Psalms — Chapter 122

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1A song of ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

2Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.

3Jerusalem is built up as a city united together,

4where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as a testimony for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.

5For there the thrones of judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David.

6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper.

7May there be peace within your walls, and prosperity inside your fortresses.”

8For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”

9For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.

1I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

2Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.

3Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:

4Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.

5For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

7Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.

8For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.

9Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.

1I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the house of Jehovah.

2Our feet are standing Within thy gates, O Jerusalem,

3Jerusalem, that art builded As a city that is compact together;

4Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of Jehovah, [For] an ordinance for Israel, To give thanks unto the name of Jehovah.

5For there are set thrones for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.

6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee.

7Peace be within thy walls, And prosperity within thy palaces.

8For my brethren and companions` sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.

9For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God I will seek thy good. Psalm 123 A Song of Ascents.

1A song of ascents; by David. I was glad because they said to me, “We will go to the Lord’s temple.”

2Our feet are standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.

3Jerusalem is a city designed to accommodate an assembly.

4The tribes go up there, the tribes of the Lord, where it is required that Israel give thanks to the name of the Lord.

5Indeed, the leaders sit there on thrones and make legal decisions, on the thrones of the house of David.

6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love her prosper.

7May there be peace inside your defenses and prosperity inside your fortresses.

8For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors I will say, “May there be peace in you.”

9For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God I will pray for you to prosper.

1I was glad when they said to me, “Let’s go to Yahweh’s house!”

2Our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem;

3Jerusalem, that is built as a city that is compact together;

4where the tribes go up, even Yah’s tribes, according to an ordinance for Israel, to give thanks to Yahweh’s name.

5For there are set thrones for judgment, the thrones of David’s house.

6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Those who love you will prosper.

7Peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.

8For my brothers’ and companions’ sakes, I will now say, “Peace be within you.”

9For the sake of the house of Yahweh our God, I will seek your good.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

A Song of Ascents in which the psalmist rejoices at the invitation to go up to the house of the LORD, and describes standing at last within Jerusalem's gates (vv. 1-2). He praises the city as tightly built together, the place where the tribes go up to give thanks and where the thrones of David's house sit in judgment (vv. 3-5). He calls on the hearers to pray for Jerusalem's peace, promising prosperity to those who love her, and pledges to seek her good for the sake of his family and friends and for the house of the LORD (vv. 6-9).

Authorship & Background

Author: Multiple authors — primarily David (73 psalms attributed), plus Asaph (12), Sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Heman (1), Ethan (1), and anonymous. The Psalter was compiled over approximately 1000 years and served as Israel's hymnal and prayer book. The book is divided into five 'books' (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), paralleling the five books of Moses.
Classification: Song of Ascents / Song of Zion
Attributed Author: David (superscription: "A Song of degrees of David")
Key Themes: Joy in going to God's house, love for Jerusalem, prayer for peace, unity of God's people, worship as communal destination
Historical Context: Psalm 122 is the third Song of Ascents and the pilgrim's song of arrival. After the distress of 120 and the journey of 121, the pilgrim reaches Jerusalem and expresses joy. The psalm celebrates Jerusalem as the place where tribes gather, where God's throne of justice stands, and where peace should be prayed for. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (v.6) remains one of the most quoted phrases in all of Scripture. Jerusalem means "city of peace" (shalom), making the prayer for peace a play on the city's own name.
I Was Glad When They Said unto Me (v.1): I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. The invitation comes from other people, which is the point: pilgrimage was a group undertaking and the gladness is at being included. Parry's setting made this the anthem at English coronations, which has given the verse a grandeur the original does not need.
Our Feet Shall Stand Within Thy Gates (v.2): Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. One verse, and it is the arrival. The tense is ambiguous in Hebrew and can be read as standing now or about to stand, which suits a psalm sung both on the road and at the gate.
A City That Is Compact Together (vv.3-5): Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together. The compactness is admired as a figure for the nation, since the next verse is about the tribes arriving from everywhere and fitting inside one place, whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD. Two things are named as what the city is for, worship and law, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD, and for there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. The psalm sees no tension between the temple and the courts.
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem (vv.6-9): Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. The Hebrew of these verses plays on the sound of the city's name and the word shalom over and over, which no English version can carry. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. The motive given is not patriotism but other people, for my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee, and then the building itself, because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good. The psalm asks for the city's welfare on behalf of everyone who has to come there.

Map & Geography

  • Jerusalem (v.2, v.3, v.6): Capital of Judah; the holy city where the Temple stood.

Places on this map

  • JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia

Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Psalms 120-124 | The Journey Out of Exile | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Psalm 122 - Coming to the House of the LORD and the City of God
David Guzik

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of Psalms -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • Gladness in Going to Worship (v.1) — The psalmist's first reaction to the invitation to gather at the Lord's house is joy, not obligation. Does the thought of gathering with God's people stir genuine gladness in you, or has it become routine?
  • A City Bound Together (vv.3-4) — Jerusalem is described as a city knit tightly together, where the tribes go up as one to give thanks. What would it look like for you to pursue that same unity with the believers around you instead of drifting into isolation?
  • Thrones of Justice (v.5) — The city holds the seats where judgment is rendered and God's chosen king rules. Do you trust that God's justice is ultimately secure, even when the justice you see around you seems delayed?
  • Praying for the Peace of the City (vv.6-7) — The psalmist calls for prayer over Jerusalem's peace and security within its walls. What place — your city, your church, your neighborhood — are you actively praying for rather than just living in?
  • Seeking Good for Others' Sake (vv.8-9) — He commits to seeking peace for the sake of his brothers and for the sake of God's house, not merely his own comfort. Whose good are you willing to pursue even when it costs you something?