Psalm 120–124

PSALM 120

Prayer for Deliverance from the Treacherous.

A Song of ^†Ascents.

^1aIn my trouble I cried to the Lord,

And He answered me.

²Deliver my soul, O Lord, from ^alying lips,

From a ^bdeceitful tongue.

³What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,

You ^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

The Lord the Keeper of Israel.

A Song of Ascents.

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

From where shall my help come?

²My ^ahelp comes from the Lord,

Who ^bmade heaven and earth.

³He will not ^aallow your foot to slip;

He who ^bkeeps you will not slumber.

⁴Behold, He who keeps Israel

Will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your ^akeeper;

The Lord is your ^bshade on your right hand.

⁶The ^asun will not smite you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord will ^1aprotect you from all evil;

He will keep your soul.

⁸The Lord will ^1aguard your going out and your coming in

^bFrom this time forth and forever.

PSALM 122

Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

¹I was glad when they said to me,

“Let us ^ago to the house of the Lord.”

²Our feet are standing

Within your ^agates, O Jerusalem,

³Jerusalem, that is ^abuilt

As a city that is ^bcompact together;

⁴To which the tribes ^ago up, even the tribes of ¹the Lord—

²An ordinance for Israel—

To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

⁵For there ^athrones were set 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 prosperity 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 the Lord our God,

I will ^aseek your good.

PSALM 123

Prayer for the Lord’s Help.

A Song of Ascents.

¹To You I ^alift up my eyes,

O You who ^bare enthroned in the heavens!

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

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

So our ^beyes look to the Lord our God,

Until He is gracious to us.

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

For we are greatly filled ^bwith contempt.

⁴Our soul is greatly filled

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

And with the ^ccontempt of the proud.

PSALM 124

Praise for Rescue from Enemies.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

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

^bLet Israel now say,

²“Had it not been the Lord 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 engulfed us,

The stream would have ¹swept over our soul;

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

⁶Blessed be the Lord,

Who has not given us ¹to be ^atorn by 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 the Lord,

Who ^bmade heaven and earth.