Print Page Options

A Prayer for Deliverance

126 When the Lord brought us back to Jerusalem,[a]
    it was like a dream!
How we laughed, how we sang for joy!
    Then the other nations said about us,
    “The Lord did great things for them.”
Indeed he did great things for us;
    how happy we were!

Lord, make us prosperous again,[b]
    just as the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds.
Let those who wept as they planted their crops,
    gather the harvest with joy!

Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed
    will come back singing for joy,
    as they bring in the harvest.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 126:1 brought us back to Jerusalem; or made Jerusalem prosperous again.
  2. Psalm 126:4 make us prosperous again; or take us back to our land.

Psalm 126

A Harvest of Joy

A Song of Ascents.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,[a]
    we were like those who dream.(A)
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”(B)
The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we rejoiced.(C)

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
    like the watercourses in the Negeb.(D)
May those who sow in tears
    reap with shouts of joy.(E)
Those who go out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    carrying their sheaves.

Footnotes

  1. 126.1 Or brought back those who returned to Zion

126 (0) A song of ascents:

(1) When Adonai restored Tziyon’s fortunes,
we thought we were dreaming.
Our mouths were full of laughter,
and our tongues shouted for joy.

Among the nations it was said,
Adonai has done great things for them!”
Adonai did do great things with us;
and we are overjoyed.

Return our people from exile, Adonai,
as streams fill vadis in the Negev.

Those who sow in tears
will reap with cries of joy.
He who goes out weeping
as he carries his sack of seed
will come home with cries of joy
as he carries his sheaves of grain.

126 1-3 It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
    when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
    we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
    God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
    we are one happy people.

4-6 And now, God, do it again—
    bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
    will shout “Yes!” at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
    will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

When the Lord restored(A) the fortunes of[a] Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.[b]
Our mouths were filled with laughter,(B)
    our tongues with songs of joy.(C)
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things(D) for them.”
The Lord has done great things(E) for us,
    and we are filled with joy.(F)

Restore our fortunes,[c](G) Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.(H)
Those who sow with tears(I)
    will reap(J) with songs of joy.(K)
Those who go out weeping,(L)
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 126:1 Or Lord brought back the captives to
  2. Psalm 126:1 Or those restored to health
  3. Psalm 126:4 Or Bring back our captives