a land or an image but reigns from the heavens.
- Psalm 115:8a The Hebrew verb yihyu, 'shall become', can be read as a simple future or as a jussive ('may they become'), so the line functions as both verdict and curse: makers of lifeless images take on their lifelessness. The polemic echoes Deuteronomy 4:28 and is repeated nearly verbatim in Psalm 135:18.
- Psalm 115:17a The phrase renders Hebrew dumah (דּוּמָה), 'silence', a poetic name for Sheol used also in Psalm 94:17. The psalmist reflects the conviction, common in the Psalter (compare Psalm 6:5; 88:10-12), that praise of the LORD belongs to the living, giving urgency to the vow of the next verse.
About this translation
You are reading the Trinity Bible Version (TBV) — an original 2026 translation made straight from the Hebrew, in clear modern English, exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter of every book is free to read online. For the study edition — with Hebrew and Greek on every verse and the full translation notes — open Psalms in the Trinity Bible app.
Continue: Psalm 116 → · All of Psalms · About the TBV · Read Psalm 115 in the KJV
Get the app: iOS · Android · Trinity Plus