Psalms 120–7
Psalm 120:1-7
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Psa.120.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המעלות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בצרתה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,f,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- קראתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ויענני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg,obj1cs
Parallels
- Psalm 3:4 (verbal): Uses the same basic wording—'I cried to the LORD, and he answered me'—an individual’s cry from distress and God’s immediate response.
- Psalm 18:6 (verbal): Begins 'In my distress I called upon the LORD' and depicts God hearing and delivering the petitioner; closely parallels the situation and language of Ps 120:1.
- Psalm 116:1-2 (verbal): Explicitly links the psalmist’s love to God's response: 'When I called, he answered me,' echoing the claim in Ps 120:1 that God answered when called in distress.
- Psalm 34:4 (thematic): Carries the same theme—seeking the LORD in trouble and receiving deliverance: 'I sought the LORD, and he answered me,' paralleling Ps 120:1’s motif of calling and being answered.
- Jonah 2:2 (allusion): Jonah’s prayer opens 'In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me,' a near‑verbatim echo of Ps 120:1 and an explicit instance of the same lament-to-answer pattern.
Alternative generated candidates
- A song of ascents. To the LORD I called in my distress; he answered me.
- A song of ascents. To the LORD I cried in my distress; he answered me.
Psa.120.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הצילה: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,f,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- משפת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- שקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלשון: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רמיה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 31:18 (verbal): Directly invokes 'lying lips' and prays for them to be silenced—parallel concern with deceitful speech and appeal to God for deliverance.
- Psalm 140:3 (thematic): Speaks of hostile enemies whose tongues are like serpents/poison—similar imagery of dangerous, deceptive speech from which the psalmist seeks rescue.
- Psalm 52:4 (verbal): Describes a tongue devising deceit and acting like a sharp razor—echoes the idea of a treacherous, damaging speech the psalmist asks to be delivered from.
- Proverbs 6:16-19 (thematic): Lists a 'lying tongue' among things the LORD hates—connects Psalm 120:2's plea against deceitful speech to broader wisdom tradition condemning falsehood.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD, rescue my soul from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
- O LORD, deliver my soul from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
Psa.120.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מה: PRON,int
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ומה: CONJ+PRON,int
- יסיף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- לשון: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- רמיה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 52:2-4 (verbal): Both verses condemn a deceitful/lying tongue that devises evil and causes harm; Psalm 52 explicitly personifies a treacherous tongue much like Ps 120’s rebuke.
- Psalm 5:9 (verbal): Speaks of mouths without truth and flattering/deceitful tongues — a similar denunciation of false speech found in Ps 120:3.
- Psalm 31:18 (thematic): Prays that lying lips be silenced; thematically parallels Ps 120’s appeal against deceptive speech and those who speak falsehood.
- Proverbs 12:19 (verbal): Contrasts enduring truthful lips with the transient/condemned lying tongue — a proverbial statement on the moral character of deceitful speech akin to Ps 120:3.
- James 3:6-8 (thematic): Describes the tongue as a small but destructive force, full of deadly poison and untamable — New Testament reflection on the same concern about the harmfulness of speech found in Ps 120:3.
Alternative generated candidates
- What will be given you, and what more will be done to you, deceitful tongue?
- What shall be given to you, and what shall be added to you, O deceitful tongue?
Psa.120.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חצי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גבור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- שנונים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- עם: PREP
- גחלי: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- רתמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 64:3-4 (verbal): Speaks of enemies sharpening their tongues and shooting arrows—directly parallels the imagery of piercing words likened to arrows.
- Psalm 57:4 (verbal): Uses weapons imagery (teeth as spears and arrows; tongue as a sharp sword), linking hostile speech to martial implements as in Ps 120:4.
- Psalm 140:3 (thematic): Describes the tongue as sharp like a serpent and evil words as deadly—themewise connection to destructive speech depicted as weapons or burning agents.
- Proverbs 12:18 (thematic): Compares reckless/hurtful words to sword thrusts, echoing the motif of speech as injurious weaponry found in Ps 120:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- Sharp as a warrior’s arrows are they—like glowing coals of juniper.
- Sharpened arrows of a warrior—coals of broom are what they are.
Psa.120.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אויה: INTJ
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- כי: CONJ
- גרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- משך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שכנתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- עם: PREP
- אהלי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- קדר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 137:1–4 (thematic): Lament of exile and bitter longing for home—like the woe of sojourning among foreign peoples in Ps 120:5.
- Psalm 39:12 (thematic): Speaks of being a stranger and sojourner on earth; parallels the psalmist’s anguish about dwelling among outsiders.
- Ezekiel 38:2–3 (verbal): Names Meshech (with Tubal) as nations in prophetic tradition—verbal link to Ps 120:5’s mention of Meshech.
- Jeremiah 49:28–29 (verbal): A prophetic oracle concerning Kedar; connects with Ps 120:5’s reference to the tents of Kedar.
- Isaiah 21:16–17 (verbal): Mentions the fate of Kedar and its warriors; another ancient reference to Kedar that echoes the tribal/tent imagery of Ps 120:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- Woe to me that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar.
- Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech; that I live among the tents of Kedar.
Psa.120.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- רבת: ADV
- שכנה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- עם: PREP
- שונא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 120:7 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same psalm: the speaker affirms he is for peace but others are for war, explaining the complaint about dwelling among those who hate peace.
- Isaiah 48:22 (verbal): The prophetic pronouncement 'There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked' echoes the language and idea that peace is absent among those opposed to it.
- Isaiah 57:21 (verbal): Repeats the motif 'There is no peace' regarding the wicked; reinforces the incompatibility of wickedness (or hostility) with peace, paralleling the psalmist's experience.
- Romans 12:18 (thematic): Paul's exhortation to 'live peaceably with all men, as far as it depends on you' offers an ethical counterpart to the psalmist's lament about dwelling among those who hate peace.
- Proverbs 12:20 (thematic): Contrasts 'counselors of peace' with those who devise evil; thematically parallels the psalm's distinction between those who seek peace and those who hate it.
Alternative generated candidates
- My soul has long dwelt among those who hate peace.
- My soul has long dwelt with those who hate peace.
Psa.120.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- א: PRT
- ני: PRON,1,sg,clitic
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכי: CONJ
- אדבר: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- למלחמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Matthew 10:34 (thematic): Jesus’ declaration ‘I did not come to bring peace but a sword’ creates a stark contrast with the psalmist’s claim ‘I am for peace’ while others favor conflict—both texts highlight the tension between a peaceful speaker and hostile opponents.
- Romans 12:18 (thematic): Paul’s injunction ‘If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all’ parallels the psalmist’s personal commitment to peace despite others’ belligerence.
- Proverbs 12:20 (verbal): Proverbs contrasts those who ‘devise evil’ with ‘counselors of peace’ (the latter’s joy); this mirrors the psalmist’s opposition between his peaceable stance and others’ readiness for war.
- Isaiah 2:4 (allusion): Isaiah’s prophetic vision that nations ‘shall beat their swords into plowshares’ and no longer train for war stands as an ideal of peace that contrasts with the psalmist’s present reality of others preferring war.
- Micah 4:3 (structural): Micah’s parallel formulation to Isaiah 2:4 (nations abandoning war) echoes the same peace-vision and provides a scriptural foil to the psalmist’s lament that others are bent on conflict.
Alternative generated candidates
- I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
- I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
A song of ascents. To the LORD I called in my distress; he answered me.
O LORD, deliver my soul from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given to you, and what more shall be added to you, O deceitful tongue?
Sharp are the warrior's arrows—like glowing coals of broomwood.
Woe is me that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Long has my soul dwelt among those who hate peace.
I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.