Psalm 135:8

Psalm 135:8, in plain English

The psalmist now shifts to Israel's history, recalling when God struck down Egypt's firstborn—both human children and animals. This was the tenth and most devastating plague, the moment that broke Pharaoh's resistance.

Why it's here

Every Israelite child would have heard this story during Passover, the annual celebration commemorating the exodus. It was the hinge moment of their national identity. But notice what the psalmist is doing here—he's using this historical memory to prove his point: God's power is real and demonstrated.

Who's speaking

The psalmist, citing historical precedent

Where it sits in the story

This reaches back to Exodus 12, one of the most consequential chapters in the Bible, where God's judgment on Egypt became the foundation for Israel's freedom and identity as God's people.

The scholarly reading

The narrative shifts abruptly from meteorological phenomena to historical judgment: God's striking down of Egypt's firstborn—both human and animal. This is the tenth plague, the most devastating of the Egyptian judgments, presented as a demonstration of God's power against the greatest empire of the ancient world.

Language and setting

Verses 8-12 rehearse Israel's foundational liberation narrative with remarkable economy. The 'firstborn of Egypt' (בְכוֹר מִצְרַיִם) invokes Exodus 12:29, the plague that finally broke Pharaoh's resistance. The inclusion of both 'man and beast' (מֵאָדָם עַד־בְהֵמָה) emphasizes the totality of the judgment and echoes the comprehensive character of the plagues. For Second Temple audiences, this recalled their ancestors' deliverance and asserted that the God who conquered Egypt could sustain Israel through any subsequent trial.

Voice

The worshipper continues the liturgical recitation, now grounding abstract claims about God's power in specific historical memory.

Significance

This verse encapsulates the exodus narrative—Israel's foundational story of liberation from oppression. The exodus functions throughout Scripture as the paradigmatic divine act of salvation, recalled in subsequent covenants (cf. Deut. 5:15, Ps. 113) and reinterpreted eschatologically in prophetic literature. The New Testament explicitly links Christ's death to the Passover liberation (1 Cor. 5:7), making this historical judgment a type of Christian redemption.

6The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths.

7He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

8He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast.

9He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.

10He struck down many nations and slaughtered mighty kings:

Read all of Psalm 135 — The Lord chose Israel as His treasured possession. A hymn that celebrates divine choice and power with borrowed phrases from across the Psalter.