Psalms 125–5
Psalm 125:1-5
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Psa.125.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- שיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המעלות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- הבטחים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ביהוה: PREP+PN,sg
- כהר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- ימוט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 46:5 (verbal): Uses the same imagery of an immovable, protected city: 'God is within her, she will not be moved,' echoing Zion that 'cannot be moved.'
- Psalm 121:1-2 (thematic): Both link trust in the LORD with help associated with hills/mountains—looking to the hills for help and trusting God as the secure source of stability.
- Psalm 62:6 (verbal): Declares personal trust in God with the result 'I shall not be moved,' paralleling the psalm's link between trusting the LORD and unshakable security.
- Psalm 125:2 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same psalm: verse 2 develops the mountain/Zion image—'As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people'—explaining the basis for Zion's stability.
Alternative generated candidates
- A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion—never to be moved; it endures forever.
- A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion; it cannot be moved, it abides forever.
Psa.125.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הרים: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- סביב: ADV
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ויהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- סביב: ADV
- לעמו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- מעתה: ADV
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 121:5-8 (verbal): Both passages depict the LORD as a guardian who watches over and surrounds his people, using similar language of ongoing protection ('the LORD will watch over your coming and your going… now and forevermore').
- Psalm 125:1 (structural): Immediate parallel within the psalm: verse 1 and 2 form a unit using mountain/Jerusalem imagery to symbolize the security and stability of those under God's protection.
- Deuteronomy 33:27 (thematic): Speaks of the 'eternal God' as a refuge with 'everlasting arms' beneath—conveys the same theme of divine encirclement and perpetual protection of Israel.
- Zechariah 2:5 (allusion): God promises to be 'a wall of fire' around Jerusalem—an explicit image of the LORD surrounding and protecting the city, closely echoing the verse's motif of divine encirclement.
Alternative generated candidates
- Around Jerusalem are mountains, and the LORD surrounds his people—from this time forth and forevermore.
- Around Jerusalem are the mountains, and the LORD surrounds his people—from this time forth and forevermore.
Psa.125.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- ינוח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שבט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הרשע: NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- גורל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הצדיקים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- למען: PREP
- לא: PART_NEG
- ישלחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- הצדיקים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- בעולתה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- ידיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,m,pl
Parallels
- Genesis 49:10 (verbal): Uses the image of the 'scepter' (rule/authority). Psalm 125:3's denial that the wicked's scepter will rest on the righteous echoes and inverts the scepter motif about legitimate rule.
- Psalm 37:28 (thematic): Affirms that the LORD loves justice and does not abandon his saints—parallel theme that the wicked will not permanently prevail over the righteous.
- Psalm 94:14 (thematic): God will not cast off his people; He preserves his inheritance—assurance like Ps.125:3 that the wicked will not have lasting dominion over the righteous.
- Proverbs 28:28 (thematic): Describes a reversal when the wicked rise and then perish while the righteous increase—similar concern with the (non‑)endurance of wicked rule over the righteous.
- Jeremiah 23:5 (allusion): Promises a 'righteous Branch' and rightful rule—a messianic assurance of just governance that echoes the Psalm's conviction that wicked authority will not hold sway over the righteous.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest on the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to wrongdoing.
- For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest on the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong.
Psa.125.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- היטיבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לטובים: PREP+ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ולישרים: CONJ+PREP+ADJ,m,pl,abs
- בלבותם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,mp
Parallels
- Psalm 18:25-26 (verbal): Uses parallel language about God treating the faithful/blameless according to their character—'to the merciful you show yourself merciful; to the blameless you show yourself blameless,' echoing 'good' and 'upright in heart.'
- Psalm 37:3-6 (thematic): Promises that those who trust the LORD and do good will be upheld and blessed by God, resonating with the petition that God do good to the upright.
- Isaiah 3:10 (thematic): 'Tell the righteous it will be well with them' expresses the same theological principle that God brings good to the righteous.
- Matthew 5:8 (allusion): 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' echoes the emphasis on inner uprightness (heart) as the ground for receiving God's blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- May the LORD do good to the good and to those who are upright in heart.
- The LORD has dealt kindly with the good and with the upright in heart.
Psa.125.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- והמטים: CONJ+VERB,qal,part,-,m,pl
- עקלקלותם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3mp
- יוליכם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- פעלי: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- האון: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 1:4-6 (thematic): Contrast between the fate of the wicked and the security of the righteous—wicked like chaff driven away, while the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, echoing Ps 125:5’s outcome for those who 'turn aside' vs. peace for Israel.
- Psalm 37:20-22 (thematic): Describes the perishing or removal of the wicked and the inheritance/peace of the righteous (the meek inherit the land and delight in abundant peace), paralleling Ps 125:5’s judgment on evildoers and peace upon Israel.
- Proverbs 2:21-22 (verbal): Speaks of the upright dwelling in the land while the wicked are cut off—language and theme closely mirror Ps 125:5’s separation of evildoers from the community and the preservation of the righteous.
- Isaiah 57:21 (thematic): 'There is no peace' for the wicked contrasts with Ps 125:5’s declaration that 'peace shall be upon Israel,' underscoring the divergent destinies of the wicked and God’s people.
Alternative generated candidates
- But those who turn aside in crooked ways—may the LORD lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel.
- But those who turn aside to crooked ways the LORD will lead away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel.
A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion: it cannot be moved; it abides forever.
Around Jerusalem are mountains; the LORD surrounds his people—from now and for ever.
For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to wrongdoing.
The LORD has dealt well with the good and with those upright in heart. But those who turn aside to crooked ways— the LORD will lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel.