Chronological
A song for going up to the Temple.
121 I look up to the hills,
but where will my help really come from?
2 My help will come from the Lord,
the Creator of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you fall.
Your Protector will not fall asleep.
4 Israel’s Protector does not get tired.
He never sleeps.
5 The Lord is your Protector.
The Lord stands by your side, shading and protecting you.
6 The sun cannot harm you during the day,
and the moon cannot harm you at night.
7 The Lord will protect you from every danger.
He will protect your soul.
8 The Lord will protect you as you come and go,[a]
both now and forever!
A song for going up to the Temple.
123 Lord, I look up and pray to you.
You sit as King in heaven.
2 A slave looks to his master to provide what he needs,
and a servant girl depends on the woman she serves.
So we depend on the Lord our God,
waiting for him to have mercy on us.
3 Lord, be merciful to us,
because we have been insulted much too long.
4 We have had enough of the hateful words of those proud people
who make fun of us and show us no respect.
A song of David for going up to the Temple.
124 What would have happened to us if the Lord had not been on our side?
Tell us about it, Israel.
2 What would have happened to us if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us?
3 They would have swallowed us alive
when they became angry with us.
4 Their armies would have been
like a flood washing over us,
like a river drowning us.
5 Those proud people would have been
like water rising up to our mouth and drowning us.
6 Praise the Lord!
He did not let our enemies tear us apart.
7 We escaped like a bird from the net of a hunter.
The net broke, and we escaped!
8 Our help came from the Lord,
the one who made heaven and earth!
A song for going up to the Temple.
125 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
They will never be shaken.
They will continue forever.
2 Like the mountains that surround Jerusalem,
the Lord surrounds and protects his people now and forever.
3 The wicked will not always control the land of those who do right.
If they did, even those who do right might start doing wrong.
4 Lord, be good to those who are good,
to those who have pure hearts.
5 But, Lord, when you punish those who do evil,
also punish those who have stopped following your way.
Let Israel always enjoy peace!
A song for going up to the Temple.
128 Great blessings belong to those who fear and respect the Lord
and live the way he wants.
2 You will get what you work for.
You will enjoy the Lord’s blessings, and all will go well for you.
3 At home, your wife will have many children, like a vine full of grapes.
The children around your table will be like an orchard full of olive trees.
4 Yes, the Lord will really bless those who respect him.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion.
May you enjoy the blessings of Jerusalem all your life.
6 And may you live to see your grandchildren.
Let Israel always enjoy peace!
A song for going up to the Temple.
129 All my life enemies have attacked me.
Say it again, Israel.
2 All my life enemies have attacked me,
but they have never defeated me.
3 They beat me until I had deep cuts.
My back looked like a freshly plowed field.
4 But the Lord does what is right;
he cut the ropes and set me free from those wicked people.
5 May those who hate Zion be put to shame.
May they be stopped and chased away.
6 They will be like grass on a flat roof
that dies before it has time to grow.
7 The one who goes to harvest it
will not find enough to cut and stack.
8 May no one walking by those wicked people ever say,
“May the Lord bless you!
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
A song for going up to the Temple.
130 Lord, I am in deep trouble,
so I am calling to you for help.
2 My Lord, listen to me.
Listen to my cry for help.
3 Lord, if you punished people for all their sins,
no one would be left alive.
4 But you forgive people,
so they fear and respect you.
5 I am waiting for the Lord to help me.
My soul waits for him.
I trust what he says.
6 I am waiting for my Lord,
like a guard waiting and waiting for the morning to come.
7 Israel, trust in the Lord.
The Lord is the one who is faithful and true.
He saves us again and again,
8 and he is the one who will save the people of Israel from all their sins.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International