Psalm 120-131

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Rescue from the Treacherous.

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

120 ^(A)I cried to the Lord in my trouble,
And He answered me.
²Rescue my soul, Lord, from ^(B)lying lips,
From a ^(C)deceitful tongue.
³What will He give to you, and what more will He do to you,
You ^(D)deceitful tongue?
⁴^(E)Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning ^(F)coals of the broom tree!

⁵Woe to me, for I reside in ^(G)Meshech,
For I have settled among the ^(H)tents of ^(I)Kedar!
⁶Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who ^(J)hate peace.
⁷I ^(K)am for peace, but when I speak,
They are ^(L)for war.

The Lord, the Keeper of Israel.

A Song of Ascents.

121 I will ^(M)raise my eyes to ^(N)the mountains;
From where will my help come?
²My ^(O)help comes from the Lord,
Who ^(P)made heaven and earth.
³He will not ^(Q)allow your foot to slip;
He who ^(R)watches over you will not slumber.
⁴Behold, He who watches over Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your ^[b]^(S)protector;
The Lord is your ^(T)shade on your right hand.
⁶The ^(U)sun will not ^[c]beat down on you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
⁷The Lord will ^[d]^(V)protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
⁸The Lord will ^[e]^(W)guard your going out and your coming in
^(X)From this time and forever.

Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s ^(Y)go to the house of the Lord.”
²Our feet are standing
Within your ^(Z)gates, Jerusalem,
³Jerusalem, that has been ^(AA)built
As a city that is ^(AB)firmly joined together;
⁴To which the tribes ^(AC)go up, the tribes of ^[f]the Lord—
^[g]An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
⁵For ^(AD)thrones were set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

⁶Pray for the ^(AE)peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who ^(AF)love you.
⁷May peace be within your ^(AG)walls,
And prosperity within your ^(AH)palaces.”
⁸For the sake of my ^(AI)brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “^(AJ)May peace be within you.”
⁹For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will ^(AK)seek your good.

Prayer for the Lord’s Help.

A Song of Ascents.

123 To You I have ^(AL)raised my eyes,
You who ^(AM)are enthroned in the heavens!
²Behold, as the eyes of ^(AN)servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a female servant to the hand of her mistress,
So our ^(AO)eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.

³^(AP)Be gracious to us, Lord, be gracious to us,
For we have had much more than enough of ^(AQ)contempt.
⁴Our soul has had much more than enough
Of the ^(AR)scoffing of ^(AS)those who are at ease,
And with the ^(AT)contempt of the proud.

Praise for Rescue from Enemies.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

124 “^(AU)Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
^(AV)Let Israel say,
²“Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When people rose up against us,
³Then they would have ^(AW)swallowed us alive,
When their ^(AX)anger was kindled against us;
⁴Then the ^(AY)waters would have flooded over us,
The stream would have ^[h]swept over our souls;
⁵Then the ^(AZ)raging waters would have ^[i]swept over our souls.”

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us ^[j]to be ^(BA)torn by their teeth.
⁷Our souls have ^(BB)escaped ^(BC)like a bird from the trapper’s ^(BD)snare;
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
⁸Our ^(BE)help is in the name of the Lord,
Who ^(BF)made heaven and earth.

The Lord Surrounds His People.

A Song of Ascents.

125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion, which ^(BG)cannot be moved but ^(BH)remains forever.
²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So ^(BI)the Lord surrounds His people
^(BJ)From this time and forever.
³For the ^(BK)scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the ^[k]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous ^(BL)will not extend their hands to do wrong.

⁴^(BM)Do good, Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are ^(BN)upright in their hearts.
⁵But as for those who ^(BO)turn aside to their ^(BP)crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with those who ^(BQ)practice injustice.
^(BR)Peace be upon Israel.

Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.

A Song of Ascents.

126 When the Lord ^(BS)brought back ^[l]the captives of Zion,
We were ^(BT)like those who dream.
²Then our ^(BU)mouth was filled with laughter
And our ^(BV)tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has ^(BW)done great things for them.”
³The Lord has done great things for us;
We are ^(BX)joyful.

⁴Restore our fortunes, Lord,
As the ^[m]^(BY)streams in the ^[n]South.
⁵Those who sow in ^(BZ)tears shall harvest with ^(CA)joyful shouting.
⁶One who goes here and there weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord ^(CB)builds a house,
They who build it labor in vain;
Unless the Lord ^(CC)guards a city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
²It is futile for you to rise up early,
To ^[o]stay up late,
To ^(CD)eat the bread of painful labor;
This is how He gives to His ^(CE)beloved ^(CF)sleep.

³Behold, ^(CG)children are a ^[p]gift of the Lord,
The ^(CH)fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴Like arrows in the hand of a ^(CI)warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
⁵^(CJ)Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
^(CK)They will not be ashamed
When they ^(CL)speak with their enemies ^(CM)in the gate.

Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.

A Song of Ascents.

128 ^(CN)Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who ^(CO)walks in His ways.
²When you ^(CP)eat the ^(CQ)fruit of the labor of your hands,
You will be happy and ^(CR)it will go well for you.
³Your wife will be like a ^(CS)fruitful vine
^[q]Within your house,
Your children like ^(CT)olive plants
Around your table.
⁴Behold, for so shall a man
Who fears the Lord be blessed.

⁵^(CU)The Lord bless you ^(CV)from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
⁶Indeed, may you see your ^(CW)children’s children.
^(CX)Peace be upon Israel!

Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.

A Song of Ascents.

129 “^[r]Many times they have ^(CY)attacked me from my ^(CZ)youth up,”
^(DA)Let Israel say,
²“^[s]Many times they have attacked me from my youth up;
Yet they have ^(DB)not prevailed against me.
³The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
⁴The Lord ^(DC)is righteous;
He has cut up the ^(DD)ropes of the wicked.

⁵May all who ^(DE)hate Zion
Be ^(DF)put to shame and turned backward;
⁶May they be like ^(DG)grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it ^[t]grows up;
⁷With which the harvester does not fill his ^[u]hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his ^[v]^(DH)arms;
⁸Nor do those who pass by say,
“The ^(DI)blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”

Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.

A Song of Ascents.

130 Out of the ^(DJ)depths I have cried to You, Lord.
²Lord, ^(DK)hear my voice!
Let ^(DL)Your ears be attentive
To the ^(DM)sound of my pleadings.
³If You, ^[w]Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds,
Lord, who could ^(DN)stand?
⁴But there is ^(DO)forgiveness with You,
So that You may be ^[x]^(DP)revered.

⁵I wait for the Lord, my ^(DQ)soul waits,
And I ^[y]wait ^(DR)for His word.
⁶My soul waits in hope for the Lord
More than the watchmen ^(DS)for the morning;
Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning.
⁷Israel, ^(DT)wait for the Lord;
For with the Lord there is ^(DU)mercy,
And with Him is ^(DV)abundant redemption.
⁸And He will ^(DW)redeem Israel
From all his guilty deeds.

Childlike Trust in the Lord.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

131 Lord, my heart is not ^(DX)proud, nor my eyes ^(DY)arrogant;
Nor do I ^[z]involve myself in ^(DZ)great matters,
Or in things ^(EA)too ^[aa]difficult for me.
²I have certainly ^(EB)soothed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned ^(EC)child resting ^[ab]against his mother,
My soul ^[ac]within me is like a weaned child.
³Israel, ^(ED)wait for the Lord
^(EE)From this time on and forever.