Psalm 121 - New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Psalm 121[a]

The Lord My Guardian

1 A song of ascents.

I raise my eyes toward the mountains.[b]
From whence shall come my help?(A)
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.(B)

3 He will not allow your foot to slip;(C)
or your guardian to sleep.
4 Behold, the guardian of Israel
never slumbers nor sleeps.
5 [c]The Lord is your guardian;
the Lord is your shade
at your right hand.(D)
6 By day the sun will not strike you,
nor the moon by night.(E)
7 The Lord will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your soul.(F)
8 The Lord will guard your coming and going
both now and forever.(G)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 121 A blessing given to someone embarking on a dangerous journey whether a soldier going on a campaign or a pilgrim returning home from the Temple. People look anxiously at the wooded hills. Will God protect them on their journey (Ps 121:1)? The speaker declares that God is not confined to a place or a time (Ps 121:2), that every step is guarded (Ps 121:3–4); night and day (Ps 121:5–6) God watches over their every movement (Ps 121:7–8).
  2. 121:1 The mountains: possibly Mount Zion, the site of the Temple and hence of safety, but more probably mountains as a place of dangers, causing anxiety to the psalmist.
  3. 121:5–6 The image of shade, a symbol of protection, is apt: God as shade protects from the harmful effects that ancients believed were caused by the sun and moon.

Cross references

  1. 121:1 : Jer 3:23.
  2. 121:2 : Ps 124:8; 146:6.
  3. 121:3 : Ps 66:9; 91:12; 1 Sm 2:9; Prv 3:23.
  4. 121:5 : Ps 16:8; 73:23.
  5. 121:6 : Wis 18:3; Is 25:4; 49:10.
  6. 121:7 : Ps 97:10.
  7. 121:8 : Dt 28:6.

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