Psalms 121:1
What does Psalms 121:1 mean?
A plain-English look at Psalms 121:1 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Psalms 121:1 means
The psalmist begins by looking toward the mountains, a common feature of the Judean landscape and often associated with help in the ancient world where fortresses were built on high places. However, this gaze is accompanied by a profound question: where will true help originate? This isn't a question of geographical location but of ultimate reliance. The mountains, though imposing, cannot provide the ultimate security needed. This verse establishes a fundamental human inquiry into the source of deliverance and sets the stage for the definitive answer that follows.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: From whence shall my help come?
KJV
King James Version · 1611I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: From whence shall my help come?
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949My eyes are lifted up to the hills: O where will my help come from?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862A Song of the Ascents. I lift up mine eyes unto the hills, Whence doth my help come?
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752A gradual canticle. I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890I lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: whence shall my help come?
Context
This verse opens Psalm 121 by presenting a common human dilemma: where to find help and security. It immediately draws the reader into the psalmist's perspective, posing a question about the source of aid. This question is pivotal, setting up the direct, confident declaration of God as the ultimate Helper in the subsequent verse, thereby introducing the central theme of divine protection.
v.1This passage
v.2My helpcomethfrom Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Psalms 2:6
Yet I have set my king Upon my holy hill of Zion.
- Psalms 87:1
His foundation is in the holy mountains.
- Isaiah 2:3
And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
- Psalms 120:1
In my distress I cried unto Jehovah, And he answered me.
- Psalms 123:1
Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes, O thou that sittest in the heavens.
- Psalms 78:68
But chose the tribe of Judah, The mount Zion which he loved.
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