Add parallel Print Page Options

Psalm 121

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

I look up to the mountains—
    does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth!

He will not let you stumble;
    the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
    never slumbers or sleeps.

The Lord himself watches over you!
    The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon at night.

The Lord keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever.

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of (A)Ascents.

121 I (B)lift up my eyes to (C)the hills.
    From where does my help come?
(D)My help comes from the Lord,
    who (E)made heaven and earth.

He will not (F)let your foot be moved;
    he who (G)keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your (H)shade on your (I)right hand.
(J)The sun shall not (K)strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will (L)keep you from all evil;
    he will (M)keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your (N)going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

18 Where is another God like you,
    who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
    overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
    because you delight in showing unfailing love.
19 Once again you will have compassion on us.
    You will trample our sins under your feet
    and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
20 You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
    as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.

Read full chapter

God's Steadfast Love and Compassion

18 (A)Who is a God like you, (B)pardoning iniquity
    and passing over transgression
    (C)for the remnant of his inheritance?
(D)He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in steadfast love.
19 He will (E)again have compassion on us;
    (F)he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
(G)You will cast all our[a] sins
    into the depths of the sea.
20 (H)You will show faithfulness to Jacob
    and steadfast love to Abraham,
(I)as you have sworn to our fathers
    from the days of old.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Micah 7:19 Hebrew their

Christ Took Our Punishment

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses[a] and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.[b] 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 3:21 Greek in the law.
  2. 3:30 Greek whether they are circumcised or uncircumcised.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

21 But now (A)the righteousness of God (B)has been manifested apart from the law, although (C)the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God (D)through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. (E)For there is no distinction: 23 for (F)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 (G)and are justified (H)by his grace as a gift, (I)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God (J)put forward as (K)a propitiation (L)by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in (M)his divine forbearance he had passed over (N)former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 (O)Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith (P)apart from works of the law. 29 Or (Q)is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since (R)God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and (S)the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Read full chapter