Psalms 122:1-5

Psalm 122 ¹ 

A song of ascents, ²  by David.

122:1 I was glad because ³  they said to me,

“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”

122:2 Our feet are ⁴  standing

inside your gates, O Jerusalem.

122:3 Jerusalem ⁵  is a city designed

to accommodate an assembly. ⁶ 

122:4 The tribes go up ⁷  there, ⁸ 

the tribes of the Lord,

where it is required that Israel

give thanks to the name of the Lord. ⁹ 

122:5 Indeed, ¹⁰  the leaders sit ¹¹  there on thrones and make legal decisions,

on the thrones of the house of David. ¹² 

Acts 6:13

6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place ¹³  and the law. ¹⁴ 

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

[122:1]  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.

[122:1]  ³ tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.

[122:2]  ⁴ tn Or “were.”

[122:3]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[122:3]  ⁶ 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).

[122:4]  ⁷ tn Or “went up.”

[122:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”

[122:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”

[122:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[122:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “sat.”

[122:5]  ¹² tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”

[6:13]  ¹³ sn This holy place is a reference to the temple.

[6:13]  ¹⁴ sn The law refers to the law of Moses. It elaborates the nature of the blasphemy in v. 11. To speak against God’s law in Torah was to blaspheme God (Deut 28:15-19). On the Jewish view of false witnesses, see Exod 19:16-18; 20:16; m. Sanhedrin 3.6; 5.1-5. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 may indicate why the temple was mentioned.