Psalm 120:1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 120[a]
Prayer of a Returned Exile
1 A song of ascents.[b]
The Lord answered me
when I called in my distress:(A)
Footnotes
- Psalm 120 A thanksgiving, reporting divine rescue (Ps 120:1) yet with fervent prayer for further protection against lying attackers (Ps 120:2–4). The psalmist is acutely conscious of living away from God’s own land where divine peace prevails (Ps 120:5–7).
- 120:1 A song of ascents: Ps 120–134 all begin with this superscription. Most probably these fifteen Psalms once formed a collection of Psalms sung when pilgrims went to Jerusalem, since one “ascended” to Jerusalem (1 Kgs 12:28; Ps 24:3; 122:4; Lk 2:42) or to the house of God or to an altar (1 Kgs 12:33; 2 Kgs 23:2; Ps 24:3). Less probable is the explanation that these Psalms were sung by the exiles when they “ascended” to Jerusalem from Babylonia (cf. Ezr 7:9). The idea, found in the Mishnah, that the fifteen steps on which the Levites sang corresponded to these fifteen Psalms (Middot 2:5) must underlie the Vulgate translation canticum graduum, “song of the steps” or “gradual song.”
Psalm 120:1
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Psalm 120
Prayer for Deliverance from Slanderers
A Song of Ascents.
1 In my distress I cry to the Lord,
that he may answer me:
Psalm 120:1
Good News Translation
A Prayer for Help
120 When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
Psalm 120:1
New American Standard Bible
Prayer for Rescue from the Treacherous.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
120 (A)I cried to the Lord in my trouble,
And He answered me.
Footnotes
- Psalm 120 Title Ex 34:24; 1 Kin 12:27
Psalm 120:1
New International Version
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