Psalm 120

Deliver Me, O Lord

A Song of Ascents.

120:1 In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. ²Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.

³What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? ⁴A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!

⁵Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! ⁶Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. ⁷I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!

Psalm 121

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

121:1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? ²My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

³He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. ⁴Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. ⁶The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. ⁸The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 122

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

122:1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” ²Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!

³ Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, ⁴to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for[1] Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. ⁵There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.

⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you! ⁷Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” ⁸For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” ⁹For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

[1] Or as a testimony for

Psalm 123

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of Ascents.

123:1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! ²Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.

³Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. ⁴Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 124

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

124:1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side— let Israel now say— ²if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, ³then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; ⁴then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; ⁵then over us would have gone the raging waters.

⁶Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! ⁷We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped!

⁸Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of Ascents.

125:1 Those 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 forevermore. ³For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong. ⁴Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts! ⁵But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers! Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 126

Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord

A Song of Ascents.

126:1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. ²Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” ³The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.

⁴Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! ⁵Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! ⁶He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. ²It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

³Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. ⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children[2] of one’s youth. ⁵Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.[3]

[2] Or sons [3] Or They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate

Psalm 128

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

128:1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! ²You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

³Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. ⁴Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.

⁵The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! ⁶May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 129

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of Ascents.

129:1 “Greatly[4] have they afflicted me from my youth”— let Israel now say— ²“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me. ³The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.” ⁴The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked. ⁵May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward! ⁶Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, ⁷with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms, ⁸nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

[4] Or Often; also verse 2

Psalm 130

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

130:1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! ² O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

³If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? ⁴But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

⁵I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; ⁶my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. ⁸And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Psalm 131

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

131:1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. ²But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 132

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of Ascents.

132:1 Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured, ²how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, ³“I will not enter my house or get into my bed, ⁴I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, ⁵until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar. ⁷“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”

⁸Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. ⁹Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy. ¹⁰For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

¹¹The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body[5] I will set on your throne. ¹²If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.”

¹³For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: ¹⁴“This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. ¹⁵I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. ¹⁶Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy. ¹⁷There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. ¹⁸His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.”

[5] Hebrew of your fruit of the womb