Psalm 120-125

Living Bible

120 In my troubles I pled with God to help me and he did!

² Deliver me, O Lord, from liars. ³ O lying tongue, what shall be your fate? ⁴ You shall be pierced with sharp arrows and burned with glowing coals.^[a]

^5-6 My troubles pile high among these haters of the Lord, these men of Meshech and Kedar. I am tired of being here among these men who hate peace. ⁷ I am for peace, but they are for war, and my voice goes unheeded in their councils.

121 Shall I look to the mountain gods for help? ² No! My help is from Jehovah who made the mountains! And the heavens too! ^3-4 He will never let me stumble, slip, or fall. For he is always watching, never sleeping.

⁵ Jehovah himself is caring for you! He is your defender.^{[b] 6} He protects you day and night. ⁷ He keeps you from all evil and preserves your life. ⁸ He keeps his eye upon you as you come and go and always guards you.

122 I was glad for the suggestion of going to Jerusalem, to the Temple of the Lord. ^2-3 Now we are standing here inside the crowded city. ⁴ All Israel—Jehovah’s people—have come to worship as the law requires, to thank and praise the Lord. ⁵ Look! There are the judges holding court beside the city gates, deciding all the people’s arguments.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. ⁷ O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces. ⁸ This I ask for the sake of all my brothers and my friends who live here; ⁹ and may there be peace as a protection to the Temple of the Lord.

123 O God enthroned in heaven, I lift my eyes to you.

² We look to Jehovah our God for his mercy and kindness just as a servant keeps his eyes upon his master or a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.

^3-4 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. For we have had our fill of contempt and of the scoffing of the rich and proud.

124 If the Lord had not been on our side (let all Israel admit it), if the Lord had not been on our side, ^2-3 we would have been swallowed alive by our enemies, destroyed by their anger. ^4-5 We would have drowned beneath the flood of these men’s fury and pride.

⁶ Blessed be Jehovah who has not let them devour us. ⁷ We have escaped with our lives as a bird from a hunter’s snare. The snare is broken and we are free!

⁸ Our help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

125 Those who trust in the Lord are steady as Mount Zion, unmoved by any circumstance.

² Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects his people. ³ For the wicked shall not rule the godly, lest the godly be forced to do wrong. ⁴ O Lord, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are right with the Lord; ⁵ but lead evil men to execution. And let Israel have quietness and peace.