Chapter Text
120:1 A Song of the Ascents. Unto Jehovah in my distress I have called, And He answereth me.
120:2 O Jehovah, deliver my soul from a lying lip, From a deceitful tongue!
120:3 What doth He give to thee? And what doth He add to thee? O deceitful tongue!
120:4 Sharp arrows of a mighty one, with broom-coals.
120:5 Woe to me, for I have inhabited Mesech, I have dwelt with tents of Kedar.
120:6 Too much hath my soul dwelt with him who is hating peace.
120:7 I <FI>am<Fi> peace, and when I speak they <FI>are<Fi> for war!
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "called", "song", "ascents", "jehovah", "distress", "answereth", 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 YLT 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.