Psalms 46:5

46:5 God lives within it, ¹  it cannot be moved. ² 

God rescues it ³  at the break of dawn. ⁴ 

Psalms 125:1

Psalm 125 ⁵ 

A song of ascents. ⁶ 

125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;

it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

Psalms 128:5

128:5 May the Lord bless you ⁷  from Zion,

that you might see ⁸  Jerusalem ⁹  prosper

all the days of your life,

[46:5]  ¹ tn Heb “God [is] within her.” The feminine singular pronoun refers to the city mentioned in v. 4.

[46:5]  ² tn Another option is to translate the imperfect verbal form as future, “it will not be upended.” Even if one chooses this option, the future tense must be understood in a generalizing sense. The verb מוֹט (mot), translated “upended” here, is used in v. 2 of the mountains “tumbling” into the seas and in v. 6 of nations being “upended.” By way of contrast, Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place, is secure and immune from such turmoil and destruction.

[46:5]  ³ tn Or “helps her.” The imperfect draws attention to the generalizing character of the statement.

[46:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “at the turning of morning.” (For other uses of the expression see Exod 14:27 and Judg 19:26).

[125:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.

[125:1]  ⁶ 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.

[128:5]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the imperatives that are subordinated to this clause in vv. 5b-6a). Having described the blessings that typically come to the godly, the psalmist concludes by praying that this ideal may become reality for the representative godly man being addressed.

[128:5]  ⁸ tn The imperative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding jussive.

[128:5]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.