Psalm 121 Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Psalm 121/Text
Choose a PsalmNavigate Psalm 121
Israel's Guardian
Psalm 121
Please note: Resources for Psalm 121 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.
Listen & Read: Psalm 121
Read along and listen to our audio recordings for Psalm 121. Choose between simple, unaffected audio recordings (in Hebrew or English), or a dramatized reading that takes into account our emotional, discourse, and poetic analyses. You can also choose between a text-only view, or a view overlaid with our summary At-a-Glance, Expanded Paraphrase, or Participant Analysis tracking.
| Simple Reading (Hebrew) Forthcoming. |
Simple Reading (English) Forthcoming. |
| Dramatic Reading (Hebrew) Forthcoming. |
Dramatic Reading (English) Forthcoming. |
Text Only (Hebrew and English) The text below is divided according to the psalm's poetic lines. For additional information, see our Poetic Structure layer.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) |
|---|---|---|
| שִׁ֗יר לַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת | 1a | Song of the Ascents |
| אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים | 1b | I lift my eyes toward the mountains. |
| מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃ | 1c | Where will my help come from? |
| עֶ֭זְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה | 2a | My help is from YHWH, |
| עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃ | 2b | the one who made heaven and earth. |
| אַל־יִתֵּ֣ן לַמּ֣וֹט רַגְלֶ֑ךָ | 3a | May he not let your foot slip! |
| אַל־יָ֝נ֗וּם שֹֽׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ | 3b | May the one who guards you not doze off! |
| הִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן | 4a | Indeed, the one who guards Israel |
| שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | 4b | will not doze off and will not fall asleep. |
| יְהוָ֥ה שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ | 5a | YHWH is the one who guards you. |
| יְהוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ׃ | 5b | YHWH is your shade over your right hand. |
| יוֹמָ֗ם הַשֶּׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹֽא־יַכֶּ֗כָּה | 6a | During the day, the sun will not strike you, |
| וְיָרֵ֥חַ בַּלָּֽיְלָה׃ | 6b | nor the moon at night. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע | 7a | YHWH will guard you from all harm. |
| יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ | 7b | He will guard your life. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָר־צֵאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ | 8a | YHWH will guard your going out and your coming in |
| מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם׃ | 8b | from now until forever. |
Structure Overlay Below, the text has been overlaid with our summary structural analysis. For details on the structure, see the Structure At-a-Glance here.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) |
|---|---|---|
| שִׁ֗יר לַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת | 1a | Song of the Ascents |
| אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים | 1b | I lift my eyes toward the mountains. |
| מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃ | 1c | Where will my help come from? |
| עֶ֭זְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה | 2a | My help is from YHWH, |
| עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃ | 2b | the one who made heaven and earth. |
| אַל־יִתֵּ֣ן לַמּ֣וֹט רַגְלֶ֑ךָ | 3a | May he not let your foot slip! |
| אַל־יָ֝נ֗וּם שֹֽׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ | 3b | May the one who guards you not doze off! |
| הִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן | 4a | Indeed, the one who guards Israel |
| שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | 4b | will not doze off and will not fall asleep. |
| יְהוָ֥ה שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ | 5a | YHWH is the one who guards you. |
| יְהוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ׃ | 5b | YHWH is your shade over your right hand. |
| יוֹמָ֗ם הַשֶּׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹֽא־יַכֶּ֗כָּה | 6a | During the day, the sun will not strike you, |
| וְיָרֵ֥חַ בַּלָּֽיְלָה׃ | 6b | nor the moon at night. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע | 7a | YHWH will guard you from all harm. |
| יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ | 7b | He will guard your life. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָר־צֵאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ | 8a | YHWH will guard your going out and your coming in |
| מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם׃ | 8b | from now until forever. |
Expanded paraphrase The expanded paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today. It is based on the CBC translation and uses italic text to provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Expanded Paraphrase |
|---|---|---|
| שִׁ֗יר לַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃ | 1 | Song of the Ascents, a song for pilgrims travelling up to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the annual festivals. I am setting out on my journey to Jerusalem. The journey is long, and I expect to encounter many dangers. I need divine help for the journey. Without such help, I will not make it there safely. So, I lift my eyes toward the mountains, the place where divine beings dwell and where people go to offer sacrifices to them. Where will my help come from? Who among the divine beings will help me? |
| עֶ֭זְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃ | 2 | My help is only from YHWH, the one true God, the one who made heaven and earth, the one who is greater than all other divine beings and who alone can protect me on my journey from earthly and heavenly dangers. |
| אַל־יִתֵּ֣ן לַמּ֣וֹט רַגְלֶ֑ךָ אַל־יָ֝נ֗וּם שֹֽׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ | 3 | Here is what I would say to someone in my position – what I would say to anyone who looks to YHWH for help: May he, i.e., YHWH, not let your foot slip on your journey – whether your pilgrim journey to Jerusalem or your metaphorical journey through life, which is a kind of pilgrimage – so that you suffer hardship! May YHWH, the one who guards you, not doze off and fall asleep, leaving you vulnerable to harm! |
| הִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | 4 | Indeed, you don't have to worry about that happening, because YHWH, the one who guards Israel, will not doze off and will not fall asleep. |
| יְהוָ֥ה שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ יְהוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ׃ | 5 | On your journey to Jerusalem (and your journey through all of life), YHWH is your guardian, the one who guards you. He watches over you like a city watchman watching over the well-being of a city, or like a shepherd watching over his flock. As you travel under the open sky, you need protection. YHWH is your protective shade over your right hand, over the south side of your body, where the sun shines the hottest. |
| יוֹמָ֗ם הַשֶּׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹֽא־יַכֶּ֗כָּה וְיָרֵ֥חַ בַּלָּֽיְלָה׃ | 6 | Because YHWH is your shade, during the day, the sun will not strike you and harm you with its heat, nor will the moon strike you at night, causing you to have a skin disease or an epileptic fit. In other words, YHWH, the one who made heaven and earth, will protect you from the most threatening forces of heaven. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ | 7 | YHWH will guard you from all heavenly and earthly harm. He will guard your life. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָר־צֵאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם׃ | 8 | YHWH will guard you in all that you do – in your going out and your coming in – from now until forever. |
Participant Tracking Text Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? Our full analysis can be found in the Participant Analysis layer.
There are 4 participants/characters in Psalm 121:
Profile List
| Psalmist |
| YHWH |
| "YHWH" (vv. 2, 5ab, 7, 8) |
| "The one who made heaven and eart" (v. 2) |
| "The one who guards you" (vv. 3, 5) |
| "The one who guards Israel" (v. 4) |
| "Your shade" (v. 5) |
| Israel(ite) |
| "Israel" (v. 4) |
| Harm |
| "slip" (lit.: "the slipping") (v. 3) |
| "the sun" (v. 6) |
| "the moon" (v. 6) |
| "harm" (v. 7) |
Profile Notes
- The psalmist is an anonymous Israelite who looks to YHWH for help and encourages other Israelites to do the same.
- The interchange between "the one who guards you" (vv. 3b, 5a) and "the one who guards Israel" (v. 4) suggests that the second-person singular addressee is Israel, or an individual Israelite representing the whole people.[1] The use of the singular instead of the plural emphasizes YHWH's protection is for each and every Israelite.
- The "antagonist" slot in this psalm is filled by all of those things that might threaten an Israelite's well-being (specifically, on his pilgrim journey to Jerusalem): "slipping" (v. 3), "sun" and "moon" (v. 6), and "all harm" (v. 7). The first reference to harm is earthly (v. 3), the second is heavenly (v. 6), and the third is all encompassing (v. 7).
- YHWH is both "the one who guards you / the one who guards Israel" (vv. 3–5) and "the one who made heaven and earth" (v. 2). As the creator of the universe, he is able to guard his people from all harm, whether earthly or heavenly.
| Hebrew | Line | English |
|---|---|---|
| שִׁ֗יר לַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת | 1a | Song of the Ascents |
| אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים | 1b | I lift my eyes toward the mountains. |
| מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃ | 1c | Where will my help come from? |
| עֶ֭זְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה | 2a | My help is from YHWH, |
| עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃ | 2b | the one who made heaven and earth. |
| אַל־יִתֵּ֣ן לַמּ֣וֹט רַגְלֶ֑ךָ | 3a | May he not let your foot slip! |
| אַל־יָ֝נ֗וּם שֹֽׁמְרֶֽךָ׃ | 3b | May the one who guards you not doze off! |
| הִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן | 4a | Indeed, the one who guards Israel will not doze off and will not fall asleep. |
| שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | 4b | the one who guards Israel |
| יְהוָ֥ה שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ | 5a | YHWH is the one who guards you. |
| יְהוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ׃ | 5b | YHWH is your shade over your right hand. |
| יוֹמָ֗ם הַשֶּׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹֽא־יַכֶּ֗כָּה | 6a | During the day, the sun will not strike you, |
| וְיָרֵ֥חַ בַּלָּֽיְלָה׃ | 6b | nor the moon at night. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע | 7a | YHWH will guard you from all harm. |
| יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ | 7b | He will guard your life. |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָר־צֵאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ | 8a | YHWH will guard your going out and your coming in |
| מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם׃ | 8b | from now until forever. |
- ↑ Cf. Baethgen 1904, 374–375; Fokkelman 2000, 272.