Psalms 124–8
Psalm 124:1-8
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalm
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
Jude
Revelation
Psa.124.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המעלות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- לדוד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לולי: CONJ
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שהיה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- יאמר: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- נא: PART
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ps.118:6 (verbal): Expresses the same confidence that the LORD is on the psalmist’s side (‘The LORD is with me; I will not fear’), echoing the motive for thanksgiving in Ps 124:1.
- Rom.8:31 (thematic): Paul’s rhetorical question ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ parallels the thought of Ps 124:1—deliverance and security because the Lord is on our side.
- Deut.20:4 (thematic): God’s promise to go out with Israel and fight on their behalf (‘for the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you’) reflects the same conviction that rescue comes because the LORD is with his people.
- Ps.46:7 (thematic): Declares ‘The LORD Almighty is with us’ (or similar variants), a closely related assertion of God’s presence and protection that underpins the thanksgiving of Ps 124:1.
Alternative generated candidates
- A song of ascents. Of David. Had it not been the LORD who was for us—let Israel now say—
- A song of ascents. Of David. Had not the LORD been on our side—let Israel now say—
Psa.124.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לולי: CONJ
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שהיה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- בקום: PREP
- עלינו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 118:6 (verbal): Both verses express the same conviction that the LORD is on the speaker's/Israel's side and so fear of enemies is removed ('The LORD is on my/our side').
- Psalm 121:1-2 (thematic): Shares the theme of divine help in times of danger—help/aid comes from the LORD who watches over Israel.
- Exodus 14:13-14 (allusion): When enemies rise against Israel at the Red Sea, Moses urges trust in the LORD who will fight for them—parallel imagery of God standing with Israel against foes.
- Romans 8:31 (thematic): New Testament echo of the same theological conviction: if God is for us (on our side), no adversary can ultimately prevail.
- Psalm 124:7 (verbal): Within the same psalm the thought is resumed and expanded: our help is in the name of the LORD, reinforcing the declaration that the LORD was on our side.
Alternative generated candidates
- Had it not been the LORD who was for us, when men rose up against us,
- Had not the LORD been on our side when men rose up against us,
Psa.124.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אזי: ADV
- חיים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- בלעונו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl+PRON,1,pl(obj)
- בחרות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אפם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בנו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
Parallels
- Jonah 2:5 (verbal): Uses almost identical imagery: “the waters compassed me… the depth closed me round about,” paralleling ‘the waters would have overwhelmed us; the stream would have gone over our soul.’
- Ps.69:2 (verbal): Speaks of coming into deep waters and floods overflowing the speaker—close verbal and thematic resonance with being overwhelmed by waters/soul threatened by a flood.
- Ps.42:7 (thematic): “Deep calleth unto deep… all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me” —the same motif of overwhelming waters as a metaphor for peril and distress.
- Ps.18:4–5 (thematic): Describes being surrounded by sorrows/death and ‘the floods of ungodly men’ compassing the psalmist—shares the theme of being beset and nearly overwhelmed, later escaped by divine help.
Alternative generated candidates
- then they would have swallowed us alive; when their anger was kindled against us,
- then they would have swallowed us alive—when their anger was kindled against us.
Psa.124.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אזי: ADV
- המים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- שטפונו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl,obj:1,pl
- נחלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- נפשנו: NOUN,f,sg,prsuf_1pl
Parallels
- Psalm 69:1-2 (verbal): Uses the same imagery of waters coming into the soul and the speaker overwhelmed by deep waters—both portray desperate need for rescue from drowning figuratively.
- Psalm 18:4-5 (verbal): Speaks of torrents/floods surrounding and frightening the psalmist; parallels the hostile, overwhelming waters imagery in Ps 124:4.
- Psalm 42:7 (verbal): ‘All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me’ closely echoes the language and motif of being overwhelmed by waters.
- Jonah 2:3 (allusion): Jonah's prayer describes floods and waves passing over him—an echo of the same deliverance-from-drowning motif found in Ps 124:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- then the proud waters would have swept us away; the torrent would have gone over our soul.
- Then the flood would have swept us away; the torrent would have gone over our soul.
Psa.124.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אזי: ADV
- עבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- נפשנו: NOUN,f,sg,prsuf_1pl
- המים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הזידונים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Ps.69:1-2 (verbal): 'Save me, O God... for the waters are come in unto my soul' — closely parallels the image of overwhelming waters going over the psalmist's life/soul.
- Ps.42:7 (verbal): 'Deep calls unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me' — similar language of waves/billows passing over the speaker.
- Jonah 2:3 (verbal): 'For thou hadst cast me into the deep... and the floods compassed me about' — uses the same motif of being surrounded/overwhelmed by the sea as a life-threatening peril.
- Ps.18:4-5 (thematic): 'The sorrows of death compassed me... the floods of ungodly men made me afraid' — parallel theme of being beset and nearly overwhelmed by hostile waters or forces, later deliverance by God.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then would the raging waters have gone over our soul.
- Then would the raging waters have gone over our soul.
Psa.124.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שלא: CONJ
- נתננו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- טרף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשניהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ps.124.3 (structural): Immediate context: the Psalm contrasts what would have happened had the LORD not been on Israel's side—'they would have swallowed us alive'—directly parallel to 'not given us as prey to their teeth.'
- Ps.118.6 (verbal): Same trust-motif: 'The LORD is on my side; I will not fear'—both verses assert God's presence as the reason the people are not overpowered by enemies.
- Ps.91.3 (thematic): Speaks of divine deliverance from the fowler's snare—uses rescue-from-predation imagery analogous to 'not given as a prey to their teeth.'
- Rom.8.31 (allusion): New Testament formulation of the same theological claim: 'If God is for us, who can be against us?'—echoes the Psalm's conviction that God prevents Israel being delivered to its foes.
- 2 Sam.22:17 (thematic): Davidic song of rescue—'He rescued me from my strong enemy'—shares the theme of divine intervention keeping the speaker from being defeated or devoured by enemies.
Alternative generated candidates
- Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
- Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
Psa.124.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נפשנו: NOUN,f,sg,prsuf_1pl
- כצפור: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נמלטה: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- מפח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יוקשים: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- הפח: NOUN,m,sg,def
- נשבר: VERB,nifal,perf,3,m,sg
- ואנחנו: CONJ+PRON,1,pl
- נמלטנו: VERB,niphal,perf,1,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 91:3 (verbal): Uses the same image/phrase of deliverance from “the snare of the fowler” (Heb. net/fowler), closely echoing the rescue metaphor in Ps 124:7.
- Proverbs 6:5 (verbal): Directly parallels the simile of escaping “as a bird from the hand of the fowler,” the same rescue-from-a-trap image employed in Ps 124:7.
- Proverbs 1:17 (verbal): Speaks of a net spread in sight of a bird—same net/snare and bird imagery used in Ps 124:7 to depict entrapment and escape.
- Psalm 57:6 (Hebrew 56:6) (thematic): Describes enemies preparing a net/pit for the psalmist’s steps; thematically parallels the motif of hostile snares and God’s deliverance found in Ps 124:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- Our soul has escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
- Our life escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
Psa.124.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עזרנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+PRON,1,pl
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- 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 121:2 (quotation): Near-identical wording: 'My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth' — direct verbal parallel to Ps 124:8's claim of help in the name of Yahweh.
- Psalm 20:7 (verbal): 'Some trust in chariots and some in horses... we trust in the name of the LORD our God' — similar language of relying on the LORD's name for help.
- Psalm 46:1 (thematic): 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble' — shares the theme of the LORD as helper and protector in danger.
- Genesis 1:1 (allusion): 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth' — the creator motif ('made heaven and earth') in Ps 124:8 echoes the foundational creation claim.
- Nehemiah 9:6 (verbal): 'You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, the earth...' — affirms Yahweh as creator, paralleling Ps 124:8's attribution of creation to the LORD who is Israel's helper.
Alternative generated candidates
- Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
- Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of the heavens and the earth.
A song of ascents. Of David. Had not the LORD been on our side—let Israel now say—
Had not the LORD been on our side when men rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us alive; then, when their wrath was kindled against us,
the flood would have swept us away—the torrent would have passed over our soul.
The raging waters would have passed over our soul.
Blessed be the LORD, who did not give us over as prey to their teeth.
Our soul escaped like a bird from the fowler's snare; the snare was broken, and we escaped.
Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.