Psalm 121–134

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents.

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

^2bMy help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

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

^dHe who keeps you will not slumber.

⁴Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your ²keeper;

The Lord is ^eyour shade ^fat your right hand.

^6gThe sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord shall ³preserve you from all evil;

He shall ^hpreserve your soul.

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

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Psalm 122

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

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

²Our feet have been standing

Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

³Jerusalem is built

As a city that is ^bcompact together,

^4cWhere the tribes go up,

The tribes of the Lord,

¹To ^dthe Testimony of Israel,

To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

^5eFor thrones are set there for judgment,

The thrones of the house of David.

^6fPray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May they prosper who love you.

⁷Peace be within your walls,

Prosperity within your palaces.”

⁸For the sake of my brethren and companions,

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

⁹Because of the house of the Lord our God

I will ^gseek your good.

Psalm 123

A Song of Ascents.

¹Unto You ^aI lift up my eyes,

O You ^bwho dwell in the heavens.

²Behold, 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.

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

For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

⁴Our soul is exceedingly filled

With the scorn of those who are at ease,

With the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 124

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,

³Then they would have ^cswallowed us alive,

When their wrath was kindled against us;

⁴Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,

The stream would have ¹gone over our soul;

⁵Then the swollen waters

Would have ²gone over our soul.”

⁶Blessed be the Lord,

Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.

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

The snare is broken, and we have escaped.

^8fOur help is in the name of the Lord,

^gWho made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125

A Song of Ascents.

¹Those who trust in the Lord

Are like Mount Zion,

Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

So the Lord surrounds His people

From this time forth and forever.

³For ^athe scepter of wickedness shall not rest

On the land allotted to the righteous,

Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

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

And to those who are upright in their hearts.

⁵As 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 Song of Ascents.

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

^bWe were like those who dream.

²Then ^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.”

³The Lord has done great things for us,

And we are glad.

⁴Bring back our captivity, O Lord,

As the streams in the South.

^5dThose who sow in tears

Shall reap in joy.

⁶He who continually goes ³forth weeping,

Bearing ⁴seed for sowing,

Shall doubtless come again ⁵with ^erejoicing,

Bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 127

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

¹Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless ^athe Lord guards the city,

The watchman stays awake in vain.

²It 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.

³Behold, ^cchildren are a heritage from the Lord,

^dThe fruit of the womb is a ^ereward.

⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one’s youth.

^5fHappy 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

A Song of Ascents.

¹Blessed ^ais every one who fears the Lord,

Who walks in His ways.

^2bWhen you eat the ¹labor of your hands,

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

³Your wife shall be ^dlike a fruitful vine

In the very heart of your house,

Your ^echildren ^flike olive plants

All around your table.

⁴Behold, thus shall the man be blessed

Who fears the Lord.

^5gThe Lord bless you out of Zion,

And may you see the good of Jerusalem

All the days of your life.

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

ⁱPeace be upon Israel!

Psalm 129

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.

³The plowers plowed on my back;

They made their furrows long.”

⁴The Lord is righteous;

He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.

⁵Let all those who hate Zion

Be put to shame and turned back.

⁶Let them be as the ^dgrass on the housetops,

Which withers before it grows up,

⁷With which the reaper does not fill his hand,

Nor he who binds sheaves, his ²arms.

⁸Neither 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!”

Psalm 130

A Song of Ascents.

¹Out ^aof the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;

²Lord, hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive

To the voice of my supplications.

^3bIf You, Lord, should ¹mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could ^cstand?

⁴But there is ^dforgiveness with You,

That ^eYou may be feared.

^5fI wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

And ^gin His word I do hope.

^6hMy soul waits for the Lord

More than those who watch for the morning—

Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷ⁱO Israel, hope in the Lord;

For ^jwith the Lord there is mercy,

And with Him is abundant redemption.

⁸And ^kHe shall redeem Israel

From all his iniquities.

Psalm 131

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹Lord, my heart is not ¹haughty,

Nor my eyes ²lofty.

^aNeither do I ³concern myself with great matters,

Nor with things too ⁴profound for me.

²Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,

^bLike a weaned child with his mother;

Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

^3cO Israel, hope in the Lord

From this time forth and forever.

Psalm 132

A Song of Ascents.

¹Lord, remember David

And all his afflictions;

²How he swore to the Lord,

^aAnd vowed to ^bthe Mighty One of Jacob:

³“Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,

Or go up to the comfort of my bed;

⁴I will ^cnot give sleep to my eyes

Or slumber to my eyelids,

⁵Until I ^dfind a place for the Lord,

A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶Behold, we heard of it ^ein Ephrathah;

^fWe found it ^gin the fields of ¹the woods.

⁷Let us go into His tabernacle;

^hLet us worship at His footstool.

⁸ⁱArise, O Lord, to Your resting place,

You and ^jthe ark of Your strength.

⁹Let Your priests ^kbe clothed with righteousness,

And let Your saints shout for joy.

¹⁰For Your servant David’s sake,

Do not turn away the face of Your ²Anointed.

^11lThe Lord has sworn in truth to David;

He will not turn from it:

“I will set upon your throne ^mthe ³fruit of your body.

¹²If your sons will keep My covenant

And My testimony which I shall teach them,

Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”

¹³ⁿFor the Lord has chosen Zion;

He has desired it for His ⁴dwelling place:

¹⁴“This ^ois My resting place forever;

Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

^15pI will abundantly bless her ⁵provision;

I will satisfy her poor with bread.

^16qI will also clothe her priests with salvation,

^rAnd her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

^17sThere I will make the ⁶horn of David grow;

^tI will prepare a lamp for My ⁷Anointed.

¹⁸His enemies I will ^uclothe with shame,

But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”

Psalm 133

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For ^abrethren to dwell together in unity!

²It is like the precious oil upon the head,

Running down on the beard,

The beard of Aaron,

Running down on the edge of his garments.

³It is like the dew of ^bHermon,

Descending upon the mountains of Zion;

For ^cthere the Lord commanded the blessing—

Life forevermore.

Psalm 134

A Song of Ascents.

¹Behold, bless the Lord,

All you servants of the Lord,

Who by night stand in the house of the Lord!

^2aLift up your hands in the sanctuary,

And bless the Lord.

³The Lord who made heaven and earth

Bless you from Zion!