Deliver Me, O Lord

A Song of (A)Ascents.

120 In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
Deliver me, O Lord,
    from lying lips,
    from a deceitful tongue.

What shall be given to you,
    (B)and what more shall be done to you,
    you deceitful tongue?
(C)A warrior's (D)sharp arrows,
    with glowing (E)coals of the broom tree!

Woe to me, that I sojourn in (F)Meshech,
    that I dwell among (G)the tents of (H)Kedar!
Too long have I had my dwelling
    among those who hate peace.
(I)I am for peace,
    but when I speak, they are for war!

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of (J)Ascents.

121 I (K)lift up my eyes to (L)the hills.
    From where does my help come?
(M)My help comes from the Lord,
    who (N)made heaven and earth.

He will not (O)let your foot be moved;
    he who (P)keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your (Q)shade on your (R)right hand.
(S)The sun shall not (T)strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will (U)keep you from all evil;
    he will (V)keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your (W)going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

A Song of (X)Ascents. Of David.

122 I was glad when they said to me,
    (Y)“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
Our feet have been standing
    within your gates, O Jerusalem!

Jerusalem—(Z)built as a city
    that is (AA)bound firmly together,
to which the tribes (AB)go up,
    the tribes of the Lord,
as was (AC)decreed for[a] Israel,
    to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
There (AD)thrones for judgment were set,
    the thrones of the house of David.

(AE)Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
    “May they be secure who love you!
Peace be within your (AF)walls
    and security within your (AG)towers!”
For my brothers and companions' sake
    I will say, (AH)“Peace be within you!”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will (AI)seek your good.

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of (AJ)Ascents.

123 To you I (AK)lift up my eyes,
    O you who are (AL)enthroned in the heavens!
Behold, as the eyes of servants
    look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
    to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    till he has mercy upon us.

(AM)Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of (AN)contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough
    of (AO)the scorn of (AP)those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of (AQ)the proud.

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of (AR)Ascents. Of David.

124 (AS)If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
    (AT)let Israel now say—
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
    when people rose up against us,
then they would have (AU)swallowed us up alive,
    when their anger was kindled against us;
then (AV)the flood would have (AW)swept us away,
    the torrent would have gone (AX)over us;
then over us would have gone
    the raging waters.

Blessed be the Lord,
    who has not given us
    as prey to their teeth!
We have escaped like a bird
    from (AY)the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
    and we have escaped!

(AZ)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of (BA)Ascents.

125 Those who (BB)trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
    which (BC)cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so (BD)the Lord surrounds his people,
    from this time forth and forevermore.
For (BE)the scepter of wickedness shall not (BF)rest
    on (BG)the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous (BH)stretch out
    their hands to do wrong.
(BI)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
    and to those who are (BJ)upright in their hearts!
But those who (BK)turn aside to their (BL)crooked ways
    the Lord will lead away with (BM)evildoers!
    (BN)Peace be upon Israel!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 122:4 Or as a testimony for

Psalm 120

A song of ascents.

I call on the Lord(A) in my distress,(B)
    and he answers me.
Save me, Lord,
    from lying lips(C)
    and from deceitful tongues.(D)

What will he do to you,
    and what more besides,
    you deceitful tongue?
He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,(E)
    with burning coals of the broom bush.

Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
    that I live among the tents of Kedar!(F)
Too long have I lived
    among those who hate peace.
I am for peace;
    but when I speak, they are for war.

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(G) and earth.(H)

He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches(I) over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over(J) you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun(K) will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm(L)
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.(M)

Psalm 122

A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
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.
There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love(N) you be secure.
May there be peace(O) within your walls
    and security within your citadels.(P)
For the sake of my family and friends,
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your prosperity.(Q)

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to you,
    to you who sit enthroned(R) 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(S) 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 124

A song of ascents. Of David.

If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say(T)
if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
the flood(U) would have engulfed us,
    the torrent(V) would have swept over us,
the raging waters
    would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;(W)
the snare has been broken,(X)
    and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name(Y) of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(Z) and earth.

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,(AA)
    which cannot be shaken(AB) but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,(AC)
    so the Lord surrounds(AD) his people
    both now and forevermore.

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)

Lord, do good(AH) to those who are good,
    to those who are upright in heart.(AI)
But those who turn(AJ) to crooked ways(AK)
    the Lord will banish(AL) with the evildoers.

Peace be on Israel.(AM)