Psalm 122
Lexham English Bible
Jerusalem the Site of God’s Presence
A song of ascents. Of David.[a]
122 I rejoiced in those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house[b] of Yahweh.”
2 Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem—
3 Jerusalem that is built
as a city that is joined together,
4 where the tribes go up,
the tribes of Yah[c] as a testimony for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.
5 For there the thrones sit[d] for judgment,
thrones of David’s house.
6 Pray[e] for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be at ease.
7 May peace be within your walls,
security within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house[f] of Yahweh our God,
I will seek your good.
Footnotes
- Psalm 122:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
- Psalm 122:1 Or “temple”
- Psalm 122:4 A shortened form of “Yahweh”
- Psalm 122:5 That is, rulers or judges on thrones
- Psalm 122:6 Hebrew “Ask”
- Psalm 122:9 Or “temple”
Psalm 122
New English Translation
Psalm 122[a]
A song of ascents;[b] by David.
122 I was glad because[c] they said to me,
“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”
2 Our feet are[d] standing
inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is a city designed
to accommodate an assembly.[e]
4 The tribes go up[f] there,[g]
the tribes of the Lord,
where it is required that Israel
give thanks to the name of the Lord.[h]
5 Indeed,[i] the leaders sit[j] there on thrones and make legal decisions,
on the thrones of the house of David.[k]
6 Pray[l] for the peace of Jerusalem.
May those who love her prosper.[m]
7 May there be peace inside your defenses,
and prosperity[n] inside your fortresses.[o]
8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors
I will say, “May there be peace in you.”
9 For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God
I will pray for you to prosper.[p]
Footnotes
- Psalm 122:1 sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.
- Psalm 122:1 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
- Psalm 122:1 tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition ב (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.
- Psalm 122:2 tn Or “were.”
- Psalm 122:3 tc Heb “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which is joined to her together.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Many regard this as a description of the compact way in which the city was designed or constructed. The translation assumes an emendation of the verb חֻבְּרָה (khubberah, “is joined”) to a noun חֶבְרָה (khevrah, “association; company”). The text then reads literally, “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which has a company together.” This in turn can be taken as a reference to Jerusalem’s role as a city where people congregated for religious festivals and other civic occasions (see vv. 4-5).
- Psalm 122:4 tn Or “went up.”
- Psalm 122:4 tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”
- Psalm 122:4 tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”
- Psalm 122:5 tn Or “for.”
- Psalm 122:5 tn Or “sat.”
- Psalm 122:5 tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”
- Psalm 122:6 tn Heb “ask [for].”
- Psalm 122:6 tn Or “be secure.”
- Psalm 122:7 tn or “security.”
- Psalm 122:7 tn The psalmist uses second feminine singular pronominal forms to address personified Jerusalem.
- Psalm 122:9 tn Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.
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