Psalm 120

Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes

A Song of Ascents.

1 In amy distress I cried to the Lord, And He heard me.

2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips

And from a deceitful tongue.

3 What shall be given to you,

Or what shall be done to you,

You false tongue?

4 Sharp arrows of the 1warrior,

With coals of the broom tree!

5 Woe is me, that I dwell in bMeshech,

cThat I dwell among the tents of Kedar!

6 My soul has dwelt too long

With one who hates peace.

7 I am for peace;

But when I speak, they are for war.

Psalm 121

God the Help of Those Who Seek Him

A Song of Ascents.

1 I awill lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?

2 bMy help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 cHe will not allow your foot to 1be moved;

dHe who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your 2keeper;

The Lord is eyour shade fat your right hand.

6 gThe sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall 3preserve you from all evil;

He shall hpreserve your soul.

8 The Lord shall ipreserve 4your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Psalm 122

The Joy of Going to the House of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 I was glad when they said to me, a“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

2 Our feet have been standing

Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3 Jerusalem is built

As a city that is bcompact together,

4 cWhere the tribes go up,

The tribes of the Lord,

1To dthe Testimony of Israel,

To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

5 eFor thrones are set there for judgment,

The thrones of the house of David.

6 fPray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May they prosper who love you.

7 Peace be within your walls,

Prosperity within your palaces.”

8 For the sake of my brethren and companions,

I will now say, “Peace be within you.”

9 Because of the house of the Lord our God

I will gseek your good.

Psalm 123

Prayer for Relief from Contempt

A Song of Ascents.

1 Unto You aI lift up my eyes,

O You bwho dwell in the heavens.

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,

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

cSo our eyes look to the Lord our God,

Until He has mercy on us.

3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!

For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

4 Our soul is exceedingly filled

With the scorn of those who are at ease,

With the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 124

The Lord The Defense of His People

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our aside,”

bLet Israel now say—

2 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,

When men rose up against us,

3 Then they would have cswallowed us alive,

When their wrath was kindled against us;

4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,

The stream would have 1gone over our soul;

5 Then the swollen waters

Would have 2gone over our soul.”

6 Blessed be the Lord,

Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.

7 dOur soul has escaped eas a bird from the snare of the 3fowlers;

The snare is broken, and we have escaped.

8 fOur help is in the name of the Lord,

gWho made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125

The Lord The Strength of His People

A Song of Ascents.

1 Those who trust in the Lord

Are like Mount Zion,

Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

So the Lord surrounds His people

From this time forth and forever.

3 For athe scepter of wickedness shall not rest

On the land allotted to the righteous,

Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,

And to those who are upright in their hearts.

5 As for such as turn aside to their bcrooked ways,

The Lord shall lead them away

With the workers of iniquity.

cPeace be upon Israel!

Psalm 126

A Joyful Return to Zion

A Song of Ascents.

1 When athe Lord brought back 1the captivity of Zion,

bWe were like those who dream.

2 Then cour mouth was filled with laughter,

And our tongue with singing.

Then they said among the 2nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3 The Lord has done great things for us,

And we are glad.

4 Bring back our captivity, O Lord,

As the streams in the South.

5 dThose who sow in tears

Shall reap in joy.

6 He who continually goes 3forth weeping,

Bearing 4seed for sowing,

Shall doubtless come again 5with erejoicing,

Bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 127

Laboring and Prospering with the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless athe Lord guards the city,

The watchman stays awake in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early,

To sit up late,

To beat the bread of sorrows;

For so He gives His beloved sleep.

3 Behold, cchildren are a heritage from the Lord,

dThe fruit of the womb is a ereward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one’s youth.

5 fHappy is the man who has his quiver full of them;

gThey shall not be ashamed,

But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128

Blessings of Those Who Fear the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

1 Blessed ais every one who fears the Lord,

Who walks in His ways.

2 bWhen you eat the 1labor of your hands,

You shall be happy, and it shall be cwell with you.

3 Your wife shall be dlike a fruitful vine

In the very heart of your house,

Your echildren flike olive plants

All around your table.

4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed

Who fears the Lord.

5 gThe Lord bless you out of Zion,

And may you see the good of Jerusalem

All the days of your life.

6 Yes, may you hsee your children’s children.

iPeace be upon Israel!

Psalm 129

Song of Victory Over Zion’s Enemies

A Song of Ascents.

1 “Many a time they have aafflicted 1me from bmy youth,”

cLet Israel now say—

2 “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth;

Yet they have not prevailed against me.

3 The plowers plowed on my back;

They made their furrows long.”

4 The Lord is righteous;

He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.

5 Let all those who hate Zion

Be put to shame and turned back.

6 Let them be as the dgrass on the housetops,

Which withers before it grows up,

7 With which the reaper does not fill his hand,

Nor he who binds sheaves, his 2arms.

8 Neither let those who pass by them say,

e“The blessing of the Lord be upon you;

We bless you in the name of the Lord!”