Chapter Text
126:1 {A Song of degrees.} When Jehovah turned the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
126:2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing: then said they among the nations, Jehovah hath done great things for them.
126:3 Jehovah hath done great things for us; [and] we are joyful.
126:4 Turn our captivity, O Jehovah, as the streams in the south.
126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap with rejoicing:
126:6 He goeth forth and weepeth, bearing seed for scattering; he cometh again with rejoicing, bearing his sheaves.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "song", "degrees", "jehovah", "turned", "captivity", "zion", "like", and "dream". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "song" and "degrees", 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 "song" and "degrees" 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 "song" and "degrees" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.