Psalm 120-125New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 120

A song of ascents.



1
I call on the Lord in my distress,
and he answers me.

2
Save me, Lord,
from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.



3
What will he do to you,
and what more besides,
you deceitful tongue?

4
He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,
with burning coals of the broom bush.



5
Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
that I live among the tents of Kedar!

6
Too long have I lived
among those who hate peace.

7
I am for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.



1
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?

2
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.



3
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

4
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.



5
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.



7
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

8
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Psalm 122

A song of ascents. Of David.



1
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

2
Our feet are standing
in your gates, Jerusalem.



3
Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.

4
That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.

5
There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.



6
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.

7
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”

8
For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”

9
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.



1
I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned in heaven.

2
As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he shows us his mercy.



3
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.

4
We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.

Psalm 124

A song of ascents. Of David.



1
If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—

2
if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,

3
they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;

4
the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,

5
the raging waters
would have swept us away.



6
Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

7
We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.

8
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 125

A song of ascents.



1
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

2
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.



3
The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
their hands to do evil.



4
Lord, do good to those who are good,
to those who are upright in heart.

5
But those who turn to crooked ways
the Lord will banish with the evildoers.


Peace be on Israel.