I Was Glad
Psalm 122 summary: what it means
Psalm 122 begins with joy at an invitation: let's go to the LORD's house. In the next verse the speaker is already there, standing within the gates of Jerusalem. He describes the city as built compact together. It is the place where the tribes go up to give thanks to the LORD's name, and where the thrones for judgment of David's house are set.
The second half is a prayer for the city. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the psalm says, and it wishes peace within her walls and prosperity within her palaces. The speaker gives two reasons: his brothers and companions, and the house of the LORD. The song ends with a promise to seek the city's good.
Psalm 122: I Was Glad
World English Bible, public domain. allpsalms.com/psalm-122
Psalm 122 commentary: explained verse by verse
I was glad when they said to me,“Let’s go to the LORD’s house!”
I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
The psalm opens with gladness at an invitation. Someone says, let's go to the LORD's house, and the speaker is glad. The joy starts before the journey does.
Also read Isaiah 2:3, Zechariah 8:21-23, Micah 4:2, Psalm 63:1-3
Our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem!
Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
Now the speaker has arrived. Our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem. The psalm speaks to the city directly.
Also read Exodus 20:24, 2 Chronicles 6:6, Psalm 87:1-3, Psalm 100:4
Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together,
Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:
Jerusalem is described as a city built compact together. The picture is of a city that holds together, which leads into the prayers for its peace later in the psalm.
Also read Ephesians 4:4-7, Revelation 21:10-27, Ephesians 2:20-21, 2 Samuel 5:9
where the tribes go up, even the LORD’s tribes,according to an ordinance for Israel,to give thanks to the LORD’s name.
Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.
This is why the city matters. It is where the tribes go up, the LORD's tribes, according to an ordinance for Israel, to give thanks to the LORD's name. The whole people gathers here.
Also read Deuteronomy 12:5, Exodus 34:23-24, Exodus 32:15, Exodus 16:34
For there are set thrones for judgment,the thrones of David’s house.
For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
Jerusalem is also the seat of justice. The thrones for judgment are set there, the thrones of David's house. Worship and justice share the same city.
Also read 2 Chronicles 19:8, 2 Samuel 8:18, Deuteronomy 17:18, Deuteronomy 17:8
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.Those who love you will prosper.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
The psalm now calls for prayer: pray for the peace of Jerusalem. It adds that those who love the city will prosper. The rest of the psalm is that prayer.
Also read Psalm 51:18, Jeremiah 29:7, Numbers 24:9, Jeremiah 51:50
Peace be within your walls,and prosperity within your palaces.
Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
The prayer itself follows. Peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces. The walls and palaces stand for the whole life of the city.
Also read John 14:27, Psalm 48:13, James 3:18, 1 Chronicles 12:18
For my brothers’ and companions’ sakes,I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
The first reason for the prayer is personal. For the sake of his brothers and companions, the speaker says, peace be within you. His concern for the city is concern for the people in it.
Also read 1 Samuel 25:6, Psalm 119:63, Ephesians 4:4-6, Psalm 16:3
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,I will seek your good.
Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
The second reason is the LORD's house. For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, the speaker will seek the city's good. The psalm ends where it began, with the LORD's house.
Also read John 2:17, Psalm 102:13-14, Psalm 84:10, 1 Chronicles 29:3
A prayer from Psalm 122
LORD, I was glad when they said to me, let us go to your house. Thank you for a place where your people go up together to give thanks to your name. I pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Let there be peace within her walls and prosperity within her palaces. For the sake of my brothers and my companions, I say: peace be within you. For the sake of your house, LORD our God, I will seek her good. Let those who love her prosper. Amen.
Psalm 122 Bible study questions
- In verse 1, what makes the writer glad, and who is it that invites him to go?
- In verses 6 to 9, what does the writer pray for Jerusalem, and what two reasons does he give in verses 8 and 9?
- What does it look like for you to go gladly to worship with other people, and what makes that easier or harder?
- The psalm prays for the peace of a whole city. What place or community would you pray for in the same way?
- Psalm 84:2 says the writer's soul longs for the courts of the LORD. How does that longing compare with the gladness of Psalm 122:1?
Questions about Psalm 122
What is the meaning of Psalm 122?
It is a song of joy about going up to the LORD's house in Jerusalem, followed by a prayer for the peace and prosperity of the city, for the sake of the speaker's people and of the LORD's house.
Who wrote Psalm 122?
The heading attributes it to David and calls it a Song of Ascents.
What does Psalm 122:1 say in the KJV?
The King James Version reads "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."
What does Psalm 122:6 mean?
It calls for prayer for the peace of Jerusalem and says those who love the city will prosper. The King James Version reads "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee."
What do Psalm 122:6 to 9 say?
They are a prayer for Jerusalem: peace within its walls, prosperity within its palaces, and peace for the sake of the speaker's brothers and companions. For the sake of the house of the LORD, the speaker promises to seek the city's good.
What is a Song of Ascents?
It is the title given in the headings of fifteen psalms, Psalms 120 to 134. Psalm 122 is one of them.
Psalm 122 KJV: the King James Version
I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.1
Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.2
Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:3
Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.4
For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.5
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.6
Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.7
For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.8
Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.9
Psalm 122 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 שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד שָׂ֭מַחְתִּי בְּאֹמְרִ֣ים לִ֑י בֵּ֖ית יְהוָ֣ה נֵלֵֽךְ׃
2 עֹ֭מְדוֹת הָי֣וּ רַגְלֵ֑ינוּ בִּ֝שְׁעָרַ֗יִךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃
3 יְרוּשָׁלִַ֥ם הַבְּנוּיָ֑ה כְּ֝עִ֗יר שֶׁחֻבְּרָה־לָּ֥הּ יַחְדָּֽו׃
4 שֶׁשָּׁ֨ם עָל֪וּ שְׁבָטִ֡ים שִׁבְטֵי־יָ֭הּ עֵד֣וּת לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לְ֝הֹד֗וֹת לְשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָֽה׃
5 כִּ֤י שָׁ֨מָּה ׀ יָשְׁב֣וּ כִסְא֣וֹת לְמִשְׁפָּ֑ט כִּ֝סְא֗וֹת לְבֵ֣ית דָּוִֽיד׃
6 שַׁ֭אֲלוּ שְׁל֣וֹם יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם יִ֝שְׁלָ֗יוּ אֹהֲבָֽיִךְ׃
7 יְהִֽי־שָׁל֥וֹם בְּחֵילֵ֑ךְ שַׁ֝לְוָ֗ה בְּאַרְמְנוֹתָֽיִךְ׃
8 לְ֭מַעַן אַחַ֣י וְרֵעָ֑י אֲדַבְּרָה־נָּ֖א שָׁל֣וֹם בָּֽךְ׃
9 לְ֭מַעַן בֵּית־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ אֲבַקְשָׁ֖ה ט֣וֹב לָֽךְ׃
Psalm 122 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 121 there.
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1 I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord.
2 Our feet were standing in thy courts, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together.
4 For thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord: the testimony of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.
5 Because their seats have sat in judgment, seats upon the house of David.
6 Pray ye for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem: and abundance for them that love thee.
7 Let peace be in thy strength: and abundance in thy towers.
8 For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbours, I spoke peace of thee.
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good things for thee.
Psalm 122 in Latin
The Clementine Vulgate, public domain, where this psalm is Psalm 121.
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1 Canticum graduum. Lætatus sum in his quæ dicta sunt mihi: In domum Domini ibimus.
2 Stantes erant pedes nostri in atriis tuis, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem, quæ ædificatur ut civitas, cujus participatio ejus in idipsum.
4 Illuc enim ascenderunt tribus, tribus Domini: testimonium Israël, ad confitendum nomini Domini.
5 Quia illic sederunt sedes in judicio, sedes super domum David.
6 Rogate quæ ad pacem sunt Jerusalem, et abundantia diligentibus te.
7 Fiat pax in virtute tua, et abundantia in turribus tuis.
8 Propter fratres meos et proximos meos, loquebar pacem de te.
9 Propter domum Domini Dei nostri, quæsivi bona tibi.
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Psalm 122 at a glance
| Verses | 9 |
| Heading in the text | A Song of Ascents. By David. |
| Attributed to | The heading calls it a Song of Ascents and attributes it to David. |
| Type | Song of Ascents |
| Number in Greek and Latin Bibles | Psalm 121 |
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Psalm 122 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 122 in those translations at Bible Gateway.
Where Psalm 122 belongs
Songs of AscentsPsalms of DavidBook 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