In My Distress I Cried
Psalm 120 summary: what it means
Psalm 120 opens with an answered prayer: in distress the writer cried to the LORD, and the LORD answered. The trouble is words. He asks to be delivered from lying lips and a deceitful tongue. Then he turns to address the deceitful tongue itself. He asks what will be done to it, and answers with sharp arrows and coals of juniper.
Verses 5 and 6 describe where the writer lives. Woe is me, he says, that I live in Meshech and dwell among the tents of Kedar. He has lived too long with those who hate peace. The psalm ends without resolution: I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 120: In My Distress I Cried
World English Bible, public domain. allpsalms.com/psalm-120
Psalm 120 commentary: explained verse by verse
In my distress, I cried to the LORD.He answered me.
In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.
The psalm starts with a past answer. In distress the writer cried to the LORD, and the LORD answered him. The rest of the psalm explains the distress.
Also read Psalm 50:15, Psalm 126:1, Isaiah 38:2-5, Jonah 2:2
Deliver my soul, LORD, from lying lips,from a deceitful tongue.
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.
The request is to be delivered from lying lips and a deceitful tongue. The writer's danger comes from words rather than weapons. Lies are treated as a real threat to his soul.
Also read Psalm 52:2-4, Proverbs 12:22, Psalm 35:11, Psalm 140:1-3
What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you,you deceitful tongue?
What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
The writer now speaks to the deceitful tongue directly. He asks what will be given to it and what more will be done to it. The question expects punishment.
Also read Job 27:8, Matthew 16:26, Romans 6:21
Sharp arrows of the mighty,with coals of juniper.
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
The answer comes in one image: sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. The lying tongue is paid back in kind, with something that pierces and burns.
Also read Psalm 140:9-11, Psalm 57:4, Deuteronomy 32:23-24, Psalm 45:5
Woe is me, that I live in Meshech,that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
The writer cries woe that he lives in Meshech and among the tents of Kedar. The next verse explains the complaint. He is living among people who do not share his wish for peace.
Also read Micah 7:1-2, 1 Samuel 25:1, Genesis 25:13, Jeremiah 15:10
My soul has had her dwelling too longwith him who hates peace.
My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.
He has lived too long with him who hates peace. The complaint is about time as much as place. His endurance has worn thin.
Also read Psalm 57:4, Ezekiel 2:6, Titus 3:3, Matthew 10:16
I am for peace,but when I speak, they are for war.
I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.
The psalm ends without a resolution. I am for peace, the writer says, but when I speak, they are for war. The first Song of Ascents closes with the conflict still open.
Also read Psalm 34:14, Romans 12:18, Matthew 5:9, 2 Samuel 20:19
A prayer from Psalm 120
LORD, in my distress I cry to you, and I trust that you hear me. Deliver my soul from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue. Words have been used against me like sharp arrows, and they burn like coals. I feel far from home, as if I live among people who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, others are for war. I leave the deceitful tongue in your hands, and I do not ask to repay it myself. Keep me honest, and keep me on the side of peace. Amen.
Psalm 120 Bible study questions
- In verse 2, what does the writer ask to be delivered from?
- In verse 5, which two places does the writer name, and how does he say he feels about living there?
- Verse 7 says I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war: have you known a situation that felt like this?
- The psalm begins with an answered cry but ends without the conflict resolved: what do you make of that shape?
- Psalm 12:2 also speaks of flattering lips and a double heart: how does its complaint compare with Psalm 120?
Questions about Psalm 120
What does Psalm 120 mean?
It is a prayer from someone surrounded by lies and hostility. The writer asks to be saved from deceitful tongues and complains that he has lived too long among people who want war when he wants peace.
Who wrote Psalm 120?
The psalm does not name its author. Its heading is simply "A Song of Ascents".
What are the Songs of Ascents?
They are the fifteen psalms from 120 to 134, each headed "A Song of Ascents". The King James Version calls them Songs of degrees. Psalm 120 is the first.
What is Psalm 120:1 in the KJV?
The King James Version reads: "In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me."
What does Psalm 120:2 mean?
It asks the LORD to deliver the writer from lying lips and a deceitful tongue. The trouble in this psalm comes from what people say.
Psalm 120 KJV: the King James Version
In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.1
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.2
What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?3
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.4
Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!5
My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.6
I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.7
Psalm 120 in Hebrew
The Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible, which counts a psalm's heading as verse 1, so they can run one ahead of English Bibles.
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1 שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת אֶל־יְ֭הוָה בַּצָּרָ֣תָה לִּ֑י קָ֝רָ֗אתִי וַֽיַּעֲנֵֽנִי׃
2 יְֽהוָ֗ה הַצִּ֣ילָה נַ֭פְשִׁי מִשְּׂפַת־שֶׁ֑קֶר מִלָּשׁ֥וֹן רְמִיָּֽה׃
3 מַה־יִּתֵּ֣ן לְ֭ךָ וּמַה־יֹּסִ֥יף לָ֗ךְ לָשׁ֥וֹן רְמִיָּֽה׃
4 חִצֵּ֣י גִבּ֣וֹר שְׁנוּנִ֑ים עִ֝֗ם גַּחֲלֵ֥י רְתָמִֽים׃
5 אֽוֹיָה־לִ֭י כִּי־גַ֣רְתִּי מֶ֑שֶׁךְ שָׁ֝כַ֗נְתִּי עִֽם־אָהֳלֵ֥י קֵדָֽר׃
6 רַ֭בַּת שָֽׁכְנָה־לָּ֣הּ נַפְשִׁ֑י עִ֝֗ם שׂוֹנֵ֥א שָׁלֽוֹם׃
7 אֲֽנִי־שָׁ֭לוֹם וְכִ֣י אֲדַבֵּ֑ר הֵ֝֗מָּה לַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃
Psalm 120 in the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
The Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain. It follows the Greek and Latin numbering, so this psalm is Psalm 119 there.
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1 In my trouble I cried to the Lord: and he heard me.
2 O Lord, deliver my soul from wicked lips, and a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added to thee, to a deceitful tongue.
4 The sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals that lay waste.
5 Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of cedar:
6 My soul hath been long a sojourner.
7 With them that hate peace I was peaceable: when I spoke to them they fought against me without cause.
Psalm 120 in Latin
The Clementine Vulgate, public domain, where this psalm is Psalm 119.
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1 Canticum graduum. Ad Dominum cum tribularer clamavi, et exaudivit me.
2 Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis et a lingua dolosa.
3 Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi ad linguam dolosam?
4 Sagittæ potentis acutæ, cum carbonibus desolatoriis.
5 Heu mihi, quia incolatus meus prolongatus est ! habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar;
6 multum incola fuit anima mea.
7 Cum his qui oderunt pacem eram pacificus; cum loquebar illis, impugnabant me gratis.
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Psalm 120 at a glance
| Verses | 7 |
| Heading in the text | A Song of Ascents. |
| Attributed to | Not named in the text. It is the first of the fifteen Songs of Ascents, Psalms 120 to 134. |
| Type | Song of Ascents and Lament |
| Number in Greek and Latin Bibles | Psalm 119 |
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Psalm 120 in other translations
This page prints the World English Bible and the King James Version because both are public domain. The NIV, ESV, NKJV, NLT and NASB are under copyright, so they cannot be printed in full here. You can read Psalm 120 in those translations at Bible Gateway.
Where Psalm 120 belongs
Songs of AscentsBook 5 of the Psalms
How this page was made
The psalm text comes from public domain translations and is not edited. The summary, the verse notes and the answers are written for this page from the text of the psalm itself. Where a claim goes beyond the text, it is sourced below.
Sources
- Text: World English Bible and King James Version, both public domain, from ebible.org source
- Hebrew text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Douay-Rheims: Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Latin text: Clementine Vulgate, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Numbering: Greek and Latin psalm numbering, Wikipedia, Psalms source