Text -- Psalms 122:1-9 (NET)

Psalm 122

122:1 A song of ascents, by David. I was glad because they said to me, “We will go to the Lord’s temple.” 122:2 Our feet are standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem. 122:3 Jerusalem is a city designed to accommodate an assembly. 122:4 The tribes go up there, the tribes of the Lord, where it is required that Israel give thanks to the name of the Lord. 122:5 Indeed, the leaders sit there on thrones and make legal decisions, on the thrones of the house of David. 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May those who love her prosper! 122:7 May there be peace inside your defenses, and prosperity inside your fortresses! 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.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 122:1

¹ sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.

² 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.

³ tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.

NET Notes: Psa 122:2

¹ tn Or “were.”

NET Notes: Psa 122:3

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

² 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 (khubbÿrah, “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).

NET Notes: Psa 122:4

¹ tn Or “went up.”

² tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”

³ tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”

NET Notes: Psa 122:5

¹ tn Or “for.”

² tn Or “sat.”

³ tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”

NET Notes: Psa 122:6

¹ tn Heb “ask [for].”

² tn Or “be secure.”

NET Notes: Psa 122:7

¹ tn or “security.”

² tn The psalmist uses second feminine singular pronominal forms to address personified Jerusalem.

NET Notes: Psa 122:9

¹ tn Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.