Psalms 122:1-9

Context

Psalm 122¹

A song of ascents,² by David.

122:1 I was glad because³ they said to me,

“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”

122:2 Our feet are⁴ standing

inside your gates, O Jerusalem.

122:3 Jerusalem⁵ is a city designed

to accommodate an assembly.⁶

122:4 The tribes go up⁷ 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 sit¹¹ there on thrones and make legal decisions,

on the thrones of the house of David.¹²

122:6 Pray¹³ for the peace of Jerusalem!

May those who love her prosper!¹⁴

122:7 May there be peace inside your defenses,

and prosperity¹⁵ inside your fortresses!¹⁶

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.¹⁷

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

[122:1] ²sn 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] ³tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.

[122:2] ⁴tn Or “were.”

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

[122:3] ⁶tc 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] ⁷tn Or “went up.”

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

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

[122:5] ¹⁰tn Or “for.”

[122:5] ¹¹tn Or “sat.”

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

[122:6] ¹³tn Heb “ask [for].”

[122:6] ¹⁴tn Or “be secure.”

[122:7] ¹⁵tn or “security.”

[122:7] ¹⁶tn The psalmist uses second feminine singular pronominal forms to address personified Jerusalem.

[122:9] ¹⁷tn Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.