Chronological
The Lord Guards His People
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
121 I ·look up [L raise my eyes] to the hills [C the hills surrounding Zion, the location of the Temple],
but where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
3 He will not let ·you be defeated [L your feet be moved/slip].
He who ·guards [watches] you never sleeps.
4 He who ·guards [watches] Israel
never ·rests [sleeps] or ·sleeps [slumbers].
5 The Lord ·guards [watches] you.
The Lord is the shade ·that protects you from the sun [L at your hand, your right hand; 91:1].
6 The sun cannot ·hurt [L strike] you during the day,
and the moon cannot ·hurt [L strike] you at night.
7 The Lord will ·protect [guard; watch] you from all ·dangers [trouble; evil];
he will ·guard [watch] your life.
8 The Lord will ·guard [watch] you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
A Prayer for Mercy
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
123 Lord, I ·look upward [L lift up my eyes] to you,
you who ·live [are enthroned; L sit] in heaven.
2 ·Slaves depend on their masters [L Like the eyes of servants/slaves to the hand of their master],
and ·a female servant depends on her mistress [L like the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress].
·In the same way, we depend on the Lord our God [L …thus our eyes are to the Lord our God as…];
we wait for him to show us ·mercy [grace].
3 ·Have mercy on [Be gracious to] us, Lord. ·Have mercy on [Be gracious to] us,
because we have been insulted.
4 We ·have suffered [are filled with the] ·many insults [much ridicule] from ·lazy [untroubled; unworried] people
and much ·cruelty [scorn] from the proud.
The Lord Saves His People
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover]. Of David.
124 What if the Lord had not been on our side?
(Let Israel ·repeat this [L say].)
2 What if the Lord had not been on our side
when ·we were attacked [L people rose against us]?
3 When they were angry with us,
they would have swallowed us alive.
4 They would have been like ·a flood [L water] ·drowning [overflowing] us;
they would have ·poured [passed] over us like a ·river [torrent].
5 They would have ·swept us away [passed over us] like ·a mighty stream [raging waters].
6 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord,
who did not ·let them chew us up [L give us as prey to their teeth].
7 We escaped like a bird
from the ·hunter’s [fowler’s] trap.
The trap broke,
and we escaped.
8 Our help ·comes from [L is in the name of] the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
God Protects Those Who Trust Him
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
125 Those who ·trust [have confidence in] the Lord are like Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple],
which sits unmoved forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
the Lord surrounds his people
now and forever.
3 The ·wicked will not rule
over [L scepter of the wicked will not rest on; C the scepter is a symbol of rule] ·those who do right [L the allotment of the righteous].
·If they did, the people who do right
might use their power to do evil [L …so the righteous do not send forth their hands in evil].
4 Lord, ·be [or do] good to those who are good,
whose hearts are ·honest [virtuous; filled with integrity].
5 But, Lord, when you ·remove [turn aside] those who ·do evil [are twisted/perverted],
also ·remove [L make go away] those who ·stop following you [L do evil].
Let there be peace in Israel.
The Happy Home
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
128 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] and ·obey him [L walk in his ways].
2 You will ·enjoy what you work for [L eat the labor of your hands],
and you will be ·blessed [happy] with ·good things [prosperity].
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine [C produce many children] in your house [Prov. 31:10–31].
Your children will be like olive branches [C bringing much good] around your table [Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10].
4 This is how the man who ·respects [fears] the Lord [Prov. 1:7]
will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple];
may you ·enjoy [experience; L see] the ·good things [prosperity] of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 May you see your grandchildren.
Let there be peace in Israel.
A Prayer Against the Enemies
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
129 ·They have treated me badly all my life [L Many are my foes from my youth].
(Let Israel ·repeat this [L say].)
2 ·They have treated me badly all my life [L Many are my foes from my youth],
but they have not ·defeated [overcome; prevailed over] me.
3 ·Like farmers plowing, they plowed over my back [L The plowers plowed my back],
making ·long wounds [L their furrows long].
4 But the Lord does what is right;
he has ·set me free from those [L cut the cords of] wicked people.
5 Let those who hate ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]
be ·turned back in shame [L humiliated and turn back].
6 Let them be like the grass on the roof
that dries up before it has grown.
7 There is not enough of it ·to [L for the harvester to] fill a hand
or ·to make into a bundle [those who bind sheaves] to fill one’s arms.
8 Let those who pass by them not say,
“May the Lord bless you.
We bless you by the ·power [L name] of the Lord.”
A Prayer for Mercy
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
130 Lord, ·I am in great trouble [L from the depths],
so I ·call out [pray] to you.
2 Lord, hear my voice;
·listen to my prayer for help [L let your ear pay attention to the sound of my supplication].
3 Lord, if you ·punished people for all their sins [L observed/watched/guarded against iniquity],
·no one would be left [L who could stand…?], Lord.
4 But you forgive ·us [L your people],
so you are ·respected [feared; Prov. 1:7].
5 I ·wait [hope] for the Lord ·to help me [L my soul hopes],
and I ·trust [hope in] his word.
6 I ·wait for the Lord to help me [hope for the Lord]
more than night watchmen wait for the ·dawn [morning],
more than night watchmen wait for the ·dawn [morning].
7 People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord
because he is ·loving [loyal]
and ·able to save [L with him is abundant redemption].
8 He will ·save [redeem] Israel
from all their ·sins [iniquities].
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