Psalm 129

A Curse on Those Who Hate Jerusalem

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me.

Let all Israel repeat this:

2From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me,

but they have never defeated me.

3My back is covered with cuts,

as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.

4But the Lord is good;

he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.

5May all who hate Jerusalem*129:5 Hebrew Zion.

be turned back in shameful defeat.

6May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop,

turning yellow when only half grown,

7ignored by the harvester,

despised by the binder.

8And may those who pass by

refuse to give them this blessing:

“The Lord bless you;

we bless you in the Lord’s name.”

Psalm 130

A Call for Help from the Depths of Despair

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1From the depths of despair, O Lord,

I call for your help.

2Hear my cry, O Lord.

Pay attention to my prayer.

3Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,

who, O Lord, could ever survive?

4But you offer forgiveness,

that we might learn to fear you.

5I am counting on the Lord;

yes, I am counting on him.

I have put my hope in his word.

6I long for the Lord

more than sentries long for the dawn,

yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

7O Israel, hope in the Lord;

for with the Lord there is unfailing love.

His redemption overflows.

8He himself will redeem Israel

from every kind of sin.

Psalm 131

I Have Calmed and Quieted Myself

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

1Lord, my heart is not proud;

my eyes are not haughty.

I don’t concern myself with matters too great

or too awesome for me to grasp.

2Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,

like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.

Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—

now and always.