Psalm 120 is read especially through the theme of lament, within Book V (Psalms 107–150). Its language invites attentive prayer before quick application.
1A Song of Ascents. In my distress, I cried to the LORD. He answered me.
2Deliver my soul, LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
3What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you, you deceitful tongue?
4Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
5Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6My soul has had her dwelling too long with him who hates peace.
7I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 120 is read especially through the theme of lament, within Book V (Psalms 107–150). Its language invites attentive prayer before quick application. Read it within the complete five-book Psalms collection, then compare its prayer language with the types of prayer found across Scripture. Classification is a reading aid rather than a replacement for the Psalm's own movement and tension.
Book V (Psalms 107–150). The five-book shape of the Psalter helps readers hear individual prayers within a deliberately arranged collection.
Lament, Thanksgiving, Pilgrimage. Read for these themes while remaining open to tension and secondary movements.
Psalm 120 contains 7 verses and about 86 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.
Verse 1 begins: “A Song of Ascents. In my distress, I cried to the LORD. He answered me.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.
Verse 7 closes: “I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.
Recurring or prominent content words include soul, deceitful, tongue, will, peace, song. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.
This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.
Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Psalms 120:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.
Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.
Our reading profile emphasizes lament, with related themes of Lament, Thanksgiving, Pilgrimage. Many Psalms blend genres or move between moods, so this label is a guide rather than a rigid classification.
Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.