Psalms 122: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

A traveler speaks of his joy at being invited to go up to the LORD's house, and of standing inside the gates of Jerusalem. He describes the city as tightly built, the place where the tribes of the LORD go up to give thanks, and the seat of the thrones of David's royal line. He then calls for prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, and says that for the sake of his brothers and friends, and because of the house of the LORD, he will seek the city's good.

Claim by Claim

1. 122:1
   • This psalm is a song of ascents.
   • This psalm is ascribed to David.
   • The speaker was glad when people spoke to him.
   • What they said to him was: Let us go to the house of the LORD.
2. 122:2
   • The speaker's group's feet are standing within Jerusalem's gates.
   • The words are addressed directly to Jerusalem.
3. 122:3
   • Jerusalem is built.
   • Jerusalem is built like a city that is joined tightly together as one.
4. 122:4
   • The tribes go up to Jerusalem.
   • The tribes that go up are the tribes of the LORD.
   • Their going up is a testimony for Israel.
   • They go up to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5. 122:5
   • Thrones for judgment are set in Jerusalem.
   • Those thrones belong to the house of David.
6. 122:6
   • The hearers are commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
   • Those who love Jerusalem will prosper.
7. 122:7
   • A wish is spoken that there be peace within Jerusalem's ramparts.
   • A wish is spoken that there be security within Jerusalem's fortified palaces.
8. 122:8
   • The speaker acts for the sake of his brothers and his companions.
   • The speaker declares he will say: Peace be within you.
9. 122:9
   • The speaker acts for the sake of the house of the LORD.
   • The LORD is called our God.
   • The speaker declares he will seek Jerusalem's good.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

122:1

"The house of the LORD" is the temple in Jerusalem, the single sanctuary where Israelites brought offerings and kept the yearly festivals. This psalm is one of a set (Psalms 120–134) headed "a song of ascents," songs associated with the journey up to Jerusalem for those festivals.

122:2

City gates were the openings in the defensive wall and the only way in; to be standing inside them means the journey is over and the travelers have arrived. The Hebrew verb here has no clear tense, which is why the King James reads "shall stand" (still on the road, anticipating arrival) while most modern translations read "are standing" (already there).

122:3

"Compact together" is older English for closely joined or fitted into one piece. It describes a walled city built up tightly, with its buildings and its rebuilt sections bonded into a single whole, rather than a scattered settlement.

122:4

"The tribes" are the twelve family groups descended from Jacob's sons, into which Israel was divided. "Go up" is the standard expression for traveling to Jerusalem, which sits on high ground; pilgrims went up to it from any direction. The law required the men of Israel to appear at the sanctuary three times a year, at Passover, Weeks and Booths.

122:5

"Testimony" in verse 4 translates a Hebrew word meaning a binding decree or standing ordinance, hence the rendering "a rule given to Israel." In this verse, the thrones of judgment are the seats of the king's court: in Israel the king was also the highest judge, so the royal throne and the judge's bench were the same thing. "The house of David" means David's dynasty, his descendants as a ruling line, not a building.

122:6

The Hebrew of this verse is built on sound: the words for "pray" (sha'alu), "peace" (shalom) and the name Jerusalem all chime together, an effect no English translation can carry over. "Peace" here (shalom) is broader than the absence of war; it covers safety, health and general wellbeing.

122:7

"Palaces" is the King James rendering of a Hebrew word meaning fortified towers or citadels, the strongpoints built into a city's defenses, not luxurious royal homes. "Prosperity" translates a word for security and freedom from want.

122:8

"Brethren and companions" means fellow Israelites and fellow travelers, the wider kin and neighbors who make the pilgrimage together, rather than blood brothers specifically.

122:9

"Seek thy good" is a set phrase meaning to actively work for someone's welfare, not merely to wish them well.