Print Page Options

121 שִׁ֗יר לַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃

עֶ֭זְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃

אַל־יִתֵּ֣ן לַמּ֣וֹט רַגְלֶ֑ךָ אַל־יָ֝נ֗וּם שֹֽׁמְרֶֽךָ׃

הִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

יְהוָ֥ה שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ יְהוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ׃

יוֹמָ֗ם הַשֶּׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹֽא־יַכֶּ֗כָּה וְיָרֵ֥חַ בַּלָּֽיְלָה׃

יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃

יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָר־צֵאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם׃

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 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.

Psalm 121[a]

A song of ascents.[b]

121 I look up[c] toward the hills.
From where[d] does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,[e]
the Creator[f] of heaven and earth.
May he not allow your foot to slip.
May your Protector[g] not sleep.[h]
Look! Israel’s Protector[i]
does not sleep or slumber.
The Lord is your protector;
the Lord is the shade at your right hand.
The sun will not harm you by day,
or the moon by night.[j]
The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.
The Lord will protect you in all you do,[k]
now and forevermore.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 121:1 sn Psalm 121. The psalm affirms that the Lord protects his people Israel. Unless the psalmist addresses an observer (note the second person singular forms in vv. 3-8), it appears there are two or three speakers represented in the psalm, depending on how one takes v. 3. The translation assumes that speaker one talks in vv. 1-2, that speaker two responds to him with a prayer in v. 3 (this assumes the verbs are true jussives of prayer), and that speaker three responds with words of assurance in vv. 4-8. If the verbs in v. 3 are taken as a rhetorical use of the jussive, then there are two speakers. Verses 3-8 are speaker two’s response to the words of speaker one. See the note on the word “sleep” at the end of v. 3.
  2. Psalm 121:1 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
  3. Psalm 121:1 tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”
  4. Psalm 121:1 tn The Hebrew term מֵאַיִן (meʾayin) is interrogative, not relative, in function. Rather than directly stating that his source of help descends from the hills, the psalmist is asking, “From where does my help come?” Nevertheless, the first line does indicate that he is looking toward the hills for help, probably indicating that he is looking up toward the sky, or up toward the temple, in anticipation of supernatural intervention. The psalmist assumes the dramatic role of one needing help. He answers his own question in v. 2.
  5. Psalm 121:2 tn Heb “my help [is] from with the Lord.”
  6. Psalm 121:2 tn Or “Maker.”
  7. Psalm 121:3 tn Heb “the one who guards you.”
  8. Psalm 121:3 tn The prefixed verbal forms following the negative particle אַל (ʾal) appear to be jussives. As noted above, if they are taken as true jussives of prayer, then the speaker in v. 3 would appear to be distinct from both the speaker in vv. 1-2 and the speaker in vv. 4-8. However, according to GKC 322 §109.e), the jussives are used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.” In this case one should probably translate, “he will not allow your foot to slip, your protector will not sleep,” and understand just one speaker in vv. 4-8. But none of the examples in GKC for this use of the jussive are compelling.
  9. Psalm 121:4 tn Heb “the one who guards Israel.”
  10. Psalm 121:6 sn One hardly thinks of the moon’s rays as being physically harmful, like those of the sun. The reference to the moon may simply lend poetic balance to the verse, but it is likely that the verse reflects an ancient, primitive belief that the moon could have an adverse effect on the mind (note the English expression “moonstruck,” which reflects such a belief). Another possibility is that the sun and moon stand by metonymy for harmful forces characteristic of the day and night, respectively.
  11. Psalm 121:8 tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.”

The Lord Our Protector

121 I look to the mountains;
    where will my help come from?
My help will come from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

He will not let you fall;
    your protector is always awake.

The protector of Israel
    never dozes or sleeps.
The Lord will guard you;
    he is by your side to protect you.
The sun will not hurt you during the day,
    nor the moon during the night.

The Lord will protect you from all danger;
    he will keep you safe.
He will protect you as you come and go
    now and forever.

123 שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת אֵ֭לֶיךָ נָשָׂ֣אתִי אֶת־עֵינַ֑י הַ֝יֹּשְׁבִ֗י בַּשָּׁמָֽיִם׃

הִנֵּ֨ה כְעֵינֵ֪י עֲבָדִ֡ים אֶל־יַ֤ד אֲ‍ֽדוֹנֵיהֶ֗ם כְּעֵינֵ֣י שִׁפְחָה֮ אֶל־יַ֪ד גְּבִ֫רְתָּ֥הּ כֵּ֣ן עֵ֭ינֵינוּ אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ עַ֝֗ד שֶׁיְּחָנֵּֽנוּ׃

חָנֵּ֣נוּ יְהוָ֣ה חָנֵּ֑נוּ כִּֽי־רַ֝֗ב שָׂבַ֥עְנוּ בֽוּז׃

רַבַּת֮ שָֽׂבְעָה־לָּ֪הּ נַ֫פְשֵׁ֥נוּ הַלַּ֥עַג הַשַּׁאֲנַנִּ֑ים הַ֝בּ֗וּז לִגְאֵ֥יוֹנִֽים׃

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned(A) 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(B) 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 123

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

I lift my eyes to you,
    O God, enthroned in heaven.
We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy,
    just as servants keep their eyes on their master,
    as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy,
    for we have had our fill of contempt.
We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud
    and the contempt of the arrogant.

Psalm 123[a]

A song of ascents.[b]

123 I look up[c] toward you,
the one enthroned[d] in heaven.
Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress,[e]
so our eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.
Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!
For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some.[f]
We have had our fill[g]
of the taunts of the self-assured,
of the contempt of the proud.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 123:1 sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.
  2. Psalm 123:1 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
  3. Psalm 123:1 tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”
  4. Psalm 123:1 tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12).
  5. Psalm 123:2 sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.
  6. Psalm 123:3 tn Heb “for greatly we are filled [with] humiliation.”
  7. Psalm 123:4 tn Heb “greatly our soul is full to it.”

A Prayer for Mercy

123 Lord, I look up to you,
    up to heaven, where you rule.
As a servant depends on his master,
    as a maid depends on her mistress,
so we will keep looking to you, O Lord our God,
    until you have mercy on us.

Be merciful to us, Lord, be merciful;
    we have been treated with so much contempt.
We have been mocked too long by the rich
    and scorned by proud oppressors.

'הבשורה על-פי מרקוס 6:41' not found for the version: The Westminster Leningrad Codex.

41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.(A) Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

41 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share.

41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He[a] gave them to his[b] disciples to serve the people, and he divided the two fish among them all.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 6:41 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  2. Mark 6:41 tc ‡ Most mss (P45 A D W Θ ƒ1,13 M lat sy) have αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after τοῖς μαθηταῖς (tois mathētais, “the disciples”), but several excellent witnesses (א B L Δ 33 579 892 1241 1424) lack the pronoun. This kind of variant is often a predictable expansion of the text; further, that many significant mss lack the pronoun gives support for the shorter reading. For these reasons, the pronoun is considered to be secondary. NA28 puts αὐτοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.tn Grk “the disciples”; the Greek article has been translated here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

41 Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

'הבשורה על-פי מרקוס 7:34' not found for the version: The Westminster Leningrad Codex.

34 He looked up to heaven(A) and with a deep sigh(B) said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”).

34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!”

34 Then[a] he looked up to heaven and said with a sigh, “Ephphatha” (that is, “Be opened”).[b]

Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  2. Mark 7:34 sn The author’s parenthetical note gives the meaning of the Aramaic word Ephphatha.

34 Then Jesus looked up to heaven, gave a deep groan, and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up!”