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Psalm 121

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This article is about Psalm 121 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 121 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 122.
Psalm 121
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help."
Song of Ascents
Looking to the mountains is the opening thought of Psalm 121
Other name
  • Psalm 110
  • "Levavi oculos meos in montes"
LanguageHebrew (original)
Psalm 121
BookBook of Psalms
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part19

Psalm 121 is the 121st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help”. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 120. In Latin, it is known as Levavi oculos meos in montes.[1]

It is one of 15 psalms categorized as Song of Ascents (Shir Hama'alot), although unlike the others, it begins, Shir LaMa'alot (A song to the ascents). The psalm is structured as a dialogue, with its opening question, From whence comes my help? being answered, possibly in a temple setting, by the priest.[2]

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music in several languages. Felix Mendelssohn used it for Hebe deine Augen auf, a trio of his 1846 oratorio Elijah. Leonard Bernstein used the psalm in his Mass.

Text

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The headstone of the English botanist, Lady Joan Margaret Legge in the Valley of Flowers in the Himalaya, quoting the first verse of Psalm 121

Hebrew

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The following table shows the Hebrew text[3][4] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

Verse Hebrew English translation (JPS 1917)
1 שִׁ֗יר לַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃‎ A Song of Ascents. I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: From whence shall my help come?
2 עֶ֭זְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהֹוָ֑ה עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃‎ My help cometh from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
3 אַל־יִתֵּ֣ן לַמּ֣וֹט רַגְלֶ֑ךָ אַל־יָ֝נ֗וּם שֹׁמְרֶֽךָ׃‎ He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 הִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃‎ Behold, He that keepeth Israel Doth neither slumber nor sleep.
5 יְהֹוָ֥ה שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ יְהֹוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ׃‎ The LORD is thy keeper; The LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 יוֹמָ֗ם הַשֶּׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹֽא־יַכֶּ֗כָּה וְיָרֵ֥חַ בַּלָּֽיְלָה׃‎ The sun shall not smite thee by day, Nor the moon by night.
7 יְֽהֹוָ֗ה יִשְׁמׇרְךָ֥ מִכׇּל־רָ֑ע יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃‎ The LORD shall keep thee from all evil; He shall keep thy soul.
8 יְֽהֹוָ֗ה יִשְׁמׇר־צֵאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ מֵ֝עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם׃‎ The LORD shall guard thy going out and thy coming in, From this time forth and for ever.

King James Version

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  1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
  2. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
  3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
  4. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
  5. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
  6. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
  7. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
  8. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Uses

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Original usage

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As a song of ascent, this psalm may have been sung by the Levites at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is also possible that it was sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. At the beginning of the pilgrimage, in the mountainous region of the Judean Hills, the pilgrim recognizes that the Lord is the one who can give him the help he needs. The one who trusts in the Lord is certain that He will bring him protection day and night. The psalm's dialogue moves from the first to the second person in verse 3,[2] and even takes the form of a blessing in verses 7 and 8. This will conclude the prayer of different singers by the prospect of change.

Judaism

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She'ar Yashuv Cohen reading Psalm 121 at the Israel–Jordan peace treaty ceremony

Protestant Christianity

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Psalm 121 has the Latin incipit, Levavi oculus. In the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, it is prescribed for use on day 27 of each month, at Morning Prayer.[9] The first verse is frequently quoted on monuments and memorials commemorating those inspired by mountains or hills. A well known example is a stained glass window in Church of St Olaf, Wasdale in the English Lake District National Park, which quotes Psalm 121 as a memorial to members of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club who were killed in the First World War.[10]

Charles Spurgeon called it a soldier's song as well as a traveller's hymn.[11] David Livingstone read the Psalm with his family at the dockside on his leaving for Africa.[12] In The Living Bible, writer Kenneth N. Taylor reads the opening verse in a slightly different many from most translations: Shall I look to the mountain gods for help? 2 No! My help is from Jehovah who made the mountains![13]

Catholic Church

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Around 530, St. Benedict of Nursia chose this Psalm for the third office during the week, specifically from Tuesday until Saturday between Psalm 120 (119) and Psalm 122 (121). Allocating Psalm 119 (118), which is longer, to the services on Sunday and Monday, he structured offices of the week with the following nine psalms.[14] In the Liturgy of Hours today, Psalm 121 is recited Vespers Friday of the second week. In the liturgy of the Word, it took the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C. It is during this period that the Church prays for refugees.[15]

Musical settings

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Latin inscription of Psalm 121 on the pediment of the Dannenwalde Manor house, Germany

Musical settings for the Latin text have been composed by Orlando di Lasso, Hans Leo Hassler, and Herbert Howells amongst others.

Settings composed for the English text include John Clarke-Whitfeld, Charles Villiers Stanford, Henry Walford Davies, Mildred Barnes Royse,[16] and Imant Raminsh.[17]

Heinrich Schütz created a version in German for four voices and basso continuo, SWV 31. He also wrote a setting of a metred paraphrase of the psalm in German, "Ich heb mein Augen sehnlich auf", SWV 122, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.

Felix Mendelssohn composed the famous "Hebe deine Augen auf" as a trio of his oratorio Elijah, Op. 70, in 1846. Antonín Dvořák set verses 1–4 in Czech to music in his Biblical Songs, published in 1894.

Zoltán Kodály composed his Geneva Ps CXXI for mixed chorus a cappella), setting the psalm in Hungarian.

The setting by William McKie was sung at the wedding of Princess Margaret in 1960 and at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002.[18]

Alan Hovhaness set the psalm in 1967 for his cantata I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes.[19]

Leonard Bernstein used the psalm in his Mass in the second movement in 1971.

Israeli Hasidic singer-songwriter Yosef Karduner composed a popular Hebrew version of Psalm 121, Shir LaMa'alot (2000), which has been covered by many Israeli artists,[20] including Omer Adam, Ninet Tayeb, Mosh Ben-Ari, the Shalva Band, among others. It is a staple amongst synagogue youth groups in Israel and Canada.[21]

Christopher Tin's Grammy-nominated soundtrack to the 2021 video game Old World contains a setting of the psalm in Arabic.[22]

Influence

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The motto of The University of Calgary, "Mo shùile togam suas" (Scots Gaelic; in English: "I will lift up my eyes"), is derived from Psalm 121,[23] as is the motto of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, "Levo oculos meos in montes".[24]

In his World War I-era “Close Ranks” editorial, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote, “We make no ordinary sacrifice, but we make it gladly and willingly with our eyes lifted to the hills.”[25]

Several contemporary Israeli poets, such as Leah Goldberg and Haim Gouri, wrote poems named after the psalm's first words ("I will lift my eyes to the mountains") or a variation of them.

Yarra Valley Grammar co-educational grammar school, located in Ringwood, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia uses the motto Levavi Oculos.

References

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  1. ^ "Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 120 (121)". Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  2. ^ a b Rodd, C. S., 18. Psalms, in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary Archived 2017-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, p. 399
  3. ^ "Psalms – Chapter 121". Mechon Mamre.
  4. ^ "Psalms 121 - JPS 1917". Sefaria.org.
  5. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 530.
  6. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 295.
  7. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 221.
  8. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 293.
  9. ^ "The Book of Common Prayer – The Psalms of David – Day 27. Morning Prayer". churchofengland.org. The Archbishops' Council. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Wasdale – St Olaf's Church". visitcumbria.com. Visit Cumbria. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  11. ^ Psalm 121 Archived 2015-10-25 at the Wayback Machine @spurgons commentary.
  12. ^ "Psalm 121 Commentary | Precept Austin". www.preceptaustin.org.
  13. ^ Taylor, K. N. (1971), Psalm 121:1: The Living Bible
  14. ^ Règle de saint Benoît, traduction par Prosper Guéranger, (Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, 2007), p. 46.
  15. ^ The main cycle of liturgical prayers takes place over four weeks.
  16. ^ Laster, James H. (1996-06-11). Catalogue of Choral Music Arranged in Biblical Order. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-4617-2664-7.
  17. ^ "Psalm 121". 1.cpdl.org. Choral Public Domain Library. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  18. ^ "Funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother: Full text of the service held at Westminster Abbey". theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media Limited. 9 April 2002.
  19. ^ "Alan Hovhaness List of Works by Opus Number". www.hovhaness.com. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
  20. ^ "קרדונר מעדיף שיר מורכב - ודיבור פשוט" [Karduner Prefers a Complex Song – "Simple Talk"]. Ynetnews (in Hebrew). 30 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  21. ^ Rotem, Tal (28 July 2008). "Breslev's Sweet Singer". breslev.co.il. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  22. ^ "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Winners & Nominees List". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  23. ^ "Motto matters". ucalgary.ca. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Traditions". UNC Asheville. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  25. ^ Du Bois, W. E. Burghardt, The Crisis, vol. 16, no.3 (July 1918), p. 111
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