Psalms 121:6 (KJV)

Passage

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

Nearby Context

Psalms 121:4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Psalms 121:5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

Psalms 121:6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

Psalms 121:7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

Psalms 121:8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "smite", "thee", "moon", and "night". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "smite", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "The LORD is thy keeper the LORD..." into verse 7's "The LORD shall preserve thee from all...", so "shall" and "smite" belong inside that flow. 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 "shall" and "smite" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.