and earth.
3He will not let your foot give way;
your guardian will not slumber;
4See, the guardian of Israel
neither slumbers nor sleeps!
5The LORD is your guardian,
the LORD is your protection
at your right hand.
6By day the sun will not strike you,
nor the moon by night.
7The LORD will guard you from all harm;
He will guard your life.
8The LORD will guard your going and coming
now and forever.
122 A song of ascents. Of David.
I rejoiced when they said to me,
“We are going to the House of the LORD.”
2Our feet stood inside your gates, O Jerusalem,
3Jerusalem built up, a city knit together,
4to which tribes would make pilgrimage,
the tribes of the LORD,
—as was enjoined upon Israel—
to praise the name of the LORD.
5There the thrones of judgment stood,
thrones of the house of David.
6Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem;
“May those who love you be at peace.
7May there be well-being within your ramparts,
peace in your citadels.”
8For the sake of my kin and friends,
I pray for your well-being;
9for the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I seek your good.
123 A song of ascents.
To You, enthroned in heaven,
I turn my eyes.
2As the eyes of slaves follow their master’s hand,
as the eyes of a slave-girl follow the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are toward the LORD our God,
awaiting His favor.
3Show us favor, O LORD,
show us favor!
We have had more than enough of contempt.
4Long enough have we endured
the scorn of the complacent,
the contempt of the haughty.
124 A song of ascents. Of David.
Were it not for the LORD, who was on our side,
let Israel now declare,
2were it not for the LORD, who was on our side
when men assailed us,
3they would have swallowed us alive
in their burning rage against us;
4the waters would have carried us off,
the torrent would have swept over us;
5over us would have swept
the seething waters.
6Blessed is the LORD, who did not let us
be ripped apart by their teeth.
7We are like a bird escaped from the fowler’s trap;
the trap broke and we escaped.
8Our help is the name of the LORD,
maker of heaven and earth.
125 A song of ascents.
Those who trust in the LORD
are like Mount Zion
that cannot be moved,
enduring forever.
2Jerusalem, hills enfold it,
and the LORD enfolds His people
now and forever.
3a-The scepter of the wicked shall never rest
upon the land allotted to the righteous,
that the righteous not set their hand to wrongdoing.-a
4Do good, O LORD, to the good,
to the upright in heart.
5a-But those who in their crookedness act corruptly,-a
let the LORD make them go the way of evildoers.
May it be well with Israel!
126 A song of ascents.
When the LORD restores the fortunes of Zion
—a-we see it as in a dream-a—
2our mouths shall be filled with laughter,
our tongues, with songs of joy.
Then shall they say among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them!”
3The LORD will do great things for us
and we shall rejoice.
4Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like watercourses in the Negeb.
5They who sow in tears
shall reap with songs of joy.
6Though he goes along weeping,
carrying the seed-bag,
he shall come back with songs of joy,
carrying his sheaves.
127 A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain on it;
unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman keeps vigil in vain.
2In vain do you rise early
and stay up late,
you who toil for the bread you eat;
a-He provides as much for His loved ones while they sleep.-a
3Sons are the provisionb of the LORD;
the fruit of the womb, His reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are sons born to a man in his youth.
5Happy is the man who fills his quiver with them;
they shall not be put to shame
when they contend with the enemy in the gate.
128 A song of ascents.
Happy are all who fear the LORD,
who follow His ways.
2You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors;
you shall be happy and you shall prosper.
3Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your sons, like olive saplings around your table.
4So shall the man who fears the LORD be blessed.
5May the LORD bless you from Zion;
may you share the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life,
6and live to see your children’s children.
May all be well with Israel!
129 A song of ascents.
Since my youth they have often assailed me,
let Israel now declare,
2since my youth they have often assailed me,
but they have never overcome me.
3Plowmen plowed across my back;
they made long furrows.
4The LORD, the righteous one,
has snapped the cords of the wicked.
5Let all who hate Zion
fall back in disgrace.
6Let them be like grass on roofs
that fades before it can be pulled up,
7that affords no handful for the reaper,
no armful for the gatherer of sheaves,
8no exchange with passersby:
“The blessing of the LORD be upon you.”
“We bless you by the name of the LORD.”
130 A song of ascents.
Out of the depths I call You, O LORD.
2O Lord, listen to my cry;
let Your ears be attentive
to my plea for mercy.
3If You keep account of sins, O LORD,
Lord, who will survive?
4Yours is the power to forgive
so that You may be held in awe.
5I look to the LORD;
I look to Him;
I await His word.
6I am more eager for the Lord
than watchmen for the morning,
watchmen for the morning.
7O Israel, wait for the LORD;
for with the LORD is steadfast love
and great power to redeem.
8It is He who will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.
131 A song of ascents. Of David.
O LORD, my heart is not proud
nor my look haughty;
I do not aspire to great things
or to what is beyond me;
2a-but I have taught myself to be contented
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child am I in my mind.-a
3O Israel, wait for the LORD
now and forever.
132 A song of ascents.
O LORD, remember in David’s favor
his extreme self-denial,
2how he swore to the LORD,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3“I will not enter my house,
nor will I mount my bed,
4I will not give sleep to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelidsa
5until I find a place for the LORD,
an abode for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6We heard it was in Ephrath;
we came upon it in the region of Jaar.b
7Let us enter His abode,
bow at His footstool.
8Advance, O LORD, to Your resting-place,
You and Your mighty Ark!
9Your priests are clothed in triumph;
Your loyal ones sing for joy.
10For the sake of Your servant David
do not reject Your anointed one.
11The LORD swore to David
a firm oath that He will not renounce,
“One of your own issue I will set upon your throne.
12If your sons keep My covenant
and My decrees that I teach them,
then their sons also,
to the end of time,
shall sit upon your throne.”
13For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His seat.
14“This is my resting-place for all time;
here I will dwell, for I desire it.
15I will amply bless its store of food,
give its needy their fill of bread.
16I will clothe its priests in victory,
its loyal ones shall sing for joy.
17There I will make a horn sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.
18I will clothe his enemies in disgrace,
while on him his crown shall sparkle.”
133 A song of ascents. Of David.
How good and how pleasant it is
that brothers dwell together.
2It is like fine oil on the head
running down onto the beard,
the beard of Aaron,
that comes down over the collar of his robe;
3like the dew of Hermon
that falls upon the mountains of Zion.
There the LORD ordained blessing,
everlasting life.
134 A song of ascents.
Now bless the LORD,
all you servants of the LORD
who stand nightly
in the house of the LORD.
2Lift your hands toward the sanctuary
and bless the LORD.
3May the LORD,
maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.
135 Hallelujah.
Praise the name of the LORD;
give praise, you servants of the LORD
2who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing hymns to His name, for it is pleasant.
4For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel, as His treasured possession.
5For I know that the LORD is great,
that our LORD is greater than all gods.
6Whatever the LORD desires He does
in heaven and earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7He makes clouds rise from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain;
He releases the wind from His vaults.
8He struck down the first-born of Egypt,
man and beast alike;
9He sent signs and portents againsta Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10He struck down many nations
and slew numerous kings—
11Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and all the royalty of Canaan—
12and gave their lands as a heritage,
as a heritage to His people Israel.
13O LORD, Your name endures forever,
Your fame, O LORD, through all generations;
14for the LORD will champion His people,
and obtain satisfaction for His servants.
15bThe idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
16They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
17they have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18Those who fashion them,
all who trust in them,
shall become like them.
19O house of Israel, bless the LORD;
O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;
20O house of Levi, bless the LORD;
you who fear the LORD, bless the LORD.
21Blessed is the LORD from Zion,
He who dwells in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah.
136 Praise the LORD; for He is good,
His steadfast love is eternal.
2Praise the God of gods,
His steadfast love is eternal.
3Praise the Lord of lords,
His steadfast love is eternal;
4Who alone works great marvels,
His steadfast love is eternal;
5Who made the heavens with wisdom,
His steadfast love is eternal;
6Who spread the earth over the water,
His steadfast love is eternal;
7Who made the great lights,
His steadfast love is eternal;
8the sun to dominate the day,
His steadfast love is eternal;
9the moon and the stars to dominate the night,
His steadfast love is eternal;
10Who struck Egypt through their first-born,
His steadfast love is eternal;
11and brought Israel out of their midst,
His steadfast love is eternal;
12with a strong hand and outstretched arm,
His steadfast love is eternal;
13Who split apart the