Beginning

120 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents:

⁽¹⁾ I called to Adonai in my distress,
and he answered me.
² Rescue me, Adonai, from lips that tell lies,
from a tongue full of deceit.

³ What has he in store for you, deceitful tongue?
What more will he do to you?
⁴ A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with red-hot coals from a broom tree.

⁵ How wretched I am, that I’m an alien in Meshekh,
that I must live among the tents of Keidar!
⁶ I have had to live far too long
with those who hate peace.
⁷ I am all for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.

121 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents:

⁽¹⁾ If I raise my eyes to the hills,
from where will my help come?
² My help comes from Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
³ He will not let your foot slip —
your guardian is not asleep.
⁴ No, the guardian of Isra’el
never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ Adonai is your guardian; at your right hand
Adonai provides you with shade —
⁶ the sun can’t strike you during the day
or even the moon at night.

⁷ Adonai will guard you against all harm;
he will guard your life.
⁸ Adonai will guard your coming and going
from now on and forever.

122 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents. By David:

⁽¹⁾ I was glad when they said to me,
“The house of Adonai! Let’s go!”
² Our feet were already standing
at your gates, Yerushalayim.

³ Yerushalayim, built as a city
fostering friendship and unity.

⁴ The tribes have gone up there, the tribes of Adonai,
as a witness to Isra’el,
to give thanks to the name of Adonai.
⁵ For there the thrones of justice were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for shalom in Yerushalayim;
may those who love you prosper.
⁷ May shalom be within your ramparts,
prosperity in your palaces.

⁸ For the sake of my family and friends, I say,
“Shalom be within you!”
⁹ For the sake of the house of Adonai our God,
I will seek your well-being.

123 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents:

⁽¹⁾ I raise my eyes to you,
whose throne is in heaven.
² As a servant looks to the hand of his master,
or a slave-girl to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes turn to Adonai our God,
until he has mercy on us.

³ Have mercy on us, Adonai, have mercy;
for we have had our fill of contempt,
⁴ more than our fill of scorn from the complacent
and contempt from the arrogant.

124 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents. By David:

⁽¹⁾ If Adonai hadn’t been for us —
let Isra’el repeat it —
² If Adonai hadn’t been for us
when people rose to attack us,
³ then, when their anger blazed against us,
they would have swallowed us alive!
⁴ Then the water would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us.
⁵ Yes, the raging water
would have swept right over us.

⁶ Blessed be Adonai, who did not leave us
to be a prey for their teeth!
⁷ We escaped like a bird from the hunter’s trap;
the trap is broken, and we have escaped.

⁸ Our help is in the name of Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.

125 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents:

⁽¹⁾ Those who trust in Adonai
are like Mount Tziyon,
which cannot be moved
but remains forever.

² Yerushalayim!
Mountains all around it!
Thus Adonai is around his people
henceforth and forever.

³ For the scepter of wickedness
will not rule the inheritance of the righteous,
so that the righteous will not themselves
turn their hands to evil.
⁴ Do good, Adonai, to the good,
to those upright in their hearts.
⁵ But as for those who turn aside
to their own crooked ways,
may Adonai turn them away,
along with those who do evil.

Shalom on Isra’el!

126 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents:

⁽¹⁾ When Adonai restored Tziyon’s fortunes,
we thought we were dreaming.
² 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!”
³ Adonai did do great things with us;
and we are overjoyed.

⁴ Return our people from exile, Adonai,
as streams fill vadis in the Negev.

⁵ Those who sow in tears
will reap with cries of joy.
⁶ 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.

127 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents. By Shlomo:

⁽¹⁾ Unless Adonai builds the house,
its builders work in vain.
Unless Adonai guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.

² In vain do you get up early
and put off going to bed,
working hard to earn a living;
for he provides for his beloved,
even when they sleep.
³ Children too are a gift from Adonai;
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴ The children born when one is young.
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
⁵ How blessed is the man
who has filled his quiver with them;
he will not have to be embarrassed
when contending with foes at the city gate.

128 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents:

⁽¹⁾ How happy is everyone who fears Adonai,
who lives by his ways.

² You will eat what your hands have produced;
you will be happy and prosperous.
³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the inner parts of your house.
Your children around the table will be
like shoots from an olive tree.

⁴ This is the kind of blessing that will fall
on him who fears Adonai.

⁵ May Adonai bless you from Tziyon!
May you see Yerushalayim prosper
all the days of your life,
⁶ and may you live to see your children’s children!

Shalom on Isra’el.

129 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents:

⁽¹⁾ Since I was young they have often attacked me —
let Isra’el repeat it —
² since I was young they have often attacked me,
but they haven’t overcome me.

³ The plowmen plowed on my back;
wounding me with long furrows.
⁴ But Adonai is righteous;
he cuts me free from the yoke of the wicked.

⁵ Let all who hate Tziyon
be thrown back in confusion.
⁶ Let them be like grass on the roof,
which dries out before it grows up
⁷ and never fills the reaper’s hands
or the arms of the one who binds sheaves,
⁸ so that no passer-by says,
“Adonai’s blessing on you!
We bless you in the name of Adonai!”

130 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents. By David:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai, I call to you from the depths;
² hear my cry, Adonai!
Let your ears pay attention
to the sound of my pleading.

³ Yah, if you kept a record of sins,
who, Adonai, could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,
so that you will be feared.

⁵ I wait longingly for Adonai;
I put my hope in his word.
⁶ Everything in me waits for Adonai
more than guards on watch wait for morning,
more than guards on watch wait for morning.

⁷ Isra’el, put your hope in Adonai!
For grace is found with Adonai,
and with him is unlimited redemption.
⁸ He will redeem Isra’el
from all their wrongdoings.

131 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents. By David:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai, my heart isn’t proud;
I don’t set my sight too high,
I don’t take part in great affairs
or in wonders far beyond me.
² No, I keep myself calm and quiet,
like a little child on its mother’s lap —
I keep myself like a little child.

³ Isra’el, put your hope in Adonai
from now on and forever!
132 ⁽⁰⁾ A song of ascents:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai, remember in David’s favor
all the hardships he endured,
² how he swore to Adonai,
vowed to the Mighty One of Ya‘akov,

³ “I will not enter the house where I live
or get into my bed,
⁴ I will not allow myself to sleep
or even close my eyes,
⁵ until I find a place for Adonai,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Ya‘akov.”

⁶ We heard about it in Efrat,
we found it in the Fields of Ya‘ar.
⁷ Let’s go into his dwelling
and prostrate ourselves at his footstool.

⁸ Go up, Adonai, to your resting-place,
you and the ark through which you give strength.
⁹ May your cohanim be clothed with righteousness;
may those loyal to you shout for joy.
¹⁰ For the sake of your servant David,
don’t turn away the face of your anointed one.

¹¹ Adonai swore an oath to David,
an oath he will not break:
“One of the sons from your own body
I will set on your throne.
¹² If your sons keep my covenant
and my instruction, which I will teach them,
then their descendants too, forever,
will sit on your throne.”

¹³ For Adonai has chosen Tziyon,
he has wanted it as his home.
¹⁴ “This is my resting-place forever,
I will live here because I so much want to.
¹⁵ I will bless it with plenty of meat,
I will give its poor their fill of food.
¹⁶ Its cohanim I will clothe with salvation,
and its faithful will shout for joy.
¹⁷ I will make a king sprout there from David’s line
and prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
¹⁸ His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him there will be a shining crown.”