Psalm 123-127

New King James Version

Prayer for Relief from Contempt

A Song of Ascents.

123 Unto You ^(A)I lift up my eyes,
O You ^(B)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,
^(C)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 ^(D)side,”
^(E)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 ^(F)swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
⁴Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have ^[a]gone over our soul;
⁵Then the swollen waters
Would have ^[b]gone over our soul.”

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
⁷^(G)Our soul has escaped ^(H)as a bird from the snare of the ^[c]fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
⁸^(I)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
^(J)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 ^(K)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 ^(L)crooked ways,
The Lord shall lead them away
With the workers of iniquity.

^(M)Peace be upon Israel!

A Joyful Return to Zion

A Song of Ascents.

126 When ^(N)the Lord brought back ^[d]the captivity of Zion,
^(O)We were like those who dream.
²Then ^(P)our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the ^[e]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^(Q)Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
⁶He who continually goes ^[f]forth weeping,
Bearing ^[g]seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again ^[h]with ^(R)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 ^(S)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 ^(T)eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.

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