Psalms 121–8
Psalm 121:1-8
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Psa.121.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למעלות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אשא: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- אל: NEG
- ההרים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- מאין: ADV,interrog
- יבא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עזרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 121:2 (structural): Direct continuation/answer to v.1—specifies the source of help: 'My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.'
- Psalm 123:1 (verbal): Shares the same verbal posture 'I lift up my eyes' directed to God, echoing the act of looking upward for aid.
- Psalm 124:8 (thematic): Affirms the same dependence on God for help: 'Our help is in the name of the LORD,' paralleling the question about where help will come from.
- Psalm 46:1 (thematic): Declares God as 'a very present help in trouble,' thematically aligning with the trust in Yahweh as the true source of assistance envisioned in v.1.
Alternative generated candidates
- A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills—where will my help come from?
- A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where will my help come?
Psa.121.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עזרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- מעם: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 121:1 (structural): Immediate context: v.1 poses the question 'Where does my help come from?' and v.2 answers that help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
- Psalm 124:8 (verbal): Nearly identical wording—'Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth'—linking divine help to God's role as Creator.
- Psalm 146:5-6 (verbal): Links blessing/help to 'the God of Jacob' who 'made heaven and earth'—the same association of divine aid with the Creator.
- Isaiah 45:18 (thematic): Affirms the LORD as Creator ('who formed the earth and made it'), providing the theological basis for his sovereign ability to help and sustain.
- Nehemiah 9:6 (thematic): Confessional recounting of God as maker of heaven and earth in a prayer of covenantal dependence, echoing the idea that help/confidence rests in the Creator.
Alternative generated candidates
- My help is from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
- My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Psa.121.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- למוט: VERB,qal,inf
- רגלך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+SUFF,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- ינום: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שמרך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 121:4 (verbal): Immediate parallel/expansion: declares the keeper of Israel 'will neither slumber nor sleep,' echoing the watchful guardian of v.3.
- Psalm 121:7–8 (thematic): Continues the theme of divine protection—God keeping one from all evil and guarding 'your going out and your coming in'.
- Proverbs 3:23–26 (verbal): Promises secure walking and that 'your foot will not stumble' and that the LORD will keep your foot from being caught—close verbal and thematic overlap.
- Psalm 37:23–24 (thematic): God establishes and upholds a person’s steps so that though they fall they are not cast headlong—similar imagery of God preventing final collapse.
- Isaiah 27:3 (allusion): Depicts the LORD's continual, vigilant care ('I will keep it night and day'), paralleling the idea that the keeper 'will not slumber.'
Alternative generated candidates
- He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
- He will not allow your foot to be moved; he who guards you will not slumber.
Psa.121.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- לא: PART_NEG
- ינום: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יישן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שומר: PART,qal,ptcp,3,m,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ps.121.3 (verbal): Closest parallel within the psalm: repeats the idea of divine guardianship and uses the same root for 'watch/keep'—the watcher will not slumber, echoing v.4's denial of sleep.
- Ps.121.5 (thematic): Continues the same theme of God's protective guardianship (the LORD as keeper/shade), linking the sleepless vigilance of God in v.4 with his active preservation.
- Proverbs 15:3 (verbal): Expresses the same notion of God's continual watchfulness—'the eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch'—a thematic/verbal parallel to God who does not slumber or sleep.
- Isaiah 62:6 (thematic): God-appointed watchmen 'shall never hold their peace day or night,' a prophetic image of unceasing vigilance that thematically parallels the LORD's sleepless guardianship in Psalm 121:4.
- Ps.127:2 (thematic): Offers a complementary contrast: because God watches, human anxious sleeplessness is unnecessary—'he gives to his beloved sleep'—highlighting the security implied by God's sleepless care in Psalm 121:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, the Keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
- Behold, the Keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Psa.121.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שמרך: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צלך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,f,sg
- על: PREP
- יד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ימינך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 121:3-4 (structural): Immediate context: continues the theme of divine guardianship—God as protector who neither slumbers nor permits stumbling, reinforcing 'The LORD is your keeper.'
- Psalm 121:7-8 (structural): Closely related conclusion of the psalm: affirms the LORD's protection from harm and preservation of going out and coming in, echoing the protective role described in v.5.
- Psalm 91:11-12 (thematic): Both passages stress God's protective oversight—Psalm 91 depicts God assigning angels to guard the faithful, paralleling the idea of the LORD as keeper and protector at one's side.
- Deuteronomy 33:27 (thematic): God as enduring refuge and sustaining power ('the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms') parallels the psalm's assurance of God's protective presence and support.
- Isaiah 49:16 (allusion): Uses hand imagery to express God's attentive care ('I have engraved you on the palms of my hands'), resonating with Psalm 121's image of the LORD as a protector at one's right hand.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
- The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
Psa.121.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יומם: ADV
- השמש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- יככה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- וירח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בלילה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 121:5 (structural): Immediate context: verse 5 declares the LORD as keeper/guardian, providing the theological basis for the protection described in v.6 (day/night safety).
- Psalm 121:7 (structural): Immediate context: reiterates divine protection from all evil and harm, echoing the assurance that sun by day and moon by night will not harm the pilgrim.
- Isaiah 49:10 (verbal): Closely parallels the language of cosmic harm: "they shall not hunger or thirst... neither shall the heat nor sun smite them," echoing the motif that sun/heat will not strike the protected.
- Psalm 91:5-6 (thematic): Both passages promise divine protection from dangers associated with day and night (terror/arrow by day, pestilence by night), emphasizing God’s safeguarding at all hours.
Alternative generated candidates
- By day the sun shall not strike you, nor the moon by night.
- The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
Psa.121.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ישמרך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מכל: PREP
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ישמר: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- נפשך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m
Parallels
- Psalm 121:8 (verbal): Immediate continuation of the psalm: the LORD keeps your going out and coming in and protects you from all harm—direct verbal and structural parallel to keeping from all evil and preserving the soul.
- Psalm 23:4 (thematic): Both verses assure the believer of God's protective presence in the face of danger: 'I will fear no evil' because the Lord is with the speaker, paralleling divine preservation of life.
- Psalm 91:11-12 (thematic): God's promise that he will command his angels to guard and keep you in all your ways echoes the theme of divine protection from harm found in Psalm 121:7.
- Proverbs 2:8 (verbal): Uses similar vocabulary—God 'guards' the paths of the righteous and 'preserves' the way of his faithful—paralleling the idea of God keeping one from evil and preserving the soul.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (verbal): New Testament affirmation that 'the Lord is faithful; he will establish you and guard you against the evil one,' echoing Psalm 121:7's promise of divine guarding from evil.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
- The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
Psa.121.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ישמר: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
- צאתך: NOUN,f,sg,cons,poss:2ms
- ובואך: CONJ+VERB,qal,ptcp,masc,sg
- מעתה: ADV
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 121:7 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same psalm: verse 7 affirms the LORD's protection from harm, complementing v.8's pledge to guard coming and going.
- Deuteronomy 28:6 (verbal): Uses the same pair of terms 'when you come in and when you go out' as a formula for covenantal blessing and divine protection.
- Exodus 23:20-23 (allusion): God promises to send an angel to guard Israel on the way and to keep them from enemies—an early expression of divine escort and protection.
- Psalm 91:11-12 (allusion): Speaks of God assigning angels to 'keep you in all your ways' and protect you from harm—echoing the theme of safeguarding in travel and daily life.
- Proverbs 3:23-26 (thematic): Promises safe walking and absence of fear for the one who trusts the LORD, reflecting the same assurance of security in 'coming and going.'
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from now and forevermore.
- The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time on and forever.
A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, the keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.
The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
By day the sun will not strike you, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forth and forevermore.