A song of ascents.
120:1 In my distress I cried out
to the Lord and he answered me.
120:2 I said,
from those who lie with their lips
and those who deceive with their tongue.
120:3 How will he severely punish you,
you deceptive talker?
120:4 Here’s how!
with arrowheads forged over the hot coals.
120:5 How miserable I am!
For I have lived temporarily
I have resided among the tents of Kedar.
120:6 For too long I have had to reside
with those who hate
120:7 I am committed to peace,
but when I speak, they want to make war.
A song of ascents.
121:1 I look up
From where
121:2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Creator
121:3 May he not allow your foot to slip!
May your protector
121:4 Look! Israel’s protector
does not sleep or slumber!
121:5 The Lord is your protector;
the Lord is the shade at your right hand.
121:6 The sun will not harm you by day,
or the moon by night.
121:7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;
he will protect your life.
121:8 The Lord will protect you in all you do,
now and forevermore.
A song of ascents,
122:1 I was glad because
“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”
122:2 Our feet are
inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
122:3 Jerusalem
to accommodate an assembly.
122:4 The tribes go up
the tribes of the Lord,
where it is required that Israel
give thanks to the name of the Lord.
122:5 Indeed,
on the thrones of the house of David.
122:6 Pray
May those who love her prosper!
122:7 May there be peace inside your defenses,
and prosperity
122:8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors
I will say, “May there be peace in you!”
122:9 For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God
I will pray for you to prosper.
A song of ascents.
123:1 I look up
the one enthroned
123:2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress,
so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.
123:3 Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!
For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some.
123:4 We have had our fill
of the taunts of the self-assured,
of the contempt of the proud.
A song of ascents,
124:1 “If the Lord had not been on our side” –
let Israel say this! –
124:2 if the Lord had not been on our side,
when men attacked us,
124:3 they would have swallowed us alive,
when their anger raged against us.
124:4 The water would have overpowered us;
the current
124:5 The raging water
would have overwhelmed us.
124:6 The Lord deserves praise,
for
124:7 We escaped with our lives,
The snare broke, and we escaped.
124:8 Our deliverer is the Lord,
the Creator
A song of ascents.
125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;
it cannot be upended and will endure forever.
125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
now and forevermore.
125:3 Indeed,
upon the allotted land of the godly.
Otherwise the godly might
do what is wrong.
125:4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
to the morally upright!
125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path,
may the Lord remove them,
May Israel experience peace!
A song of ascents.
126:1 When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion,
we thought we were dreaming.
126:2 At that time we laughed loudly
and shouted for joy.
At that time the nations said,
“The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”
126:3 The Lord did indeed accomplish great things for us.
We were happy.
126:4 O Lord, restore our well-being,
just as the streams in the arid south are replenished.
126:5 Those who shed tears as they plant
will shout for joy when they reap the harvest.
126:6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag
will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain.
A song of ascents,
127:1 If the Lord does not build a house,
then those who build it work in vain.
If the Lord does not guard a city,
then the watchman stands guard in vain.
127:2 It is vain for you to rise early, come home late,
and work so hard for your food.
Yes,
127:3 Yes,
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
127:4 Sons born during one’s youth
are like arrows in a warrior’s hand.
127:5 How blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!
They will not be put to shame
A song of ascents.
128:1 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers,
each one who keeps his commands!
128:2 You
You will be blessed and secure.
128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the inner rooms of your house;
your children
as they sit all around your table.
128:4 Yes indeed, the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed in this way.
128:5 May the Lord bless you
that you might see
all the days of your life,
128:6 and that you might see
May Israel experience peace!
A song of ascents.
129:1 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”
let Israel say.
129:2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not defeated me.
129:3 The plowers plowed my back;
they made their furrows long.
129:4 The Lord is just;
he cut the ropes of the wicked.”
129:5 May all who hate Zion
be humiliated and turned back!
129:6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops
which withers before one can even pull it up,
129:7 which cannot fill the reaper’s hand,
or the lap of the one who gathers the grain!
129:8 Those who pass by will not say,
“May you experience the Lord’s blessing!
We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”
A song of ascents.
130:1 From the deep water
130:2 O Lord, listen to me!
Pay attention to
130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of
O Lord, who could stand before you?
130:4 But
so that you might
130:5 I rely on
I rely on him with my whole being;
I wait for his assuring word.
130:6 I yearn for the Lord,
more than watchmen do for the morning,
yes, more than watchmen do for the morning.
130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,
for the Lord exhibits loyal love,
and is more than willing to deliver.
130:8 He will deliver
from all the consequences of their sins.
A song of ascents,
131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look.
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me.
131:2 Indeed
like a young child carried by its mother;
I am content like the young child I carry.
131:3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
now and forevermore!
A song of ascents.
132:1 O Lord, for David’s sake remember
all his strenuous effort,
132:2 and how he made a vow to the Lord,
and swore an oath to the powerful ruler of Jacob.
132:3 He said,
or get into my bed.
132:4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep,
or my eyelids to slumber,
132:5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a fine dwelling place
132:6 Look, we heard about it
we found it in the territory of Jaar.
132:7 Let us go to his dwelling place!
Let us worship
132:8 Ascend, O Lord, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your strength!
132:9 May your priests be clothed with integrity!
May your loyal followers shout for joy!
132:10 For the sake of David, your servant,
do not reject your chosen king!
132:11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David;
he will not go back on his word.
He said,
132:12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the rules I teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
132:13 Certainly
he decided to make it his home.
132:14 He said,
I will live here, for I have chosen it.
132:15 I will abundantly supply what she needs;
I will give her poor all the food they need.
132:16 I will protect her priests,
and her godly people will shout exuberantly.
132:17 There I will make David strong;
I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue.
132:18 I will humiliate his enemies,
and his crown will shine.
A song of ascents,
133:1 Look! How good and how pleasant it is
when brothers live together!
133:2 It is like fine oil poured on the head
which flows down the beard
Aaron’s beard,
and then flows down his garments.
133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which flows down upon the hills of Zion.
Indeed
a blessing will be available – eternal life.
A song of ascents.
134:1 Attention!
all you servants of the Lord,
who serve
134:2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary
and praise the Lord!
134:3 May the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth,
bless you