I Will Lift Up My Eyes
Psalm 121 summary: what it means
Psalm 121 begins with a question. The speaker lifts his eyes to the hills and asks where his help comes from. The answer comes at once: from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. From verse 3 the psalm speaks to someone else, you, and describes the LORD as a keeper who does not sleep. He will not let your foot be moved, and he watches over Israel without rest.
The word keep runs through the whole second half. The LORD is your keeper and your shade, so the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. He will keep you from all evil and keep your soul. The psalm ends with its widest promise: your going out and your coming in, from now on and forever.
Psalm 121: I Will Lift Up My Eyes
World English Bible, public domain. allpsalms.com/psalm-121
Psalm 121 commentary: explained verse by verse
I will lift up my eyes to the hills.Where does my help come from?
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
The speaker looks up to the hills and asks a question: where does my help come from? The psalm does not say what the hills mean to him. It uses the question to set up the answer in the next verse.
Also read Psalm 78:68, Psalm 2:6, Psalm 87:1, Jeremiah 3:23
My help comes from the LORD,who made heaven and earth.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
The answer: my help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Help comes from the maker of the hills, not from the hills themselves.
Also read Psalm 146:5-6, Isaiah 40:28-29, Hosea 13:9, Hebrews 13:6
He will not allow your foot to be moved.He who keeps you will not slumber.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
The voice changes from I to you. He will not allow your foot to be moved, and the one who keeps you will not slumber. Protection is described as constant attention.
Also read Psalm 91:12, Proverbs 2:8, Psalm 66:9, 1 Samuel 2:9
Behold, he who keeps Israelwill neither slumber nor sleep.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The promise widens from one person to Israel. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep, which repeats verse 3 with more force.
Also read Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 27:3, Revelation 7:15, Psalm 32:7-8
The LORD is your keeper.The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The LORD is your keeper and your shade on your right hand. The shade is close, at your side.
Also read Psalm 16:8, Matthew 23:37, Exodus 13:21, Psalm 91:1
The sun will not harm you by day,nor the moon by night.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. One pairing covers every hour.
Also read Psalm 91:5-10, Revelation 7:16, Jonah 4:8, Isaiah 49:10
The LORD will keep you from all evil.He will keep your soul.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD will keep you from all evil and keep your soul. The promise reaches beyond the body to the whole person.
Also read Psalm 97:10, Romans 8:28, Matthew 6:13, Proverbs 12:21
The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in,from this time forward, and forever more.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
The psalm ends with your going out and your coming in, leaving and returning, the whole of ordinary life. The promise runs from this time forward and forever more.
Also read 2 Samuel 5:2, Deuteronomy 28:6, Psalm 115:18, Ezra 8:21
A prayer from Psalm 121
LORD, I lift up my eyes to the hills and ask where my help comes from. My help comes from you, who made heaven and earth. You will not allow my foot to be moved. You who keep me do not slumber or sleep. Be my keeper and my shade at my right hand. Keep me from harm by day and by night. Keep me from all evil, and keep my soul. Watch over my going out and my coming in, from this time forward and forever more. Amen.
Psalm 121 Bible study questions
- In verses 1 and 2, what question does the writer ask, and how does he answer it?
- In verses 3 to 8, how many times does the idea of keeping appear, and what does the LORD keep?
- Verse 4 says the one who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep: what difference might that make when you cannot rest?
- Verse 8 speaks of your going out and your coming in: what goings and comings in your life would you name here?
- Psalm 124:8 also says our help is in the LORD's name, who made heaven and earth: how do the two Songs of Ascents speak of help?
Questions about Psalm 121
Who wrote Psalm 121?
The psalm does not name its author. Its heading calls it a Song of Ascents, one of fifteen psalms with that heading, Psalms 120 to 134.
What does Psalm 121 mean?
It asks where help comes from and answers that it comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth, who keeps his people constantly, day and night, without sleeping.
What do Psalm 121:3 and 4 mean?
They say the LORD will not let your foot be moved, and that the one who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
What does Psalm 121:8 mean?
It says the LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from now on and forever. In the KJV it reads "The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore."
How does the King James Version word Psalm 121:1-2?
The KJV reads "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth."
Psalm 121 KJV: the King James Version
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.1
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.2
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.3
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.4
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.5
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.6
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.7
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.8
Psalm 121 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 לַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃
2 עֶ֭זְרִי מֵעִ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃
3 אַל־יִתֵּ֣ן לַמּ֣וֹט רַגְלֶ֑ךָ אַל־יָ֝נ֗וּם שֹֽׁמְרֶֽךָ׃
4 הִנֵּ֣ה לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
5 יְהוָ֥ה שֹׁמְרֶ֑ךָ יְהוָ֥ה צִ֝לְּךָ֗ עַל־יַ֥ד יְמִינֶֽךָ׃
6 יוֹמָ֗ם הַשֶּׁ֥מֶשׁ לֹֽא־יַכֶּ֗כָּה וְיָרֵ֥חַ בַּלָּֽיְלָה׃
7 יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָרְךָ֥ מִכָּל־רָ֑ע יִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃
8 יְֽהוָ֗ה יִשְׁמָר־צֵאתְךָ֥ וּבוֹאֶ֑ךָ מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם׃
Psalm 121 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 120 there.
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1 I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me.
2 My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
3 May he not suffer thy foot to be moved: neither let him slumber that keepeth thee.
4 Behold he shall neither slumber nor sleep, that keepeth Israel.
5 The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy protection upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not burn thee by day: nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord keepeth thee from all evil: may the Lord keep thy soul.
8 May the Lord keep thy going in and thy going out; from henceforth now and for ever.
Psalm 121 in Latin
The Clementine Vulgate, public domain, where this psalm is Psalm 120.
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1 Canticum graduum. Levavi oculos meos in montes, unde veniet auxilium mihi.
2 Auxilium meum a Domino, qui fecit cælum et terram.
3 Non det in commotionem pedem tuum, neque dormitet qui custodit te.
4 Ecce non dormitabit neque dormiet qui custodit Israël.
5 Dominus custodit te; Dominus protectio tua super manum dexteram tuam.
6 Per diem sol non uret te, neque luna per noctem.
7 Dominus custodit te ab omni malo; custodiat animam tuam Dominus.
8 Dominus custodiat introitum tuum et exitum tuum, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.
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Psalm 121 at a glance
| Verses | 8 |
| Heading in the text | A Song of Ascents. |
| Attributed to | Not named in the text. The heading calls it a Song of Ascents, one of fifteen psalms with that heading, Psalms 120 to 134. |
| Type | Song of Ascents and Trust |
| Number in Greek and Latin Bibles | Psalm 120 |
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Psalm 121 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 121 in those translations at Bible Gateway.
Where Psalm 121 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