Psalms 120
Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel
Psalms chapter 120 is given here in full, verse by verse, in Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), with the Greek text of the Septuagint set beneath each verse. The text follows the Septuagint tradition received throughout the Orthodox Church.
7 patristic excerpts are attached to this chapter, from Saint Augustine of Hippo.
Psalms 120
1(121) A Song of Degrees. I lifted up my eyes to the mountains, whence my help shall come.Ὠδὴ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν. Ἦρα τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου εἰς τὰ ὄρη, ὅθεν ἥξει ἡ βοήθειά μου.
2My help shall come from the Lord, who made the heaven and the earth.Ἡ βοήθειά μου παρὰ Κυρίου τοῦ ποιήσαντος τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.
3Let not your foot be moved; and let not your keeper slumber.Μὴ δῴης εἰς σάλον τὸν πόδα σου, μηδὲ νυστάξῃ ὁ φυλάσσων σε.
4Behold, he that keeps Israel shall not slumber nor sleep.Ἰδοὺ οὐ νυστάξει οὐδὲ ὑπνώσει ὁ φυλάσσων τὸν Ἰσραήλ.
5The Lord shall keep you: the Lord is your shelter upon your right hand.Κύριος φυλάξει σε, Κύριος σκέπη σου ἐπὶ χεῖρα δεξιάν σου.
6The sun shall not burn you by day, neither the moon by night.Ἡμέρας ὁ ἥλιος οὐ συγκαύσει σε, οὐδὲ ἡ σελήνη τὴν νύκτα.
7May the Lord preserve you from all evil: the Lord shall keep your soul.Κύριος φυλάξαι σε ἀπὸ παντὸς κακοῦ, φυλάξει τὴν ψυχήν σου ὁ Κύριος.
8The Lord shall keep your coming in, and your going out, from henceforth and even for ever.Κύριος φυλάξει τὴν εἴσοδόν σου, καὶ τὴν ἔξοδόν σου, ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καὶ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος.
The Fathers on Psalms 120
Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this chapter. Each excerpt below is drawn from the full text held in the Fathers Library; follow the link on any entry to read the whole work.
On Psalms 120:1Saint Augustine of Hippo1. …Let them “lift up their eyes to the hills whence cometh their help” (ver. 1). What meaneth, The hills have been lightened? The San of righteousness hath already risen, the Gospel hath been already preached by the Apostles, the Scriptures have been preached, all the mysteries have been laid open, the veil hath been rent, the secret place of the temple hath been revealed: let them now at length lift their eyes…
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On Psalms 120:3Saint Augustine of Hippo2. Sing therefore what followeth; if thou wish to hear how thou mayest most securely set thy feet on the steps, so that thou mayest not be fatigued in that ascent, nor stumble and fall: pray in these words: “Suffer not my foot to be moved!” (ver. 3). Whereby are feet moved; whereby was the foot of him who was in Paradise moved? But first consider whereby the feet of him who was among the Angels were moved: who…
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On Psalms 120:4Saint Augustine of Hippo3. Choose for thyself Him, who will neither sleep nor slumber, and thy foot shall not be moved. God is never asleep: if thou dost wish to have a keeper who never sleepeth, choose God for thy keeper. “Suffer not my feet to be moved,” thou sayest: well, very well: but He also saith unto thee, “Let not him that keepeth thee slumber.” Thou perhaps wast about to turn thyself unto men as thy keepers, and to say, whom…
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On Psalms 120:5Saint Augustine of Hippo4. And who, thou askest, shall help me, save He who slumbereth not, nor sleepeth? Hear what followeth: “The Lord Himself is thy keeper” (ver. 5). It is not therefore man, that slumbereth and sleepeth, but the Lord, that keepeth thee. How doth He keep thee? “The Lord is thy defence upon the hand of thy right hand.”…It seemeth to me to have a hidden sense: otherwise he would have simply said, without qualification,…
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On Psalms 120:5Saint Augustine of Hippo6. Let us now come to this verse of the Psalm: “The Lord is thy defence upon the hand of thy right hand” (ver. 5). By hand he meaneth power. How do we prove this? Because the power of God also is styled the hand of God…Whereof John saith, “He gave unto them power to become the sons of God.” Whence hast thou received this power? “To them,” he saith, “that believe in His Name.” If then thou believest, this very…
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On Psalms 120:5Saint Augustine of Hippo7. “May the Lord shield thee upon the hand of thy right hand” (ver. 6). I have said, and I believe ye have recognised it. For had ye not recognised it, and that from the Scriptures, ye would not signify your understanding of it by your voices. Since then ye have understood, brethren, consider what followeth; wherefore the Lord shieldeth thee “upon the hand of thy right hand,” that is, in thy faith, wherein we…
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On Psalms 120:7–8Open Psalms 120 in the interactive reader Switch translations, hear the chapter read aloud, tap any verse for its patristic commentary, and study the Greek word by word.Saint Augustine of Hippo8. “For the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil” (ver. 7). From offences in the sun, from offences in the moon, from all evil shall He preserve thee, who is thy defence upon the hand of thy right hand, who will not sleep nor slumber. And for what reason? Because we are amid temptations: “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. The Lord preserve thy soul:” even thy very soul. “The Lord preserve thy going…
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