Psalm 124-127
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 124
Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side
—let Israel now say—(A)
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
when our enemies attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;(B)
4 then the flood would have swept us away;
the torrent would have gone over us;(C)
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth.(D)
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the hunters;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.(E)
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.(F)
Psalm 125
The Security of God’s People
A Song of Ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved but abides forever.(G)
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people
from this time on and forevermore.(H)
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous might not stretch out
their hands to do wrong.(I)
4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
and to those who are upright in their hearts.(J)
5 But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways,
the Lord will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!(K)
Psalm 126
A Harvest of Joy
A Song of Ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,[a]
we were like those who dream.(L)
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”(M)
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.(N)
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.(O)
5 May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.(P)
6 Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
Psalm 127
God’s Blessings in the Home
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.(Q)
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil,
for he gives sleep to his beloved.[b](R)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.