Psalm 120-134
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 120
A Cry for Truth and Peace
A song of ascents.
1 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.(A)
2 “Lord, rescue me from lying lips
and a deceitful tongue.”(B)
3 What will he give you,
and what will he do to you,
you deceitful tongue?(C)
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows
with burning charcoal
5 What misery that I have stayed in Meshech,[b](E)
that I have lived among the tents of Kedar
6 I have dwelt too long
with those who hate peace.(G)
7 I am for peace; but when I speak,
they are for war.(H)
Psalm 121
The Lord Our Protector
A song of ascents.
1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?(I)
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(J)
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.(K)
4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.(L)
5 The Lord protects you;
the Lord is a shelter right by your side.[d](M)
6 The sun will not strike you by day
or the moon by night.(N)
7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.(O)
8 The Lord will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.(P)
Psalm 122
A Prayer for Jerusalem
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”(Q)
2 Our feet were standing
within your gates, Jerusalem(R)—
3 Jerusalem, built as a city should be,
solidly united,(S)
4 where the tribes, the Lord’s tribes, go up
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.(T)
(This is an ordinance for Israel.(U))
5 There, thrones for judgment are placed,
thrones of the house of David.(V)
6 Pray for the well-being[e] of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure;(W)
7 may there be peace within your walls,
security within your fortresses.”(X)
8 Because of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “May peace be in you.”[f](Y)
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will pursue your prosperity.(Z)
Psalm 123
Looking for God’s Favor
A song of ascents.
1 I lift my eyes to you,
the one enthroned in heaven.(AA)
2 Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand,
like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
until he shows us favor.(AB)
3 Show us favor, Lord, show us favor,
for we’ve had more than enough contempt.(AC)
4 We’ve had more than enough
scorn from the arrogant
and contempt from the proud.(AD)
Psalm 124
The Lord Is on Our Side
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side(AE)
when people attacked us,(AF)
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger against us.(AG)
4 Then the water would have engulfed us;
the torrent would have swept over us;
5 the raging water would have swept over us.(AH)
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not let us be ripped apart by their teeth.(AI)
7 We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s net;
the net is torn, and we have escaped.(AJ)
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.(AK)
Psalm 125
Israel’s Stability
A song of ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
It cannot be shaken; it remains forever.(AL)
2 The mountains surround Jerusalem
and the Lord surrounds his people,
both now and forever.(AM)
3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.(AN)
4 Do what is good, Lord, to the good,
to those whose hearts are upright.(AO)
5 But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
the Lord will banish them with the evildoers.(AP)
Peace be with Israel.(AQ)
Psalm 126
Zion’s Restoration
A song of ascents.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,[g]
we were like those who dream.(AR)
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter then,(AS)
and our tongues with shouts of joy.(AT)
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”(AU)
3 The Lord had done great things for us;
we were joyful.(AV)
4 Restore our fortunes,[h] Lord,
like watercourses in the Negev.(AW)
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with shouts of joy.(AX)
6 Though one goes along weeping,
carrying the bag of seed,
he will surely come back with shouts of joy,
carrying his sheaves.(AY)
Psalm 127
The Blessing of the Lord
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the Lord builds a house,
its builders labor over it in vain;(AZ)
unless the Lord watches over a city,
the watchman stays alert in vain.(BA)
2 In vain you get up early and stay up late,
working hard to have enough food—
yes, he gives sleep to the one he loves.[i](BB)
3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,
offspring, a reward.(BC)
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons born in one’s youth.(BD)
5 Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them.(BE)
They will never be put to shame
when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.(BF)
Psalm 128
Blessings for Those Who Fear God
A song of ascents.
1 How happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in his ways!(BG)
2 You will surely eat
what your hands have worked for.(BH)
You will be happy,
and it will go well for you.(BI)
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your children, like young olive trees
around your table.(BJ)
4 In this very way
the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed.(BK)
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life(BL)
6 and will see your children’s children!
Peace be with Israel.(BM)
Psalm 129
Protection of the Oppressed
A song of ascents.
1 Since my youth they have often attacked me—
let Israel say—
2 since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not prevailed against me.(BN)
3 Plowmen plowed over my back;
they made their furrows long.(BO)
4 The Lord is righteous;
he has cut the ropes of the wicked.(BP)
5 Let all who hate Zion
be driven back in disgrace.(BQ)
6 Let them be like grass on the rooftops,
which withers before it grows up[j](BR)
7 and can’t even fill the hands of the reaper
or the arms of the one who binds sheaves.(BS)
8 Then none who pass by will say,
“May the Lord’s blessing be on you.
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”(BT)
Psalm 130
Awaiting Redemption
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to you, Lord!(BU)
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.(BV)
3 Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?(BW)
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that you may be revered.(BX)
5 I wait for the Lord; I wait
and put my hope in his word.(BY)
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning—
more than watchmen for the morning.(BZ)
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord.(CA)
For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with him is redemption in abundance.(CB)
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.(CC)
Psalm 131
A Childlike Spirit
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.(CD)
I do not get involved with things
too great or too wondrous for me.(CE)
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like a weaned child.(CF)
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.(CG)
Psalm 132
David and Zion Chosen
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all the hardships he endured,(CH)
2 and how he swore an oath to the Lord,
making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:(CI)
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep
or my eyelids to slumber(CJ)
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”(CK)
6 We heard of the ark in Ephrathah;[k](CL)
we found it in the fields of Jaar.[l](CM)
7 Let’s go to his dwelling place;
let’s worship at his footstool.(CN)
8 Rise up, Lord, come to your resting place,
you and your powerful ark.(CO)
9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and may your faithful people shout for joy.(CP)
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.[m](CQ)
11 The Lord swore an oath to David,
a promise he will not abandon:
“I will set one of your offspring[n]
on your throne.(CR)
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I will teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”(CS)
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his home:(CT)
14 “This is my resting place forever;
I will make my home here
because I have desired it.(CU)
15 I will abundantly bless its food;
I will satisfy its needy with bread.(CV)
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation,
and its faithful people will shout for joy.(CW)
17 There I will make a horn grow for David;(CX)
I have prepared a lamp[o] for my anointed one.(CY)
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,(CZ)
but the crown he wears[p] will be glorious.”(DA)
Psalm 133
Living in Harmony
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How delightfully good
when brothers live together in harmony!(DB)
2 It is like fine oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down Aaron’s beard
onto his robes.(DC)
3 It is like the dew of Hermon[q]
falling on the mountains of Zion.(DD)
For there the Lord has appointed the blessing—
life forevermore.(DE)
Psalm 134
Call to Evening Worship
A song of ascents.
1 Now bless the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who stand in the Lord’s house at night!(DF)
2 Lift up your hands in the holy place
and bless the Lord!(DG)
3 May the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.(DH)
Footnotes
- 120:4 Lit with coals of the broom bush
- 120:5 = a people far to the north of Palestine
- 120:5 = a nomadic people of the desert to the southeast
- 121:5 Lit is your shelter at your right hand
- 122:6 Or peace
- 122:8 = Jerusalem
- 126:1 Or Lord returned those of Zion who had been captives
- 126:4 Or Return our captives
- 127:2 Or yes, he gives such things to his loved ones while they sleep
- 129:6 Or it can be pulled out
- 132:6 = Bethlehem
- 132:6 = Kiriath-jearim
- 132:10 = the king
- 132:11 Lit set the fruit of your belly
- 132:17 Or dominion
- 132:18 Lit but on him his crown
- 133:3 The tallest mountain in the region, noted for its abundant precipitation
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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