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Psalm 138 · a question people ask

"Before the gods, I will sing praises to you" (138:1). Who are the gods?

In the text

The psalm doesn't say. Here is what the text shows. Before is neged, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives as "in front of, in sight of, opposite to", and the gods is elohim, the word that also names the one God, as in "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) (tap gods). Other psalms set the LORD beside the gods: "There is no one like you among the gods, Lord" (Psalm 86:8), "a great King above all gods" (Psalm 95:3), "For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens" (Psalm 96:5), and "Worship him, all you gods!" (Psalm 97:7). Christians read the gods in verses like these in more than one way, and Psalm 82's honest question sets out the main readings of "the gods" in that psalm (Psalm 82:1, 82:6). Psalm 138 names the gods once, as those before whom the psalmist sings, and says nothing more of them. These notes don't choose who they are.

The verses

“By David. I will give you thanks with my whole heart. Before the gods, I will sing praises to you.”
Psalm 138:1 · World English Bible
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1 · World English Bible
“There is no one like you among the gods, Lord, nor any deeds like your deeds.”
Psalm 86:8 · World English Bible
“For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.”
Psalm 95:3 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 138

Psalm 138: With my whole heart

Psalm 138 has one Hebrew verb for thanks three times: twice the psalmist's, then all the kings of the earth's (138:1-4). In 138:6 the LORD is high, and the WEB's the proud is a Hebrew word for high too: the lowly he sees, the proud he knows from afar. It ends on a prayer: "Don’t forsake the works of your own hands" (138:8).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions