The Meaning of Psalms 136:10 Explained

Psalms 136:10

KJV: To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:

YLT: To Him smiting Egypt in their first-born, For to the age is His kindness.

Darby: To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn, for his loving-kindness endureth for ever,

ASV: To him that smote Egypt in their first-born; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

To him that smote  Egypt  in their firstborn:  for his mercy  [endureth] for ever: 

What does Psalms 136:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 136:1-12 - A Review Of God's Mercies
An antiphonal psalm, intended to be sung by two choirs or by a soloist and the Temple choir. This avowal of the eternity of God's mercy, amid all the fluctuation and change of human affairs, is very striking. When we can look out on the history of our world from God's standpoint, we discover that the black-edged pages have been interleaved with golden pages of mercy. When we review our own lives from the vantage ground of heaven, we shall see that the mercy of God was the blue sky of background across which the dark clouds floated for but a limited space.
The divisions are as follows: Creation, Psalms 136:1-9; Redemption, Psalms 136:10-22; Providence, Psalms 136:23-26. In the first division the psalmist views the framework of the world and the redemption of Israel from Egypt as equal monuments of the divine loving-kindness. It was love that made the theater on which the great revelation of redemption was manifested. The crimson lips of a tulip's petals are His work as well as the crimson blood that flowed at Calvary. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 136

1  An exhortation to give thanks to God for particular mercies

What do the individual words in Psalms 136:10 mean?

To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn for ever His mercy [endures]
לְמַכֵּ֣ה מִ֭צְרַיִם בִּבְכוֹרֵיהֶ֑ם כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ

לְמַכֵּ֣ה  To  Him  who  struck 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
מִ֭צְרַיִם  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
בִּבְכוֹרֵיהֶ֑ם  in  their  firstborn 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: בְּכֹר  
Sense: firstborn, firstling.
לְעוֹלָ֣ם  ever 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
חַסְדּֽוֹ  His  mercy  [endures] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.