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Jehovah the keeper of his people.

A Song of Ascents.

121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains:
From whence shall my help come?
My help cometh from Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.

[a]He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
Jehovah is thy keeper:
Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day,
Nor the moon by night.
Jehovah will keep thee from all evil;
He will keep thy soul.
Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in
From this time forth and for evermore.

Prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.

A Song of Ascents; of David.

122 I was glad when they said unto me,
Let us go unto the house of Jehovah.
Our feet [b]are standing
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, that art builded
As a city that is compact together;
Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of [c]Jehovah,
For [d]an ordinance for Israel,
To give thanks unto the name of Jehovah.
For there [e]are set thrones for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
[f]Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
[g]They shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls,
And prosperity within thy palaces.
For my brethren and companions’ sakes,
I will now [h]say, Peace be within thee.
For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God
I will seek thy good.

An expectant prayer for Jehovah’s help.

A Song of Ascents.

123 Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes,
O thou that sittest in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her mistress;
So our eyes look unto Jehovah our God,
Until he have mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, O Jehovah, have mercy upon us;
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scoffing of those that are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud.

Praise for rescue from enemies.

A Song of Ascents; of David.

124 If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
Let Israel now say,
If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
When men rose up against us;
Then they had swallowed us up alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us:
Then the waters had overwhelmed us,
The stream had gone over our soul;
Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Blessed be Jehovah,
Who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:
The snare is broken, and we are escaped.
Our help is in the name of Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth.

Jehovah round about his people.

A Song of Ascents.

125 They that trust in Jehovah
Are as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever.
As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
So Jehovah is round about his people
From this time forth and for evermore.
For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous;
That the righteous put not forth their hands unto iniquity.
Do good, O Jehovah, unto those that are good,
And to them that are upright in their hearts.
But as for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,
Jehovah will lead them forth with the workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 121:3 Or, Let him not suffer . . . Let him not slumber that etc.
  2. Psalm 122:2 Or, have stood
  3. Psalm 122:4 Hebrew Jah.
  4. Psalm 122:4 Hebrew a testimony.
  5. Psalm 122:5 Or, were
  6. Psalm 122:6 Or, Salute ye Jerusalem
  7. Psalm 122:6 Or, May they
  8. Psalm 122:8 Or, speak peace concerning thee

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(A) and earth.(B)

He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches(C) over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over(D) you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun(E) will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm(F)
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.(G)

Psalm 122

A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up—
    the tribes of the Lord
to praise the name of the Lord
    according to the statute given to Israel.
There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love(H) you be secure.
May there be peace(I) within your walls
    and security within your citadels.(J)
For the sake of my family and friends,
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your prosperity.(K)

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned(L) in heaven.
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
    as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord(M) our God,
    till he shows us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
    for we have endured no end of contempt.
We have endured no end
    of ridicule from the arrogant,
    of contempt from the proud.

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say(N)
if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
the flood(O) would have engulfed us,
    the torrent(P) would have swept over us,
the raging waters
    would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;(Q)
the snare has been broken,(R)
    and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name(S) of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(T) and earth.

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,(U)
    which cannot be shaken(V) but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,(W)
    so the Lord surrounds(X) his people
    both now and forevermore.

The scepter(Y) of the wicked will not remain(Z)
    over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
    their hands to do evil.(AA)

Lord, do good(AB) to those who are good,
    to those who are upright in heart.(AC)
But those who turn(AD) to crooked ways(AE)
    the Lord will banish(AF) with the evildoers.

Peace be on Israel.(AG)