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Prayer for Breaking Away from the Treacherous.

A Song of [a]Ascents.

120 In my trouble I cried to the Lord,
And He answered me.

Rescue my soul, O Lord, from lying lips,
And from a deceitful tongue.

What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?—

Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the [b]burning coals of the broom tree.


Woe to me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
and I live among the tents of Kedar [among hostile people]!(A)

Too long my soul has had its dwelling
With those who hate peace.

I am for peace, but when I speak,
They are for war.

The Lord the Keeper of Israel.

A Song of [c]Ascents.

121 I will lift up my eyes to the hills [of Jerusalem]—
From where shall my help come?(B)

My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.(C)

Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber [briefly] nor sleep [soundly].


The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.(D)

The sun will not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.(E)

The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your life.

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in [everything that you do]
From this time forth and forever.(F)

Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.

A Song of [d]Ascents. Of David.

122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”(G)

Our feet are standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem,

Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is firmly joined together;

To which the [twelve] tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord,
[As was decreed as] an ordinance for Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

For there the thrones of judgment were set,
The thrones of the house of David.


Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you [holy city].

“May peace be within your walls
And prosperity within your palaces.”

For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.”

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God [which is Jerusalem],
I will seek your (the city’s) good.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 120:1 It is possible that the fifteen psalms (chs 120-134) known as the “Songs of Degrees or Ascents” were sung by the caravans of pilgrims going up to attend the annual feasts at Jerusalem. But it is equally possible that the title has reference to some peculiarity in connection with the music or the manner of using it.
  2. Psalm 120:4 The ancient rabbis explained that coals from a broom tree are unusual in that they continue burning on the inside even after they are extinguished on the outside. They compared this to a person who listens to slander: even if you try to persuade him otherwise and he seems to be convinced, he is still “burning” on the inside, i.e. still unconvinced.
  3. Psalm 121:1 See Psalm 120 title note.
  4. Psalm 122:1 See Psalm 120 title note.

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