Psalms 121 (YLT)

Chapter Text

121:1 A Song of the Ascents. I lift up mine eyes unto the hills, Whence doth my help come?

121:2 My help <FI>is<Fi> from Jehovah, maker of heaven and earth,

121:3 He suffereth not thy foot to be moved, Thy preserver slumbereth not.

121:4 Lo, He slumbereth not, nor sleepeth, He who is preserving Israel.

121:5 Jehovah <FI>is<Fi> thy preserver, Jehovah <FI>is<Fi> thy shade on thy right hand,

121:6 By day the sun doth not smite thee, Nor the moon by night.

121:7 Jehovah preserveth thee from all evil, He doth preserve thy soul.

121:8 Jehovah preserveth thy going out and thy coming in, From henceforth even unto the age!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "song", "ascents", "lift", "mine", "eyes", "hills", "whence", and "doth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "song" and "ascents", 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 "song" and "ascents" 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 "ascents" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.