121.1 Hills, probably those around Jerusalem.
121.3–8 A representative figure, possibly a priest, elaborates the answer, identifying the constancy of the Lord’s care through all of life in every circumstance.
121.4 Sleep. Cf. 44.23; 78.65.
121.6 The moon by night. Although some have seen here a belief in negative effects of the moon on human life, it is likely that the phrase is simply a poetic parallel to the sun…by day, indicating that the Lord’s care is day and night, i.e., continual.
PSALM 122
Song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
2Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
3Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
4To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.”
8For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
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122.1–9 A song of Zion probably sung on pilgrimage to the holy city. A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7.
122.1–2 The joy of the psalmist in anticipating the pilgrimage to Jerusalem with others and in arriving there.
122.3–5 Jerusalem is praised as a secure city (v. 3), the center of Israel’s worship (v. 4), and as a place where just judgment may be found (cf. Deut 17.8–13; Isa 2.2–4; Mic 4.1–4).
122.5 See 1 Kings 7.7. On the responsibility of kings for rendering justice and judgment in Jerusalem, see 2 Sam 15.1–6; 1 Kings 3.16–28; Jer 21.12; 22.15–16.
122.6–9 Prayer for Jerusalem’s peace and well-being. The Hebrew of these verses contains several instances of wordplay on the sounds of the last part of the word “Jerusalem,” including the word for peace (shalom).
PSALM 123
Supplication for Mercy
A Song of Ascents.
1To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
until he has mercy upon us.
3Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
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123.1–4 A community prayer for help. It may have been uttered by an individual on behalf of the whole community or leading them in prayer. A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7.
123.1–2 The petitioner and the people pray in an attitude of dependence.
123.3–4 The cry for help against the taunts and ridicule of others; cf. (notes on) 44.14; 79.4.
PSALM 124
Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1If it had not been the LORD who was on our side
—let Israel now say—
2if it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
when our enemies attacked us,
3then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth.
7We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.
8Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
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124.1–8 A song of thanksgiving by the community. A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7.
124.1–7 An account of the Lord’s deliverance of the people from their enemies.
124.1 Let Israel now say, liturgical direction. Cf. 118.2–4; 129.1.
124.4–5 See note on 69.1–2.
124.6 Exclamation of thanksgiving and praise. Blessed. See note on 103.1–2.
124.8 A concluding confession of faith in hymnic form.
PSALM 125
The Security of God’s People
A Song of Ascents.
1Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people,
from this time on and forevermore.
3For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous might not stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
5But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways
the LORD will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!
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125.1–5 A community prayer for help against national enemies. A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7.
125.1–3 Expression of confidence and trust in the Lord.
125.3 Scepter of wickedness, probably a foreign power that oppresses the people of Israel in the land. The land allotted refers to the Lord’s granting or allotting the land of Canaan to Israel. So that…do wrong expresses a concern that the dominance of a foreign and ungodly power will lead those in the community to fall into immoral practices and an unfaithful way of life.
125.4–5 Prayer for help to secure the confidence expressed in v. 3. God is asked to do good to those who keep the covenant and do right and to remove those influenced by wickedness from the righteous way.
PSALM 126
A Harvest of Joy
A Song of Ascents.
1When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,a
we were like those who dream.
2Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
3The LORD has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
4Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
6Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
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a Or brought back those who returned to Zion
126.1–6 A community prayer for help. A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7.
126.1–3 The community looks back in memory to the Lord’s deliverance of Zion and its joy on that occasion. It is possible that these verses are to be read in a future tense as a dreaming anticipation of restoration.
126.1 Restored the fortunes of Zion, if in reference to the past, may have in mind
the return of the exiles from captivity in Babylon and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
126.2 The restoration of Zion evokes the joy of the people and the testimony of other nations to the Lord’s marvelous work for Israel.
126.3 Israel echoes the testimony and affirms it to be true.
126.4–6 The present prayer for restoration assumes that the community is in distress again and wishes God’s help so that its weeping may once again be turned into joy.
126.4 Watercourses in the Negeb, the dry beds in the desert that become torrential streams in times of rain and flood.
PSALM 127
God’s Blessings in the Home
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
1Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.
2It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives sleep to his beloved.a
3Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons of one’s youth.
5Happy is the man who has
his quiver full of them.
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
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a Or for he provides for his beloved during sleep
127.1–5 Instruction about the Lord as the source of security and of the gift of children. A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7. Solomon was the master builder in Israel’s history, building houses (1 Kings 3.1–2; 7; 8.13; 9.1) and cities (2 Chr 8.1–11).
127.1–2 Human labors to build structures and secure human communities are useless unless God is involved in these enterprises.
127.1 House can mean a building, such as the house of the Lord (the temple), or a human household or family line (see v. 4).
127.2 Sleep. The text is quite uncertain here. The reference may be to honor or prosperity—rather than sleep—as given by God rather than the fruit of driven, frantic work. Beloved. Elsewhere the term refers specifically to Israel or one of the tribes (60.5; 108.6; Deut 33.12; Isa 5.1; Jer 11.15).
127.3–5 Many children are a gift of God to provide security for parents. The text has sons particularly in mind as able to protect against enemies.
PSALM 128
The Happy Home of the Faithful
A Song of Ascents.
1Happy is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways.
2You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
3Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4Thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
5The LORD bless you from Zion.
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
6May you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
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128.1–5 Instruction about the rewards of living in obedience to the Lord. The psalm carries forward the themes of fruitful work and the blessing of children from Ps 127. A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7.
128.1 Happy. See note on 1.1. Fears the LORD is a way of speaking of the right relationship to God. See note on 34.7.
PSALM 129
Prayer for the Downfall of Israel’s Enemies
A Song of Ascents.
1“Often have they attacked me from my youth”
—let Israel now say—
2“often have they attacked me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3The plowers plowed on my back;
they made their furrows long.”
4The LORD is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward.
6Let them be like the grass on the housetops
that withers before it grows up,
7with which reapers do not fill their hands
or binders of sheaves their arms,
8while those who pass by do not say,
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the LORD!”
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129.1–8 A community song of thanksgiving or trust. A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7.
129.1–4 The people recount their long history of being oppressed and how God freed them from the wicked oppressors.
129.1 Let Israel now say. See note on 124.1.
129.5–8 Expression of confidence that God will put the oppressors to naught.
129.5–6 These verses may be translated as a prayer wish, e.g., “May all…be put to shame,” or as a declaration, e.g., “All…will be put to shame.”
129.8 For the blessing given to reapers, see Ruth 2.4. No harvesting means no blessings exchanged during the harvest.
PSALM 130
Waiting for Divine Redemption
A Song of Ascents.
1Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
2Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
5I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
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130.1–8 A prayer for help by one who seeks God’s forgiveness and favor. One of the penitential psalms (see note on 6.1–10). A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7.
130.1–2 The plea of the psalmist for God to hear the prayer.
130.3–6 Trust in God’s forgiveness and eager expectation that it will be granted.
130.6 There may be allusion here to the fact that confirmation of God’s help often came in the early morning after a night of praying and waiting (cf. 5.3; 30.5; 46.5; 88.13; 90.14).
130.7–8 The hope of the individual is now commended to the community as the ground of its own confidence (cf. 131.3).
PSALM 131
Song of Quiet Trust
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1O LORD, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.a
3O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time on and forevermore.
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a Or my soul within me is like a weaned child
131.1–3 A prayer of humility and trust in God. A Song of Ascents. See note on 120.1–7.
131.1 Great and…marvelous, usually the great and marvelous deeds of the Lord.
131.2 Calmed and quieted suggests some struggle of the soul. Weaned child…with me suggests that the one speaking in the prayer is a mother.
131.3 The trust of the psalmist is commended to t
he larger community (cf. 130.7–8).
PSALM 132
The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion
A Song of Ascents.
1O LORD, remember in David’s favor
all the hardships he endured;
2how he swore to the LORD
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3“I will not enter my house
or get into my bed;
4I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5until I find a place for the LORD,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6We heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7“Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool.”
8Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let your faithful shout for joy.
10For your servant David’s sake
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11The LORD swore to David a sure oath
from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body
I will set on your throne.
12If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, forevermore,
shall sit on your throne.”
13For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation:
14“This is my resting place forever;
here I will reside, for I have desired it.
15I will abundantly bless its provisions;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
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