Psalm 120–134

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.

PSALM 125

The Lord Surrounds His People.

A Song of Ascents.

¹Those who trust in the Lord

Are as Mount Zion, which ^acannot be moved but ^babides forever.

²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

So ^athe Lord surrounds His people

^bFrom this time forth and forever.

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

So that the righteous ^bwill not put forth their hands to do wrong.

^4aDo good, O Lord, 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,

The Lord will lead them away with the ^cdoers of iniquity.

^dPeace be upon Israel.

PSALM 126

Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.

A Song of Ascents.

¹When the Lord ^abrought back ¹the captive ones of Zion,

We were ^blike those who dream.

²Then our ^amouth was filled with laughter

And our ^btongue with joyful shouting;

Then they said among the nations,

“The Lord has ^cdone great things for them.”

³The Lord has done great things for us;

We are ^aglad.

⁴Restore our captivity, O Lord,

As the ^1astreams in the ²South.

⁵Those who sow in ^atears shall reap with ^bjoyful shouting.

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

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

PSALM 127

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.

¹Unless the Lord ^abuilds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord ^bguards the city,

The watchman keeps awake in vain.

²It is vain for you to rise up early,

To ¹retire late,

To ^aeat the bread of ²painful labors;

For He gives to His ^bbeloved ^ceven in his sleep.

³Behold, ^achildren are a ¹gift of the Lord,

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 whose quiver is full of them;

^bThey will not be ashamed

When they ^cspeak with their enemies ^din the gate.

PSALM 128

Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.

A Song of Ascents.

^1aHow blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,

Who ^bwalks in His ways.

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

You will be happy and ^cit will be well with you.

³Your wife shall be like a ^afruitful vine

¹Within your house,

Your children like ^bolive plants

Around your table.

⁴Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed

Who fears the Lord.

^5aThe Lord bless you ^bfrom Zion,

And may you 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

Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.

A Song of Ascents.

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

^cLet Israel now say,

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

Yet they have ^anot prevailed against me.

³“The plowers plowed upon my back;

They lengthened their furrows.”

⁴The Lord ^ais righteous;

He has cut in two the ^bcords of the wicked.

⁵May all who ^ahate Zion

Be ^bput to shame and turned backward;

⁶Let them be like ^agrass upon the housetops,

Which withers before it ¹grows up;

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

Or the binder of sheaves his ^abosom;

⁸Nor do those who pass by say,

“The ^ablessing of the Lord be upon you;

We bless you in the name of the Lord.”

PSALM 130

Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.

A Song of Ascents.

¹Out of the ^adepths I have cried to You, O Lord.

²Lord, ^ahear my voice!

Let ^bYour ears be attentive

To the ^cvoice of my supplications.

³If You, ¹Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could ^astand?

⁴But there is ^aforgiveness with You,

That You may be ^bfeared.

⁵I wait for the Lord, my ^asoul does wait,

And ^1bin His word do I hope.

⁶My soul waits for the Lord

More than the watchmen ^afor the morning;

Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

⁷O Israel, ^ahope in the Lord;

For with the Lord there is ^blovingkindness,

And with Him is ^cabundant redemption.

⁸And He will ^aredeem Israel

From all his iniquities.

PSALM 131

Childlike Trust in the Lord.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

¹O Lord, my heart is not ^aproud, nor my eyes ^1bhaughty;

Nor do I ²involve myself in ^cgreat matters,

Or in things ^dtoo ³difficult for me.

²Surely I have ^acomposed and quieted my soul;

Like a weaned ^bchild rests ¹against his mother,

My soul is like a weaned child within me.

³O Israel, ^ahope in the Lord

^bFrom this time forth and forever.

PSALM 132

Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing upon the Sanctuary.

A Song of Ascents.

¹Remember, O Lord, on David’s behalf,

All ^ahis affliction;

²How he swore to the Lord

And vowed to ^athe Mighty One of Jacob,

³“Surely I will not ¹enter ^amy house,

Nor ²lie on my bed;

⁴I will not ^agive sleep to my eyes

Or slumber to my eyelids,

⁵Until I find a ^aplace for the Lord,

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

⁶Behold, we heard of it in ^aEphrathah,

We found it in the ^bfield of ¹Jaar.

⁷Let us go into His ^1adwelling place;

Let us ^bworship at His ^cfootstool.

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

You and the ark of Your ^cstrength.

⁹Let Your priests be ^aclothed with righteousness,

And let Your ^bgodly ones sing for joy.

¹⁰For the sake of David Your servant,

Do not turn away the face of Your ^aanointed.

¹¹The Lord has ^asworn to David

A truth from which He will not turn back:

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

¹²“If your sons will keep My covenant

And My testimony which I will teach them,

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

¹³For the Lord has ^achosen Zion;

He has ^bdesired it for His habitation.

¹⁴“This is My ^aresting place forever;

Here I will ^bdwell, 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 godly ones will sing aloud for joy.

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

I have prepared a ^blamp for Mine anointed.

¹⁸“His enemies I will ^aclothe with shame,

But upon himself his ^bcrown shall shine.”

PSALM 133

The Excellency of Brotherly 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 precious ^aoil upon the head,

Coming down upon the beard,

Even 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 the Lord ^dcommanded the blessing—^elife forever.

PSALM 134

Greetings of Night Watchers.

A Song of Ascents.

¹Behold, ^abless the Lord, all ^bservants of the Lord,

Who ^1cserve ^dby night in the house of the Lord!

^2aLift up your hands to the ^bsanctuary

And bless the Lord.

³May the Lord ^abless you from Zion,

He who ^bmade heaven and earth.