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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.
2 Behold, 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.

3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our 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,
3 Then they would have (F)swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have [a]gone over our soul;
5 Then the swollen waters
Would have [b]gone over our soul.”

6 Blessed 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.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.

3 For (K)the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
On the land allotted to the righteous,
Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
And to those who are upright in their hearts.

5 As 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.
2 Then (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.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad.

4 Bring back our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South.

5 (Q)Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
6 He 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.
2 It 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.

3 Behold, (U)children are a heritage from the Lord,
(V)The fruit of the womb is a (W)reward.
4 Like 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.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 124:4 swept over
  2. Psalm 124:5 swept over
  3. Psalm 124:7 Persons who catch birds in a trap or snare
  4. Psalm 126:1 Those of the captivity
  5. Psalm 126:2 Gentiles
  6. Psalm 126:6 to and fro
  7. Psalm 126:6 Lit. a bag of seed for sowing
  8. Psalm 126:6 with shouts of joy
Listen to Psalm 123-127
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Psalm 123-127
New International Version

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned(A) in heaven.
2 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(B) our God,
    till he shows us his mercy.

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

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say(C)—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood(D) would have engulfed us,
    the torrent(E) would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
    would have swept us away.

6 Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;(F)
the snare has been broken,(G)
    and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name(H) of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(I) and earth.

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.

1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,(J)
    which cannot be shaken(K) but endures forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,(L)
    so the Lord surrounds(M) his people
    both now and forevermore.

3 The scepter(N) of the wicked will not remain(O)
    over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
    their hands to do evil.(P)

4 Lord, do good(Q) to those who are good,
    to those who are upright in heart.(R)
5 But those who turn(S) to crooked ways(T)
    the Lord will banish(U) with the evildoers.

Peace be on Israel.(V)

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

1 When the Lord restored(W) the fortunes of[a] Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.[b]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,(X)
    our tongues with songs of joy.(Y)
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things(Z) for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things(AA) for us,
    and we are filled with joy.(AB)

4 Restore our fortunes,[c](AC) Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.(AD)
5 Those who sow with tears(AE)
    will reap(AF) with songs of joy.(AG)
6 Those who go out weeping,(AH)
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the Lord builds(AI) the house,
    the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches(AJ) over the city,
    the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
    and stay up late,
toiling for food(AK) to eat—
    for he grants sleep(AL) to[d] those he loves.(AM)

3 Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward(AN) from him.
4 Like arrows(AO) in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.(AP)
They will not be put to shame
    when they contend with their opponents(AQ) in court.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 126:1 Or Lord brought back the captives to
  2. Psalm 126:1 Or those restored to health
  3. Psalm 126:4 Or Bring back our captives
  4. Psalm 127:2 Or eat— / for while they sleep he provides for
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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