Psalms 124:1-5

Context

Psalm 124¹

A song of ascents,² by David.

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,³

124:3 they would have swallowed us alive,

when their anger raged against us.

124:4 The water would have overpowered us;

the current⁴ would have overwhelmed⁵ us.⁶

124:5 The raging water

would have overwhelmed us.⁷

[124:1] ¹sn Psalm 124. Israel acknowledges that the Lord delivered them from certain disaster.

[124:1] 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.

[124:2] ³tn Heb “rose up against us.”

[124:4] ⁵tn Or “stream.”

[124:4] ⁶tn Heb “would have passed over.”

[124:4] ⁷tn Heb “our being.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[124:5] ⁷tn Heb “then they would have passed over our being, the raging waters.”