120  In my distress I called to the Lord,

and he answered me.

2  Deliver me, O Lord,

from lying lips,

from a deceitful tongue.

3  What shall be given to you,

ⁿand what more shall be done to you,

you deceitful tongue?

4  ^oA warrior’s ^psharp arrows,

with glowing ^qcoals of the broom tree!

5  Woe to me, that I sojourn in ^rMeshech,

that I dwell among ^sthe tents of ^tKedar!

6  Too long have I had my dwelling

among those who hate peace.

7  ^uI am for peace,

but when I speak, they are for war!

121  I ^vlift up my eyes to ^wthe hills.

From where does my help come?

2  ^xMy help comes from the Lord,

who ^ymade heaven and earth.

3  He will not ^zlet your foot be moved;

he who ^akeeps you will not slumber.

4  Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

5  The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your ^bshade on your ^cright hand.

6  ^dThe sun shall not ^estrike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7  The Lord will ^akeep you from all evil;

he will ^akeep your life.

8  The Lord will keep

your ^fgoing out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

122  I was glad when they said to me,

^g“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

2  Our feet have been standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3  Jerusalem—^hbuilt as a city

that is ⁱbound firmly together,

4  to which the tribes ^jgo up,

the tribes of the Lord,

as was ^kdecreed for¹ Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

5  There ^lthrones for judgment were set,

the thrones of the house of David.

6  ^mPray for the peace of Jerusalem!

“May they be secure who love you!

7  Peace be within your ⁿwalls

and security within your ⁿtowers!”

8  For my brothers and companions’ sake

I will say, ^o“Peace be within you!”

9  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will ^pseek your good.

123  To you I ^qlift up my eyes,

O you who are ^renthroned in the heavens!

2  Behold, as the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maidservant

to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

till he has mercy upon us.

3  ^sHave mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,

for we have had more than enough of ^tcontempt.

4  Our soul has had more than enough

of ^uthe scorn of ^vthose who are at ease,

of the contempt of ^wthe proud.

124  ^xIf it had not been the Lord who was on our side—

^ylet Israel now say—

2  if it had not been the Lord who was on our side

when people rose up against us,

3  then they would have ^zswallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

4  then ^athe flood would have ^bswept us away,

the torrent would have gone ^cover us;

5  then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

6  Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth!

7  We have escaped like a bird

from ^dthe snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

8  ^eOur help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.