Psalm 120–134

A Prayer of Someone Far from Home

A psalm for going up to worship.

120When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord,

and he answered me.

²Lord, save me from liars

and from those who plan evil.

³You who plan evil, what will God do to you?

How will he punish you?

⁴He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a warrior

and with burning coals of wood.

⁵How terrible it is for me to live in the land of Meshech,

to live among the people of Kedar.

⁶I have lived too long

with people who hate peace.

⁷When I talk peace,

they want war.

The Lord Guards His People

A song for going up to worship.

121I look up to the hills,

but where does my help come from?

²My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

³He will not let you be defeated.

He who guards you never sleeps.

⁴He who guards Israel

never rests or sleeps.

⁵The Lord guards you.

The Lord is the shade that protects you from the sun.

⁶The sun cannot hurt you during the day,

and the moon cannot hurt you at night.

⁷The Lord will protect you from all dangers;

he will guard your life.

⁸The Lord will guard you as you come and go,

both now and forever.

Happy People in Jerusalem

A song for going up to worship. Of David.

122I was happy when they said to me,

“Let’s go to the Temple of the Lord.”

²Jerusalem, we are standing

at your gates.

³Jerusalem is built as a city

with the buildings close together.

⁴The tribes go up there,

the tribes who belong to the Lord.

It is the rule in Israel

to praise the Lord at Jerusalem.

⁵There the descendants of David

set their thrones to judge the people.

⁶Pray for peace in Jerusalem:

“May those who love her be safe.

⁷May there be peace within her walls

and safety within her strong towers.”

⁸To help my relatives and friends,

I say, “Let Jerusalem have peace.”

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

I wish good for her.

A Prayer for Mercy

A song for going up to worship.

123Lord, I look upward to you,

you who live in heaven.

²Slaves depend on their masters,

and a female servant depends on her mistress.

In the same way, we depend on the Lord our God;

we wait for him to show us mercy.

³Have mercy on us, Lord. Have mercy on us,

because we have been insulted.

⁴We have suffered many insults from lazy people

and much cruelty from the proud.

The Lord Saves His People

A song for going up to worship. Of David.

124What if the Lord had not been on our side?

(Let Israel repeat this.)

²What if the Lord had not been on our side

when we were attacked?

³When they were angry with us,

they would have swallowed us alive.

⁴They would have been like a flood drowning us;

they would have poured over us like a river.

⁵They would have swept us away like a mighty stream.

⁶Praise the Lord,

who did not let them chew us up.

⁷We escaped like a bird

from the hunter’s trap.

The trap broke,

and we escaped.

⁸Our help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

God Protects Those Who Trust Him

A song for going up to worship.

125Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion,

which sits unmoved forever.

²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

the Lord surrounds his people

now and forever.

³The wicked will not rule

over those who do right.

If they did, the people who do right

might use their power to do evil.

⁴Lord, be good to those who are good,

whose hearts are honest.

⁵But, Lord, when you remove those who do evil,

also remove those who stop following you.

Let there be peace in Israel.

Lord, Bring Your People Back

A song for going up to worship.

126When the Lord brought the prisoners back to Jerusalem,

it seemed as if we were dreaming.

²Then we were filled with laughter,

and we sang happy songs.

Then the other nations said,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

³The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are very glad.

⁴Lord, return our prisoners again,

as you bring streams to the desert.

⁵Those who cry as they plant crops

will sing at harvest time.

⁶Those who cry

as they carry out the seeds

will return singing

and carrying bundles of grain.

All Good Things Come from God

A song for going up to worship. Of Solomon.

127If the Lord doesn’t build the house,

the builders are working for nothing.

If the Lord doesn’t guard the city,

the guards are watching for nothing.

²It is no use for you to get up early

and stay up late,

working for a living.

The Lord gives sleep to those he loves.

³Children are a gift from the Lord;

babies are a reward.

⁴Children who are born to a young man

are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

⁵Happy is the man

who has his bag full of arrows.

They will not be defeated

when they fight their enemies at the city gate.

The Happy Home

A song for going up to worship.

128Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him.

²You will enjoy what you work for,

and you will be blessed with good things.

³Your wife will give you many children,

like a vine that produces much fruit.

Your children will bring you much good,

like olive branches that produce many olives.

⁴This is how the man who respects the Lord

will be blessed.

⁵May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion;

may you enjoy the good things of Jerusalem all your life.

⁶May you see your grandchildren.

Let there be peace in Israel.

A Prayer Against the Enemies

A song for going up to worship.

129They have treated me badly all my life.

(Let Israel repeat this.)

²They have treated me badly all my life,

but they have not defeated me.

³Like farmers plowing, they plowed over my back,

making long wounds.

⁴But the Lord does what is right;

he has set me free from those wicked people.

⁵Let those who hate Jerusalem

be turned back in shame.

⁶Let them be like the grass on the roof

that dries up before it has grown.

⁷There is not enough of it to fill a hand

or to make into a bundle to fill one’s arms.

⁸Let those who pass by them not say,

“May the Lord bless you.

We bless you by the power of the Lord.”

A Prayer for Mercy

A song for going up to worship.

130Lord, I am in great trouble,

so I call out to you.

²Lord, hear my voice;

listen to my prayer for help.

³Lord, if you punished people for all their sins,

no one would be left, Lord.

⁴But you forgive us,

so you are respected.

⁵I wait for the Lord to help me,

and I trust his word.

⁶I wait for the Lord to help me

more than night watchmen wait for the dawn,

more than night watchmen wait for the dawn.

⁷People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord

because he is loving

and able to save.

⁸He will save Israel

from all their sins.

Childlike Trust in the Lord

A song for going up to worship. Of David.

131Lord, my heart is not proud;

I don’t look down on others.

I don’t do great things,

and I can’t do miracles.

²But I am calm and quiet,

like a baby with its mother.

I am at peace, like a baby with its mother.

³People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord

now and forever.

In Praise of the Temple

A song for going up to worship.

132Lord, remember David

and all his suffering.

²He made an oath to the Lord,

a promise to the Mighty God of Jacob.

³He said, “I will not go home to my house,

or lie down on my bed,

⁴or close my eyes,

or let myself sleep

⁵until I find a place for the Lord.

I want to provide a home for the Mighty God of Jacob.”

⁶We heard about the Ark in Bethlehem.

We found it at Kiriath Jearim.

⁷Let’s go to the Lord’s house.

Let’s worship at his footstool.

⁸Rise, Lord, and come to your resting place;

come with the Ark that shows your strength.

⁹May your priests do what is right.

May your people sing for joy.

¹⁰For the sake of your servant David,

do not reject your appointed king.

¹¹The Lord made a promise to David,

a sure promise that he will not take back.

He promised, “I will make one of your descendants

rule as king after you.

¹²If your sons keep my agreement

and the rules that I teach them,

then their sons after them will rule

on your throne forever and ever.”

¹³The Lord has chosen Jerusalem;

he wants it for his home.

¹⁴He says, “This is my resting place forever.

Here is where I want to stay.

¹⁵I will bless her with plenty;

I will fill her poor with food.

¹⁶I will cover her priests with salvation,

and those who worship me will really sing for joy.

¹⁷“I will make a king come from the family of David.

I will provide my appointed one descendants to rule after him.

¹⁸I will cover his enemies with shame,

but his crown will shine.”

The Love of God’s People

A song for going up to worship. Of David.

133It is good and pleasant

when God’s people live together in peace!

²It is like perfumed oil poured on the priest’s head

and running down his beard.

It ran down Aaron’s beard

and on to the collar of his robes.

³It is like the dew of Mount Hermon

falling on the hills of Jerusalem.

There the Lord gives his blessing

of life forever.

Temple Guards, Praise the Lord

A song for going up to worship.

134Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,

you who serve at night in the Temple of the Lord.

²Raise your hands in the Temple

and praise the Lord.

³May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion,

he who made heaven and earth.