Psalm 120–134

PSALM 120

O Yahweh, Deliver My Soul

A Song of ^†Ascents.

^1aIn my distress I called to Yahweh,

And He answered me.

²O Yahweh, deliver my soul from a ^alying lip,

From a ^bdeceitful tongue.

³What shall He give to you, and what shall He add to you,

O ^adeceitful tongue?

^4aSharp arrows of the warrior,

With the burning ^bcoals of the broom tree.

⁵Woe is me, for I sojourn in ^aMeshech,

For I dwell among the ^btents of ^cKedar!

⁶Too long has my soul had its dwelling

With those who ^ahate peace.

⁷I ^aam for peace, but when I speak,

They are ^bfor war.

PSALM 121

My Help Comes from Yahweh

A Song of Ascents.

¹I will ^alift up my eyes to ^bthe mountains;

From where shall my help come?

²My ^ahelp comes from Yahweh,

Who ^bmade heaven and earth.

³¹He will not ^aallow your foot to stumble;

²He who ^bkeeps you will not slumber.

⁴Behold, He who keeps Israel

Will not slumber and will not sleep.

⁵Yahweh is your ^akeeper;

Yahweh is your ^bshade on your right hand.

⁶The ^asun will not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

⁷Yahweh will ^akeep you from all evil;

He will keep your soul.

⁸Yahweh will ^akeep your going out and your coming in

^bFrom now until forever.

PSALM 122

Go to the House of Yahweh

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹I was glad when they said to me,

“Let us ^ago to the house of Yahweh.”

²Our feet are standing

Within your ^agates, O Jerusalem,

³Jerusalem, which is ^abuilt

As a city ^bjoined altogether;

⁴To which the tribes, the tribes of Yah, ^ago up—

A testimony for Israel—

To give thanks to the name of Yahweh.

⁵For there, ^athrones sit for judgment,

The thrones of the house of David.

⁶Pray for the ^apeace of Jerusalem:

“May they prosper who ^blove you.

⁷“May peace be within your ^awalls,

And tranquility within your ^bpalaces.”

⁸For the sake of my ^abrothers and my friends,

I will now say, “^bMay peace be within you.”

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

I will ^aseek your good.

PSALM 123

To You I Lift Up My Eyes

A Song of Ascents.

¹To You I ^alift up my eyes,

The One ^benthroned in the heavens!

²Behold, as the eyes of ^aslaves look to the hand of their master,

As the eyes of a servant-girl to the hand of her mistress,

So our ^beyes look to Yahweh our God,

Until He is gracious to us.

^3aBe gracious to us, O Yahweh, be gracious to us,

For we are greatly saturated ^bwith contempt.

⁴Our soul is greatly saturated

With the ^amockery of ^bthose who are at ease,

And with the ^ccontempt of the proud.

PSALM 124

Yahweh Was on Our Side

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹“^aHad it not been Yahweh who was on our side,”

^bLet Israel now say,

²“Had it not been Yahweh who was on our side

When men rose up against us,

³Then they would have ^aswallowed us alive,

When their ^banger was kindled against us;

⁴Then the ^awaters would have flowed over us,

The stream would have ¹swept over our soul;

⁵Then the ^araging waters would have ¹swept over our soul.”

⁶Blessed be Yahweh,

Who has not given us to be ^aprey for their teeth.

⁷Our soul has ^aescaped ^bas a bird out of the ^csnare of the trapper;

The snare is broken and we have escaped.

⁸Our ^ahelp is in the name of Yahweh,

Who ^bmade heaven and earth.

PSALM 125

Yahweh Surrounds His People

A Song of Ascents.

¹Those who trust in Yahweh

Are as Mount Zion, which ^awill not be shaken but ^bwill abide forever.

²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

So ^aYahweh surrounds His people

^bFrom now until forever.

³For the ^ascepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the ¹land of the righteous,

So that the righteous ^bwould not send forth their hands in unrighteousness.

^4aDo good, O Yahweh, to those who are good

And to those who are ^bupright in their hearts.

⁵But as for those who ^aturn aside to their ^bcrooked ways,

Yahweh will lead them away with the ^cworkers of iniquity.

^dPeace be upon Israel.

PSALM 126

Those Who Sow in Tears Shall Reap with Joy

A Song of Ascents.

¹When Yahweh ^1areturned ²the captive ones of Zion,

We were ^blike those who dream.

²Then our ^amouth was filled with laughter

And our ^btongue with shouts of joy;

Then they said among the nations,

“Yahweh has ^cdone great things for them.”

³Yahweh has done great things for us;

We are ^aglad.

⁴Restore our captivity, O Yahweh,

As the ^1astreams in the Negev.

⁵Those who sow in ^atears shall reap with ^bshouts of joy.

⁶He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,

Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves with him.

PSALM 127

Unless Yahweh Builds the House

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

¹Unless Yahweh ^abuilds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless Yahweh ^bwatches the city,

The watchman keeps awake in vain.

²It is in vain that you rise up early,

That you sit out late,

O you who ^aeat the bread of ¹painful labors;

For in this manner, He gives ^bsleep to His ^cbeloved.

³Behold, ^achildren are ¹an inheritance of Yahweh,

The ^bfruit of the womb is a reward.

⁴Like arrows in the hand of a ^awarrior,

So are the children of one’s youth.

⁵How ^ablessed is the man who fills his quiver with them;

^bThey will not be ashamed

When they ^cspeak with enemies ^din the gate.

PSALM 128

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears Yahweh

A Song of Ascents.

^1aHow blessed is everyone who fears Yahweh,

Who ^bwalks in His ways.

²When you shall ^aeat of the ^1bfruit of the labor of your hands,

How blessed will you be and ^chow well will it be for you.

³Your wife shall be like a ^afruitful vine

In the innermost parts of your house,

Your children like ^bolive plants

All around your table.

⁴Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed

Who fears Yahweh.

^5aMay Yahweh bless you ^bfrom Zion,

That you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

⁶Indeed, may you see your ^achildren’s children.

^bPeace be upon Israel!

PSALM 129

Yahweh Has Cut the Cords of the Wicked

A Song of Ascents.

¹“¹Many times they have ^2aassailed me from my ^byouth up,”

^cLet Israel now say,

²“¹Many times they have ²assailed me from my youth up;

Yet they have ^anot prevailed against me.

³“The plowers plowed upon my back;

They lengthened their furrows.”

⁴Yahweh ^ais righteous;

He has cut up the ^bcords of the wicked.

⁵Let all who ^ahate Zion

Be ^bput to shame and turned backward;

⁶Let them be like ^agrass upon the rooftops,

Which dries up before it ¹grows up;

⁷With which the reaper does not fill his ¹hand,

Nor the binder of sheaves the ^afold of his garment;

⁸And those who pass by will not say,

“The ^ablessing of Yahweh be upon you;

We bless you in the name of Yahweh.”

PSALM 130

Yahweh Will Redeem Israel

A Song of Ascents.

¹Out of the ^adepths I called to You, O Yahweh.

²O Lord, ^ahear my voice!

Let ^bYour ears be attentive

To the ^cvoice of my supplications.

³If You should keep iniquities, O Yah,

O Lord, who could ^astand?

⁴But with You there is ^aforgiveness,

That You may be ^bfeared.

⁵I hope for Yahweh, my ^asoul does hope,

And ^bfor His word do I wait.

⁶My soul waits for the Lord

More than the watchmen ^afor the morning,

The watchmen for the morning.

⁷O Israel, ^await for Yahweh;

For with Yahweh there is ^blovingkindness,

And with Him is ^cabundant redemption.

⁸And it is He who will ^aredeem Israel

From all his iniquities.

PSALM 131

I Have Quieted My Soul

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹O Yahweh, my heart is not ^aexalted, and my eyes are not ^braised high;

And I do not ¹involve myself in ^cgreat matters,

Or in matters ^dtoo marvelous for me.

²Surely I have ^asoothed and quieted my soul,

Like a weaned ^bchild with his mother,

Like a weaned child is my soul ¹within me.

³O Israel, ^await for Yahweh

^bFrom now until forever.

PSALM 132

Yahweh Has Chosen Zion

A Song of Ascents.

¹Remember, O Yahweh, on David’s behalf,

All ^ahis affliction;

²How he swore to Yahweh

And vowed to ^athe Mighty One of Jacob,

³“Surely I will not come into ^1amy house,

Nor ²lie in the ³comfort of my bed;

⁴I will not ^agive sleep to my eyes

Or slumber to my eyelids,

⁵Until I find a ^aplace for Yahweh,

¹A dwelling place for ^bthe Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶Behold, we heard of it in ^aEphrathah,

We found it in the ^bfields of ¹Jaar.

⁷Let us come into His ^1adwelling place;

Let us ^bworship at the ^cfootstool of His feet.

^8aArise, O Yahweh, to Your ^bresting place,

You and the ark of Your ^cstrength.

⁹Let Your priests be ^aclothed with righteousness,

And let Your ^bholy ones sing for joy.

¹⁰For the sake of David Your servant,

Do not turn away the face of Your ^aanointed.

¹¹Yahweh has ^asworn to David

A truth from which He will not turn back:

“^bOf the fruit of your ¹body I will set upon your throne.

¹²“If your sons keep My covenant

And My testimony which I will teach them,

Their sons also shall ^asit upon your throne forever.”

¹³For Yahweh has ^achosen Zion;

He has ^bdesired it for His habitation.

¹⁴“This is My ^aresting place forever;

Here I will ^binhabit, for I have desired it.

¹⁵“I will abundantly ^abless her provision;

I will ^bsatisfy her needy with bread.

¹⁶“Her ^apriests also I will clothe with salvation,

And her ^bholy ones will sing loudly for joy.

¹⁷“There I will cause the ^ahorn of David to spring up;

I have prepared a ^blamp for Mine anointed.

¹⁸“His enemies I will ^aclothe with shame,

But upon him, his ^bcrown shall blossom.”

PSALM 133

How Good and Pleasant Is Unity

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For ^abrothers to dwell together in unity!

²It is like the good ^aoil upon the head,

Coming down upon the beard,

Aaron’s beard,

Coming down upon the ^bedge of his robes.

³It is like the ^adew of ^bHermon

Coming down upon the ^cmountains of Zion;

For there, Yahweh ^dcommanded the blessing—^elife forever.

PSALM 134

Behold, Bless Yahweh

A Song of Ascents.

¹Behold, ^abless Yahweh, all you ^bslaves of Yahweh,

Who ^cstand in the house of Yahweh ^dby night!

^2aLift up your hands to the ^bsanctuary

And bless Yahweh.

³May Yahweh ^abless you from Zion,

Who ^bmade heaven and earth.