Psalm 120
New King James Version
Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes
A Song of Ascents.
120 In (A)my distress I cried to the Lord,
And He heard me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips
And from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you,
Or what shall be done to you,
You false tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the [a]warrior,
With coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe is me, that I dwell in (B)Meshech,
(C)That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul has dwelt too long
With one who hates peace.
7 I am for peace;
But when I speak, they are for war.
Footnotes
- Psalm 120:4 mighty one
Psalm 120
Amplified Bible
Prayer for Breaking Away from the Treacherous.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
120 In my trouble I cried to the Lord,
And He answered me.
2
Rescue my soul, O Lord, from lying lips,
And from a deceitful tongue.
3
What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?—
4
Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the [b]burning coals of the broom tree.
5
Woe to me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
and I live among the tents of Kedar [among hostile people]!(A)
6
Too long my soul has had its dwelling
With those who hate peace.
7
I am for peace, but when I speak,
They are for war.
Footnotes
- Psalm 120:1 It is possible that the fifteen psalms (chs 120-134) known as the “Songs of Degrees or Ascents” were sung by the caravans of pilgrims going up to attend the annual feasts at Jerusalem. But it is equally possible that the title has reference to some peculiarity in connection with the music or the manner of using it.
- Psalm 120:4 The ancient rabbis explained that coals from a broom tree are unusual in that they continue burning on the inside even after they are extinguished on the outside. They compared this to a person who listens to slander: even if you try to persuade him otherwise and he seems to be convinced, he is still “burning” on the inside, i.e. still unconvinced.
Psalm 120
Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 120
A Song of degrees.
1 In my distress I cried unto the Lord,
and he heard me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips,
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee?
or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty,
with coals of juniper.
5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech,
that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.
7 I am for peace:
but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 120
1599 Geneva Bible
120 1 The prayer of David being vexed by the false reports of Saul’s flatterers. 5 And therefore he lamenteth his long abode among those infidels, 7 Who were given to all kinds of wickedness and contention.
A song of [a]degrees.
1 I called unto the Lord in my [b]trouble, and he heard me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.
3 What doth thy [c]deceitful tongue bring unto thee? or what doth it avail thee?
4 It is as the [d]sharp arrows of a mighty man, and as the coals of Juniper.
5 Woe is to me that I remain in [e]Meshech, and dwell in the tents of [f]Kedar.
6 My soul hath too long dwelt with him that hateth peace.
7 I seek [g]peace, and when I speak thereof, they are bent to war.
Footnotes
- Psalm 120:1 That is, of lifting up the tune and rising in singing.
- Psalm 120:1 Albeit the children of God ought to rejoice when they suffer for righteous sake, yet it is a great grief to the flesh to hear evil for well doing.
- Psalm 120:3 He assured himself that God would turn their craft to their own destruction.
- Psalm 120:4 He showeth that there is nothing so sharp to pierce, nor so hot to set on fire, as a slanderous tongue.
- Psalm 120:5 These were people of Arabia, which came of Japheth, Gen. 10:2.
- Psalm 120:5 That is, of the Ishmaelites.
- Psalm 120:7 He declareth what he meaneth by Meshech, and Kedar, to wit, the Israelites which had degenerate from their godly fathers, and hated and contended against the faithful.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
