Psalm 120-134

New King James Version

Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes

A Song of Ascents.

120 In ^(A)my distress I cried to the Lord,
And He heard me.
²Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips
And from a deceitful tongue.

³What shall be given to you,
Or what shall be done to you,
You false tongue?
⁴Sharp arrows of the ^[a]warrior,
With coals of the broom tree!

⁵Woe is me, that I dwell in ^(B)Meshech,
^(C)That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
⁶My soul has dwelt too long
With one who hates peace.
⁷I am for peace;
But when I speak, they are for war.

God the Help of Those Who Seek Him

A Song of Ascents.

121 I ^(D)will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
²^(E)My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

³^(F)He will not allow your foot to ^[b]be moved;
^(G)He who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your ^[c]keeper;
The Lord is ^(H)your shade ^(I)at your right hand.
⁶^(J)The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord shall ^[d]preserve you from all evil;
He shall ^(K)preserve your soul.
⁸The Lord shall ^(L)preserve^[e] your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

The Joy of Going to the House of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

122 I was glad when they said to me,
^(M)“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 ^(N)compact together,
⁴^(O)Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
^[f]To ^(P)the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
⁵^(Q)For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

⁶^(R)Pray 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 ^(S)seek your good.

Prayer for Relief from Contempt

A Song of Ascents.

123 Unto You ^(T)I lift up my eyes,
O You ^(U)who 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,
^(V)So 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.

The Lord the Defense of His People

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

124 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our ^(W)side,”
^(X)Let 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 ^(Y)swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
⁴Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have ^[g]gone over our soul;
⁵Then the swollen waters
Would have ^[h]gone over our soul.”

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
⁷^(Z)Our soul has escaped ^(AA)as a bird from the snare of the ^[i]fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
⁸^(AB)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
^(AC)Who made heaven and earth.

The Lord the Strength of His People

A Song of Ascents.

125 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 forever.

³For ^(AD)the 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 ^(AE)crooked ways,
The Lord shall lead them away
With the workers of iniquity.

^(AF)Peace be upon Israel!

A Joyful Return to Zion

A Song of Ascents.

126 When ^(AG)the Lord brought back ^[j]the captivity of Zion,
^(AH)We were like those who dream.
²Then ^(AI)our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the ^[k]nations,
“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.

⁵^(AJ)Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
⁶He who continually goes ^[l]forth weeping,
Bearing ^[m]seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again ^[n]with ^(AK)rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.

Laboring and Prospering with the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless ^(AL)the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
²It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To ^(AM)eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.

³Behold, ^(AN)children are a heritage from the Lord,
^(AO)The fruit of the womb is a ^(AP)reward.
⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
⁵^(AQ)Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
^(AR)They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

Blessings of Those Who Fear the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

128 Blessed ^(AS)is every one who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.

²^(AT)When you eat the ^[o]labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be ^(AU)well with you.
³Your wife shall be ^(AV)like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your ^(AW)children ^(AX)like olive plants
All around your table.
⁴Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.

⁵^(AY)The Lord bless you out of Zion,
And may you see the good of Jerusalem
All the days of your life.
⁶Yes, may you ^(AZ)see your children’s children.

^(BA)Peace be upon Israel!

Song of Victory over Zion’s Enemies

A Song of Ascents.

129 “Many a time they have ^(BB)afflicted^[p] me from ^(BC)my youth,”
^(BD)Let 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 ^(BE)grass on the housetops,
Which withers before it grows up,
⁷With which the reaper does not fill his hand,
Nor he who binds sheaves, his ^[q]arms.
⁸Neither let those who pass by them say,
^(BF)“The blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

Waiting for the Redemption of the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

130 Out ^(BG)of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;
²Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.

³^(BH)If You, Lord, should ^[r]mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could ^(BI)stand?
⁴But there is ^(BJ)forgiveness with You,
That ^(BK)You may be feared.

⁵^(BL)I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And ^(BM)in His word I do hope.
⁶^(BN)My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷^(BO)O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For ^(BP)with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
⁸And ^(BQ)He shall redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

Simple Trust in the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

131 Lord, my heart is not ^[s]haughty,
Nor my eyes ^[t]lofty.
^(BR)Neither do I ^[u]concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too ^[v]profound for me.

²Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
^(BS)Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³^(BT)O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion

A Song of Ascents.

132 Lord, remember David
And all his afflictions;
²How he swore to the Lord,
^(BU)And vowed to ^(BV)the 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 ^(BW)not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
⁵Until I ^(BX)find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶Behold, we heard of it ^(BY)in Ephrathah;
^(BZ)We found it ^(CA)in the fields of ^[w]the woods.
⁷Let us go into His tabernacle;
^(CB)Let us worship at His footstool.
⁸^(CC)Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and ^(CD)the ark of Your strength.
⁹Let Your priests ^(CE)be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.

¹⁰For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your ^[x]Anointed.

¹¹^(CF)The Lord has sworn in truth to David;
He will not turn from it:
“I will set upon your throne ^(CG)the ^[y]fruit 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.”

¹³^(CH)For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His ^[z]dwelling place:
¹⁴“This^(CI) is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
¹⁵^(CJ)I will abundantly bless her ^[aa]provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
¹⁶^(CK)I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
^(CL)And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
¹⁷^(CM)There I will make the ^[ab]horn of David grow;
^(CN)I will prepare a lamp for My ^[ac]Anointed.
¹⁸His enemies I will ^(CO)clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”

Blessed Unity of the People of God

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For ^(CP)brethren 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 ^(CQ)Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For ^(CR)there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.

Praising the Lord in His House at Night

A Song of Ascents.

134 Behold, bless the Lord,
All you servants of the Lord,
Who by night stand in the house of the Lord!
²^(CS)Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the Lord.