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Psalm 120-125
Contemporary English Version
Psalm 120-125
Contemporary English Version
(A song for worship.)
A Prayer for the Lord's Help
1 When I am in trouble, I pray,
2 “Come and save me, Lord,
from deceitful liars!”
3 What punishment is fitting
for you deceitful liars?
4 Your reward should be
sharp and flaming arrows!
5 But I must live as a foreigner
among the people of Meshech
and in the tents of Kedar.[a]
6 I have spent too much time
living among people
who hate peace.
7 I am in favor of peace,
but when I speak of it,
all they want is war.
(A song for worship.)
The Lord Will Protect His People
1 I look to the hills!
Where will I find help?
2 It will come from the Lord,
who created heaven and earth.
3 The Lord is your protector,
and he won't go to sleep
or let you stumble.
4 The protector of Israel
doesn't doze
or ever get drowsy.
5 The Lord is your protector,
there at your right side
to shade you from the sun.
6 You won't be harmed
by the sun during the day
or by the moon[b] at night.
7 The Lord will protect you
and keep you safe
from all dangers.
8 The Lord will protect you
now and always
wherever you go.
(A song by David for worship.)
A Song of Praise
1 It made me glad when they said,
“Let's go to the house
of the Lord!”
2 Jerusalem, we are standing
inside your gates.
3 Jerusalem, what a strong
and beautiful city you are!
4 Every tribe of the Lord
obeys him and comes to you
to praise his name.
5 David's royal throne is here
where justice rules.
6 Jerusalem, we pray
that you will have peace,
and that all will go well
for those who love you.
7 May there be peace
inside your city walls
and in your palaces.
8 Because of my friends
and my relatives,
I will pray for peace.
9 And because of the house
of the Lord our God,
I will work for your good.
(A song for worship.)
A Prayer for Mercy
1 Our Lord and our God,
I turn my eyes to you,
on your throne in heaven.
2 Servants look to their master,
but we will look to you,
until you have mercy on us.
3 Please have mercy, Lord!
We have been insulted
more than we can stand,
4 and we can't take more abuse
from those proud,
conceited people.
(A song by David for worship.)
Thanking the Lord for Victory
1 The Lord was on our side!
Let everyone in Israel say:
2 “The Lord was on our side!
Otherwise, the enemy attack
3 would have killed us all,
because it was furious.
4 We would have been swept away
in a violent flood
5 of high and roaring waves.”
6 Let's praise the Lord!
He protected us from enemies
who were like wild animals,
7 and we escaped like birds
from a hunter's torn net.
8 The Lord made heaven and earth,
and he is the one
who sends us help.
(A song for worship.)
The Lord's People Are Safe
1 Everyone who trusts the Lord
is like Mount Zion
that cannot be shaken
and will stand forever.
2 Just as Jerusalem is protected
by mountains on every side,
the Lord protects his people
by holding them in his arms
now and forever.
3 He won't let the wicked
rule his people
or lead them to do wrong.
4 Let's ask the Lord to be kind
to everyone who is good
and completely obeys him.
5 When the Lord punishes
the wicked,
he will punish everyone else
who lives an evil life.
Pray for peace in Israel!
Footnotes
- 120.5 Meshech … Kedar: Meshech was a country near the Black Sea, and Kedar was a tribe of the Syrian desert.
- 121.6 harmed … sun … moon: In ancient times people saw the harmful effects of the rays of the sun, and they thought that certain illnesses (especially mental disorders) were also caused by the rays of the moon.
Psalm 120-125
New International Version
Psalm 120-125
New International Version
Psalm 120
A song of ascents.
1 I call on the Lord(A) in my distress,(B)
and he answers me.
2 Save me, Lord,
from lying lips(C)
and from deceitful tongues.(D)
3 What will he do to you,
and what more besides,
you deceitful tongue?
4 He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,(E)
with burning coals of the broom bush.
5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
that I live among the tents of Kedar!(F)
6 Too long have I lived
among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven(G) and earth.(H)
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches(I) over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over(J) you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun(K) will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm(L)—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.(M)
Psalm 122
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
in your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love(N) you be secure.
7 May there be peace(O) within your walls
and security within your citadels.(P)”
8 For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.(Q)
Psalm 123
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned(R) 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(S) 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(T)—
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(U) would have engulfed us,
the torrent(V) 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;(W)
the snare has been broken,(X)
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name(Y) of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven(Z) and earth.
Psalm 125
A song of ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,(AA)
which cannot be shaken(AB) but endures forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,(AC)
so the Lord surrounds(AD) his people
both now and forevermore.
3 The scepter(AE) of the wicked will not remain(AF)
over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
their hands to do evil.(AG)
4 Lord, do good(AH) to those who are good,
to those who are upright in heart.(AI)
5 But those who turn(AJ) to crooked ways(AK)
the Lord will banish(AL) with the evildoers.
Peace be on Israel.(AM)
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.