Psalms 120
120
(A song for worship.)
A Prayer for the Lord's Help
1When I am in trouble, I pray,
2“Come and save me, Lord,
from deceitful liars!”
3What punishment is fitting
for you deceitful liars?
4Your reward should be
sharp and flaming arrows!
5But I must live as a foreigner
among the people of Meshech
and in the tents of Kedar.#120.5 Meshech … Kedar: Meshech was a country near the Black Sea, and Kedar was a tribe of the Syrian desert.
6I have spent too much time
living among people
who hate peace.
7I am in favor of peace,
but when I speak of it,
all they want is war.
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Psalms 120: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Psalms 120
120
Psalm 120#sn Psalm 120. The genre and structure of this psalm are uncertain. It begins like a thanksgiving psalm, with a brief notice that God has heard the psalmist’s prayer for help and has intervened. But v. 2 is a petition for help, followed by a taunt directed toward enemies (vv. 3-4) and a lament (vv. 5-7). Perhaps vv. 2-7 recall the psalmist’s prayer when he cried out to the Lord.
A song of ascents.#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.
1 In my distress I cried out
to the Lord and he answered me.
2 I said,#tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the introductory note for this psalm. “O Lord, rescue me#tn Or “my life.”
from those who lie with their lips#tn Heb “from a lip of falsehood.”
and those who deceive with their tongue.#tn Heb “from a tongue of deception.”
3 How will he severely punish you,
you deceptive talker?#tn Heb “What will he give to you, and what will he add to you, O tongue of deception?” The psalmist addresses his deceptive enemies. The Lord is the understood subject of the verbs “give” and “add.” The second part of the question echoes a standard curse formula, “thus the Lord/God will do … and thus he will add” (see Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam 3:17; 14:44; 20:13; 25:22; 2 Sam 3:9, 35; 19:13; 1 Kgs 2:23; 2 Kgs 6:31).
4 Here’s how!#tn The words “here’s how” are supplied in the translation as a clarification. In v. 4 the psalmist answers the question he raises in v. 3. With the sharp arrows of warriors,
with arrowheads forged over the hot coals.#tn Heb “with coals of the wood of the broom plant.” The wood of the broom plant was used to make charcoal, which in turn was used to fuel the fire used to forge the arrowheads.
5 How miserable I am!#tn Or “woe to me.” The Hebrew term אוֹיָה (’oyah, “woe”) which occurs only here, is an alternate form of אוֹי (’oy).
For I have lived temporarily#tn Heb “I live as a resident alien.” in Meshech;
I have resided among the tents of Kedar.#sn Meshech was located in central Anatolia (modern Turkey). Kedar was located in the desert to east-southeast of Israel. Because of the reference to Kedar, it is possible that Ps 120:5 refers to a different Meshech, perhaps one associated with the individual mentioned as a descendant of Aram in 1 Chr 1:17. (However, the LXX in 1 Chr 1:17 follows the parallel text in Gen 10:23, which reads “Mash,” not Meshech.) It is, of course, impossible that the psalmist could have been living in both the far north and the east at the same time. For this reason one must assume that he is recalling his experience as a wanderer among the nations or that he is using the geographical terms metaphorically and sarcastically to suggest that the enemies who surround him are like the barbarians who live in these distant regions. For a discussion of the problem, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 146.
6 For too long I have had to reside
with those who hate#tn The singular participial form probably has a representative function here. The psalmist envisions the typical hater of peace who represents the entire category of such individuals. peace.
7 I am committed to peace,#tn Heb “I, peace.”
but when I speak, they want to make war.#tn Heb “they [are] for war.”
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