Psalm 120-150

Tree of Life Version

¹ A Song of Ascents.
In my trouble I cried out to Adonai,
    and He answered me.
² Adonai, deliver my soul from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.
³ What can be given to you,
and what more can be done to you, O deceitful tongue?—
⁴ sharp arrows of the mighty,
    with burning coals of a broom tree!
⁵ Woe to me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
for I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
⁶ My soul has too long dwelt
with those who hate shalom.
⁷ I am for shalom and thus I speak,
but they are for war!

¹ A Song of Ascents.
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains—
from where does my help come?
² My help comes from Adonai,
Maker of heaven and earth.
³ He will not let your foot slip.
Your Keeper will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, the Keeper of Israel
neither slumbers nor sleeps.
⁵ Adonai is your Keeper.
Adonai is your shadow at your right hand.
⁶ The sun will not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
⁷ Adonai will protect you from all evil.
He will guard your life.
⁸ Adonai will watch over your coming and your going
from this time forth and forevermore.

¹ A Song of Ascents. Of David.
I rejoiced when they said to me,
“Let us go to the House of Adonai.”
² Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem—
³ Jerusalem, built as a city
joined together.
⁴ There the tribes go up,
the tribes of Adonai
—as a testimony to Israel—
to praise the Name of Adonai.
⁵ For there thrones for judgment are set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem—
“May those who love you be at peace!
⁷ May there be shalom within your walls—
quietness within your palaces.”
⁸ For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I now say: “Shalom be within you.”
⁹ For the sake of the House of Adonai our God,
I will seek your good.

¹ A Song of Ascents.
To You I lift up my eyes—
You enthroned in the heavens.
² Behold, as the eyes of slaves to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a slave-girl to the hand of her mistress—
so our eyes look to Adonai our God, till He shows us favor.
³ Show us favor, Adonai, show us favor!
For we have endured much contempt.
⁴ Our soul has had enough
of the scorn of those at ease,
the contempt of the proud.

¹ A Song of Ascents. Of David.
“Had Adonai not been on our side”
—let Israel now say—
² “Had Adonai not been on our side,
when men rose up against us,
³ then they would have swallowed us alive,
when their wrath burned against us.
⁴ Then the waters would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over our soul,
⁵ then the raging waters
would have swept over our soul.”

¹ A Song of Ascents.
Those who trust in Adonai are like Mount Zion—
it cannot be moved, but endures forever.
² As the mountains are around Jerusalem,
so Adonai is all around His people,
both now and forever.
³ For a scepter of wickedness will not rest
over the land of the righteous—
lest the righteous set their hands to evil.
⁴ Do good, Adonai, to the good,
and to those upright in their hearts.
⁵ But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
Adonai will lead them away with evildoers.
Shalom be upon Israel.

¹ A Song of Ascents.
When Adonai restored the captives of Zion,
it was as if we were dreaming.
² Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with a song of joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“Adonai has done great things for them.”
³ Adonai has done great things for us
    —we are joyful!
⁴ Restore us from captivity, Adonai,
like streams in the Negev.
⁵ Those who sow in tears
will reap with a song of joy.
⁶ Whoever keeps going out weeping,
    carrying his bag of seed,
will surely come back with a song of joy,
    carrying his sheaves.

¹ A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
Unless Adonai builds the house,
    the builders labor in vain.
Unless Adonai watches over the city,
    the watchman stands guard in vain.
² In vain you rise up early and stay up late,
    eating the bread of toil—
for He provides for His beloved ones even in their sleep.

¹ A Song of Ascents.
Happy is everyone in awe of Adonai,
    who walks in His ways,
² for you will eat the labor of your hands.
You will be blessed
and it will be good for you.
³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house.
Your children will be like olive saplings around your table.
⁴ Behold, thus will the man be blessed
who fears Adonai.
⁵ May Adonai bless you out of Zion,
and may you see Jerusalem in prosperity
    all the days of your life,
⁶ and may you live to see your children’s children.

¹ A Song of Ascents.
“How many times they have been hostile to me,
even from my youth”—let Israel now say—
² “How greatly they have been
hostile to me, even from my youth.
Yet they have not prevailed against me.
³ Plowmen plowed on my back—
they made their furrows long!”
⁴ Adonai is righteous—
He has cut the ropes of the wicked.
⁵ May all who hate Zion
be driven back in disgrace.
⁶ Let them be like grass on the roofs,
which withers before it springs up—
⁷ with it a reaper cannot fill his hand,
nor can a binder of sheaves fill his lap.
⁸ So the passersby may never say:
“The blessing of Adonai be upon you—
    we bless you in the Name of Adonai.”

¹ A Song of Ascents.
Out of the depths I cry to You, Adonai!
² Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive to the sound of my supplications.
³ If You, Adonai, kept a record of iniquities—
my Lord, who could stand?
⁴ For with You there is forgiveness,
so You may be revered.
⁵ I wait for Adonai, my soul waits,
and in His word I hope.
⁶ My soul waits for my Lord,
more than watchmen for the morning,
watchmen for the morning.
⁷ O Israel, wait for Adonai.
For with Adonai there is lovingkindness,
and with Him is full redemption,
⁸ and He will redeem Israel
    from all its iniquities.

¹ A Song of Ascents. Of David.
Adonai, my heart is not proud,
nor my eyes lofty,
nor do I go after things too great
or too difficult for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted my soul—
like a weaned child with his mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
³ O Israel, put your hope in Adonai
from this time forth and forever.

¹ A Song of Ascents.
Adonai, remember David,
all his afflictions,
² and how he swore to Adonai,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
³ “I will not enter the tent of my house
    nor lie on my bed,
⁴ nor will I will give sleep to my eyes,
    nor slumber to my eyelids,
⁵ till I find a place for Adonai,
    a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

¹ A Song of Ascents. Of David.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
for brothers to dwell together in unity!
² It is like the precious oil upon the head,
coming down upon the beard—Aaron’s beard—
coming down on the collar of his robes.
³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
coming down upon the mountains of Zion.
For there Adonai commanded the blessing
—life forevermore!

¹ A Song of Ascents.
Behold, bless Adonai, all servants of Adonai,
who stand by night in the House of Adonai.
² Lift up your hands to the Sanctuary
and bless Adonai.
³ May Adonai bless you out of Zion—
Maker of heaven and earth.

¹ Halleluyah! Praise the Name of Adonai.
Give praise, O servants of Adonai—
² standing in the House of Adonai,
in the courts of the House of our God.
³ Praise Adonai, for Adonai is good.
Sing praises to His Name, for it is delightful.
⁴ For Adonai has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel as His treasured possession.^[d]
5 For I have known that Adonai is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
⁶ Whatever Adonai pleases, He does,
in heaven and in earth,
in the seas and in all deeps.
⁷ He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain.
He brings wind out of His storehouses.

¹ Praise Adonai, for He is good,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
² Praise the God of gods,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
³ Praise the Lord of lords,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁴ who alone did great wonders,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁵ who made the heavens by wisdom,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁶ who spread the earth on the waters,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁷ who made great lights,
for His lovingkindness endures forever—
⁸ the sun to rule by day,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
⁹ the moon and stars to rule by night,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁰ who struck Egypt in their firstborn,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹¹ and led out Israel from among them,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹² with a strong hand and outstretched arm,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹³ who cut the Sea of Reeds into parts,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁴ and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁵ but hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁶ who led His people through the desert,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁷ who struck down great kings,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁸ and slew mighty kings,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
¹⁹ Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²⁰ and Og, king of Bashan,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²¹ and gave their land for an inheritance,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²² an inheritance for Israel His servant,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
²³ He remembered us in our lowly estate,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²⁴ and separated between us
and He delivered us from our adversaries,
for His lovingkindness endures forever,
²⁵ who gives food to all flesh,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
²⁶ Praise the God of heaven,
for His lovingkindness endures forever!

¹ By the rivers of Babylon,
we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
² On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
³ For there our captors demanded songs
and our tormentors asked for joy:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
⁴ How can we sing a song of Adonai in a foreign land?
⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither.
⁶ May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I cease to remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem above my chief joy.
⁷ Remember, Adonai, the children of Edom,
what they said on the day Jerusalem fell:
“Strip her, strip her to her very foundation!”
⁸ O daughter of Babylon, the devastated one,
happy is the one who repays you
as you have paid us.
⁹ Happy is the one who seizes your little ones
and dashes them upon the rock.

¹ Of David.
I praise You with all my heart.
In the presence of the mighty I will sing praises to You.
² I bow down toward Your holy Temple
and praise Your Name for Your love and Your faithfulness.
For You—magnified above all Your Name and Your word.
³ On the day I called, You answered me.
You made me bold with strength in my soul.
⁴ All the kings of the earth will praise You, Adonai,
when they hear Your mouth’s speech.
⁵ So they will sing of the ways of Adonai,
for great is the glory of Adonai.
⁶ For though Adonai is exalted,
yet He looks upon the lowly,
but the haughty He knows from afar.
⁷ Though I walk amid trouble,
You revive me.
You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand delivers me.
⁸ Adonai will fulfill His purpose for me.
Your lovingkindness, Adonai, endures forever.
Do not abandon the work of Your hands.

¹ For the music director: a psalm of David.
Adonai, You searched me and know me.
² Whenever I sit down or stand up, You know it.
You discern my thinking from afar.
³ You observe my journeying and my resting
and You are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, Adonai, You know all about it.
⁵ You hemmed me in behind and before,
and laid Your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
⁷ Where can I go from Your Ruach?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I go up to heaven, You are there,
and if I make my bed in Sheol,
look, You are there too.
⁹ If I take the wings of the dawn
and settle on the other side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there Your hand will lead me,
and Your right hand will lay hold of me.
¹¹ If I say: “Surely darkness covers me,
night keeps light at a distance from me,”
¹² even darkness is not dark for You,
    and night is as bright as day—
    darkness and light are alike.
¹³ For You have created my conscience.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise You, for I am awesomely, wonderfully made!
Wonderful are Your works—
and my soul knows that very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw me when I was unformed,
and in Your book were written the days that were formed—
when not one of them had come to be.
¹⁷ How precious are Your thoughts, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand!
When I awake, I am still with You.

¹ For the music director: a psalm of David.
² Rescue me, Adonai, from the evil man.
Protect me from the violent men—
³ who devise evil in their heart—
    every day they stir up wars.
⁴ They sharpen their tongue like a serpent’s
—viper’s venom is under their lips.^[e] Selah
⁵ Keep me safe, Adonai, from the clutches of the wicked.
Protect me from the man of violence who planned to push me off my feet.
⁶ The proud have hidden a trap and cords for me.
They spread out a net by the path.
They set snares for me. Selah
⁷ I said to Adonai: “You are my God!”
Hear, Adonai, the sound of my supplications.
⁸ God my Lord, the strength of my deliverance,
You shield my head in the day of battle.
⁹ Grant not, Adonai, the desires of the wicked.
Do not let their evil plan succeed,
or they will exalt themselves. Selah
¹⁰ As for the head of those surrounding me,
may the mischief of their lips overwhelm them.
¹¹ Let burning coals fall upon them.
May they be cast into the fire, into deep pits,
never to rise again.^[f]
12 May a slanderer not endure in the land.
May calamity hunt down a violent man.
¹³ I know Adonai will vindicate the poor,
and secure justice for the needy.
¹⁴ Surely, the righteous ones will praise Your name.
The upright will dwell in Your presence.

¹ A psalm of David.
Adonai, I call to You—come quickly to me!
Hear my voice when I call to You.
² May my prayer be set before You like incense.
May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
³ Set a guard, Adonai, over my mouth.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴ Let not my heart turn to any evil thing,
to practice deeds of wickedness
with men that work iniquity,
nor let me eat of their delicacies.
⁵ Let the righteous strike me—it is kindness.
Let him correct me—it is oil on my head
—my head will not refuse it.
Yet still my prayer is against their wickedness.
⁶ Their judges are thrown down from a cliff.
Then they will hear my words, since they are sweet.
⁷ As when one plows and breaks open the earth,
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
⁸ For my eyes are toward You, God my Lord.
In You I have taken refuge—do not expose my soul.
⁹ Keep me from the jaws of the trap they have laid for me,
and from the snares of the evildoers.
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.

¹ A contemplative poem of David, when he was in the cave, a prayer.
² I cry aloud with my voice to Adonai.
With my voice I seek favor from Adonai.
³ I pour out my complaint before Him,
before Him I tell my trouble.
⁴ When my spirit grows faint within me,
You know my path.
In the way where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
⁵ Look at my right hand and see,
for no one cares about me.
I have no refuge—
no one cares for my soul.
⁶ I have cried out to You, Adonai.
I said: “You are my refuge,
    my portion in the land of the living.”
⁷ Listen to my cry,
    for I am brought very low.
Rescue me from my persecutors,
    for they are too strong for me.
⁸ Bring my soul out of prison,
    so I may praise Your Name.
The righteous will triumph through me,
    for You will reward me.

¹ A psalm of David.
Hear my prayer, Adonai,
give ear to my petitions.
In Your faithfulness and Your righteousness,
answer me!
² Do not bring Your servant into judgment,
for in Your eyes no one living is righteous.
³ For an enemy pursues my soul.
He crushes my life down to the ground.
He makes me dwell in darkness, like those long dead.
⁴ So my spirit grows faint within me.
My heart is shocked within me.
⁵ I remember the days of old.
I meditate on all You have done.
I ponder the work of Your hands.
⁶ I spread forth my hands to You.
My soul longs for You as a parched land. Selah
⁷ Answer me speedily, Adonai—my spirit fails.
Hide not Your face from me,
lest I become like those who go down into the Pit.
⁸ Make me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
for in You I trust.
Show me the way I should go,
    for to You I lift up my soul.
⁹ Deliver me from my enemies, Adonai.
I hide myself in You.
¹⁰ Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.
Let Your good Ruach lead me on level ground.
¹¹ For Your Name’s sake, Adonai, revive me.
In Your justice bring my soul out of trouble.
¹² In Your mercy cut off my enemies
and destroy all who harass my soul,
for I am Your servant.

¹ Of David.
Blessed be Adonai my Rock—
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
² He is my lovingkindness, my fortress,
my strong tower, and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues my people under me.
³ Adonai, what is man, that You take note of him?
Or the son of man, that You consider him?^[g]
4 Man is like a breath—
his days are like a passing shadow.
⁵ Adonai, part Your heavens and come down.
Touch the mountains, so they smoke.
⁶ Flash forth lightning and scatter them.
Send out Your arrows and confuse them.
⁷ Stretch forth Your hands from on high.
Snatch me, deliver me out of deep waters,
    out of the hand of foreigners,
⁸ whose mouth speaks falsehood,
whose right hand is a right hand of deceit.
⁹ God, I sing a new song to You, on a ten-string harp
I sing praises to You—
¹⁰ who gives salvation to kings,
who rescues Your servant David from the evil sword.
¹¹ Snatch me, deliver me
out of the hand of foreigners,
whose mouth speaks falsehood,
whose right hand is a right hand of deceit.
¹² Then our sons will be like plants nurtured in their youth,
our daughters like corner pillars carved for the construction of a palace.
¹³ Our storehouses are full,
supplying every kind of produce.
Our flocks increase by thousands
and ten thousands in our fields.
¹⁴ Our oxen bear a heavy load.
There is no breach,
no going into captivity,
no outcry in our streets.
¹⁵ Happy are such a people!
Blessed are the people whose God is Adonai!

¹ A psalm of praise. Of David.
I will exalt You, my God, the King,
and I will bless Your Name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless You,
and praise Your Name forever and ever!
³ Great is Adonai, and greatly to be praised
—His greatness is unsearchable.
⁴ One generation will praise Your works
to another and declare Your mighty acts.
⁵ I will meditate on the glorious splendor
of Your majesty and Your wonders.
⁶ They will speak of the might of Your awesome deeds,
and I will proclaim Your greatness.
⁷ They will pour out the renown of Your great goodness,
and sing joyfully of Your righteousness.
⁸ Adonai is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
⁹ Adonai is good to all.
He has compassion on all His creatures.
¹⁰ All Your works praise You, Adonai,
and Your kedoshim bless You.
¹¹ They declare the glory of Your kingdom
and speak of Your might,
¹² to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts
and the glory of the majesty of His kingdom.
¹³ Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and Your dominion endures from generation to generation.

¹ Halleluyah! Praise Adonai, O my soul!
² I will praise Adonai all my life.
I will praise my God yet again.
³ Do not put your trust in princes—
in man, in whom there is no salvation.
⁴ His breath departs,
he returns to his dust.
In that very day his plans perish.
⁵ Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in Adonai his God,
⁶ who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps truth forever,
⁷ who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives bread to the hungry.
Adonai sets the prisoners free.
⁸ Adonai opens the eyes of the blind.^[h]
Adonai raises up those who are bowed down.
Adonai loves the righteous.
⁹ Adonai protects outsiders,
upholds the fatherless and the widow,
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
¹⁰ Adonai will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, from generation to generation.
Halleluyah!

¹ Halleluyah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God.
How pleasant and fitting is praise.
² Adonai builds up Jerusalem.
He gathers together the exiles of Israel.
³ He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
⁴ He determines the number of the stars.
He gives them all their names.
⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power—
His understanding is infinite!
⁶ Adonai upholds the humble.
He brings the wicked to the ground.
⁷ Sing to Adonai with thanksgiving.
Sing praises to our God on the harp.
⁸ He covers the sky with clouds.
He provides rain for the earth.
He makes grass sprout on the hills.
⁹ He gives food to the cattle
and to the young ravens which cry.
¹⁰ He delights not in the horse’s strength,
nor takes pleasure in a man’s legs.
¹¹ Adonai delights in those who revere Him,
in those who trust in His lovingkindness.

¹ Halleluyah!
Praise Adonai from the heavens!
Praise Him in the highest!
² Praise Him all His angels!
Praise Him all His armies.
³ Praise Him, sun and moon! 
Praise Him, all stars of light.
⁴ Praise Him, highest heavens,
and waters above the heavens.
⁵ Let them praise the Name of Adonai,
for He commanded and they were created.
⁶ He set them in place forever and ever.
He made a decree that will never pass away.
⁷ Praise Adonai from the earth,
sea monsters and all depths,
⁸ fire and hail, snow and vapor,
    storm wind doing His bidding,
⁹ mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
¹⁰ beasts and all cattle,
    crawling things and winged birds,
¹¹ kings of the earth and all peoples,
    princes and all rulers of earth,
¹² both young men and maidens,
    old men and children.
¹³ Let them praise the Name of Adonai,
for His Name alone is exalted.
His glory is above earth and heaven.
¹⁴ He has raised up a horn for His people,
a praise for all His kedoshim,^[i]
for the children of Israel—
    a people near to Him.
Halleluyah!

¹ Halleluyah! Sing to Adonai a new song,
His praise in the assembly of the kedoshim.
² Let Israel rejoice in its Maker.
Let the children of Zion be glad in their King.
³ Let them praise His Name with dancing.
Let them sing praises to Him with tambourine and harp.
⁴ For Adonai takes pleasure in His people.
He crowns the humble with salvation.
⁵ Let the kedoshim exult in glory.
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
⁶ Let God’s high praises be in their mouth
and a two-edged sword in their hand—
⁷ to execute vengeance upon the nations
    and rebukes on the peoples,
⁸ to bind their kings with chains
    and their nobles with fetters of iron,
⁹ to carry out the sentence decreed—
    this is the glory of all His kedoshim.
Halleluyah!

¹ Halleluyah! Praise God in His Sanctuary!
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
² Praise Him for His acts of power.
Praise Him for His enormous greatness.
³ Praise Him with the blast of the shofar.
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
⁴ Praise Him with tambourine and dance.
Praise Him with string instruments and flute.
⁵ Praise Him with clash of cymbals.
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
⁶ Let every thing that has breath
praise Adonai. Halleluyah!