☰ Psalms 122
122
1  A song of ascents,1 by David.
I was glad because2 they said to me,
“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”
2  Our feet are3 standing
inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
3  Jerusalem4 is a city designed
to accommodate an assembly.5
4  The tribes go up6 there,7
the tribes of the Lord,
where it is required that Israel
give thanks to the name of the Lord.8
5  Indeed,9 the leaders sit10 there on thrones and make legal decisions,
on the thrones of the house of David.11
6  Pray12 for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love her prosper!13
7  May there be peace inside your defenses,
and prosperity14 inside your fortresses!15
8  For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors
I will say, “May there be peace in you!”
9  For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God
I will pray for you to prosper.16 17
1 122:1 sn: Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security. 2 122:1 sn: The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21. 3 122:2 tn: Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy. 4 122:3 tn: Or “were.” 5 122:3 map: For location see . 6 122:4 tc: Heb “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which is joined to her together.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Many regard this as a description of the compact way in which the city was designed or constructed. The translation assumes an emendation of the verb חֻבְּרָה (khubbÿrah, “is joined”) to a noun חֶבְרָה (khevrah, “association; company”). The text then reads literally, “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which has a company together.” This in turn can be taken as a reference to Jerusalem’s role as a city where people congregated for religious festivals and other civic occasions (see vv. 4-5). 7 122:4 tn: Or “went up.” 8 122:4 tn: Heb “which is where the tribes go up.” 9 122:5 tn: Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.” 10 122:5 tn: Or “for.” 11 122:5 tn: Or “sat.” 12 122:6 tn: Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.” 13 122:6 tn: Heb “ask [for].” 14 122:7 tn: Or “be secure.” 15 122:7 tn: or “security.” 16 122:9 tn: The psalmist uses second feminine singular pronominal forms to address personified Jerusalem. 17 122:9 tn: Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.
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