Psalm 136:10

Psalm 136:10, in plain English

Now you're leaving creation and entering Israel's history—specifically the moment when God killed Egypt's firstborn, the final and most devastating plague.

Why it's here

This was the watershed moment for Israel. Nothing before it had worked; Pharaoh refused to let them go. This plague broke his will and freed millions of enslaved people. Every Israelite knew this story.

Who's speaking

The psalmist, beginning the historical section

Where it sits in the story

This is Exodus 12—the passover plague, the moment God showed He would not tolerate oppression of His people and could overcome the most powerful empire on earth.

The scholarly reading

The psalm now pivots from creation to redemptive history, narrating how God 'struck down the firstborn of Egypt'—the tenth and most devastating plague, which broke Pharaoh's resistance and demonstrated God's power over Egypt's realm and religion.

Language and setting

This refers to the Passover narrative (Exodus 11-12), when God sent an angel to slay the firstborn of every Egyptian household while sparing those Israelites who had marked their doorposts with lamb's blood. For Jewish communities, this became the central historical memory grounding their identity and religious observance.

Voice

The communal voice now transitions into the exodus narrative, recounting the definitive moment when God's redemptive purpose became manifest and Israel's liberation became possible.

Significance

The striking of Egypt's firstborn represents the climactic divine intervention in the exodus sequence. Later Jewish tradition, and Christian exegesis following Pauline typology, read this as prefiguring Christ as the Passover lamb whose sacrifice achieves redemption for humanity. The narrative arc from creation to exodus establishes that the same God sustains the cosmos and secures human liberation.

8the sun to rule the day,

9the moon and stars to govern the night.

10He struck down the firstborn of Egypt

11and brought Israel out from among them

12with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

Read all of Psalm 136 — Twenty-six verses. Twenty-six times the refrain: His steadfast love endures forever. Repetition becomes revelation.