Psalm 120–124

Deliver Me, O Lord

120A Song of ^mAscents.

¹In my distress I called to the Lord,

and he answered me.

²Deliver me, O Lord,

from lying lips,

from a deceitful tongue.

³What shall be given to you,

ⁿand what more shall be done to you,

you deceitful tongue?

^4oA warrior’s ^psharp arrows,

with glowing ^qcoals of the broom tree!

⁵Woe to me, that I sojourn in ^rMeshech,

that I dwell among ^sthe tents of ^tKedar!

⁶Too long have I had my dwelling

among those who hate peace.

^7uI am for peace,

but when I speak, they are for war!

My Help Comes from the Lord

121A Song of ^mAscents.

¹I ^vlift up my eyes to ^wthe hills.

From where does my help come?

^2xMy help comes from the Lord,

who ^ymade heaven and earth.

³He will not ^zlet your foot be moved;

he who ^akeeps you will not slumber.

⁴Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your ^bshade on your ^cright hand.

^6dThe sun shall not ^estrike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord will ^akeep you from all evil;

he will ^akeep your life.

⁸The Lord will keep

your ^fgoing out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

122A Song of ^mAscents. Of David.

¹I was glad when they said to me,

^g“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

²Our feet have been standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem!

³Jerusalem—^hbuilt as a city

that is ⁱbound firmly together,

⁴to which the tribes ^jgo up,

the tribes of the Lord,

as was ^kdecreed for¹ Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

⁵There ^lthrones for judgment were set,

the thrones of the house of David.

^6mPray for the peace of Jerusalem!

“May they be secure who love you!

⁷Peace be within your ⁿwalls

and security within your ⁿtowers!”

⁸For my brothers and companions’ sake

I will say, ^o“Peace be within you!”

⁹For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will ^pseek your good.

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

123A Song of ^mAscents.

¹To you I ^qlift up my eyes,

O you who are ^renthroned in the heavens!

²Behold, as the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maidservant

to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

till he has mercy upon us.

^3sHave mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,

for we have had more than enough of ^tcontempt.

⁴Our soul has had more than enough

of ^uthe scorn of ^vthose who are at ease,

of the contempt of ^wthe proud.

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

124A Song of ^mAscents. Of David.

^1xIf it had not been the Lord who was on our side—

^ylet Israel now say—

²if it had not been the Lord who was on our side

when people rose up against us,

³then they would have ^zswallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

⁴then ^athe flood would have ^bswept us away,

the torrent would have gone ^cover us;

⁵then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth!

⁷We have escaped like a bird

from ^dthe snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

^8eOur help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.