Chapter Text
120:1 {A Song of degrees.} In my trouble I called unto Jehovah, and he answered me.
120:2 Jehovah, deliver my soul from the lying lip, from the deceitful tongue.
120:3 What shall be given unto thee, what shall be added unto thee, thou deceitful tongue?
120:4 Sharp arrows of a mighty one, with burning coals of broom-wood.
120:5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
120:6 My soul hath long dwelt with them that hate peace.
120:7 I [am for] peace; but when I speak, *they* [are] for war.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "called", "song", "degrees", "trouble", "jehovah", "answered", and "deliver". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "song", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The local DBY text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "called" and "song" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "called" and "song" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.