Psalm 120-126

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.