The Holy Bible

[119:161] Powerful people attack me unjustly, but I respect your law.

[119:162] How happy I am because of your promises— as happy as someone who finds rich treasure.

[119:163] I hate and detest all lies, but I love your law.

[119:164] Seven times each day I thank you for your righteous judgments.

[119:165] Those who love your law have perfect security, and there is nothing that can make them fall.

[119:166] I wait for you to save me, Lord, and I do what you command.

[119:167] I obey your teachings; I love them with all my heart.

[119:168] I obey your commands and your instructions; you see everything I do.

[119:169] Let my cry for help reach you, Lord! Give me understanding, as you have promised.

[119:170] Listen to my prayer, and save me according to your promise!

[119:171] I will always praise you, because you teach me your laws.

[119:172] I will sing about your law, because your commands are just.

[119:173] Always be ready to help me, because I follow your commands.

[119:174] How I long for your saving help, O Lord! I find happiness in your law.

[119:175] Give me life, so that I may praise you; may your instructions help me.

[119:176] I wander about like a lost sheep; so come and look for me, your servant, because I have not neglected your laws.

[120:1] When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord, and he answered me.

[120:2] Save me, Lord, from liars and deceivers.

[120:3] You liars, what will God do to you? How will he punish you?

[120:4] With a soldier's sharp arrows, with red-hot coals!

[120:5] Living among you is as bad as living in Meshech or among the people of Kedar.

[120:6] I have lived too long with people who hate peace!

[120:7] When I speak of peace, they are for war.

[121:1] I look to the mountains; where will my help come from?

[121:2] My help will come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

[121:3] He will not let you fall; your protector is always awake.

[121:4] The protector of Israel never dozes or sleeps.

[121:5] The Lord will guard you; he is by your side to protect you.

[121:6] The sun will not hurt you during the day, nor the moon during the night.

[121:7] The Lord will protect you from all danger; he will keep you safe.

[121:8] He will protect you as you come and go now and forever.

[122:1] I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the Lord's house.”

[122:2] And now we are here, standing inside the gates of Jerusalem!

[122:3] Jerusalem is a city restored in beautiful order and harmony.

[122:4] This is where the tribes come, the tribes of Israel, to give thanks to the Lord according to his command.

[122:5] Here the kings of Israel sat to judge their people.

[122:6] Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper.

[122:7] May there be peace inside your walls and safety in your palaces.”

[122:8] For the sake of my relatives and friends I say to Jerusalem, “Peace be with you!”

[122:9] For the sake of the house of the Lord our God I pray for your prosperity.

[123:1] Lord, I look up to you, up to heaven, where you rule.

[123:2] As a servant depends on his master, as a maid depends on her mistress, so we will keep looking to you, O Lord our God, until you have mercy on us.

[123:3] Be merciful to us, Lord, be merciful; we have been treated with so much contempt.

[123:4] We have been mocked too long by the rich and scorned by proud oppressors.

[124:1] What if the Lord had not been on our side? Answer, O Israel!

[124:2] “If the Lord had not been on our side when our enemies attacked us,

[124:3] then they would have swallowed us alive in their furious anger against us;

[124:4] then the flood would have carried us away, the water would have covered us,

[124:5] the raging torrent would have drowned us.”

[124:6] Let us thank the Lord, who has not let our enemies destroy us.

[124:7] We have escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap; the trap is broken, and we are free!

[124:8] Our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

[125:1] Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which can never be shaken, never be moved.

[125:2] As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, now and forever.

[125:3] The wicked will not always rule over the land of the righteous; if they did, the righteous themselves might do evil.

[125:4] Lord, do good to those who are good, to those who obey your commands.

[125:5] But when you punish the wicked, punish also those who abandon your ways. Peace be with Israel!

[126:1] When the Lord brought us back to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!

[126:2] How we laughed, how we sang for joy! Then the other nations said about us, “The Lord did great things for them.”

[126:3] Indeed he did great things for us; how happy we were!

[126:4] Lord, make us prosperous again, just as the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds.

[126:5] Let those who wept as they planted their crops, gather the harvest with joy!

[126:6] Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed will come back singing for joy, as they bring in the harvest.

[127:1] If the Lord does not build the house, the work of the builders is useless; if the Lord does not protect the city, it does no good for the sentries to stand guard.

[127:2] It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late. For the Lord provides for those he loves, while they are asleep.

[127:3] Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a real blessing.

[127:4] The sons a man has when he is young are like arrows in a soldier's hand.

[127:5] Happy is the man who has many such arrows. He will never be defeated when he meets his enemies in the place of judgment.