Psalm 121

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The 121st Psalm (= the 120th Psalm according to the counting of the Septuagint and the Vulgate ) is one of the better-known psalms of the Old Testament of the Bible . With only eight verses, it is one of the shorter psalms.

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Psalm 121 belongs to the section of the book of Psalms called The Great Hallel (Psalm 120-136). The original heading (verse 1) reads A Pilgrimage Song .

It is believed that the text was sung by the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem . At the beginning of the pilgrimage or the ascent into the Judean mountains, the pilgrim assures himself of the help of YHWH . The psalm affirms that God offers protection day and night and that those who trust him will be safe on the way. Already in the third verse, the first-person speech turns into the (self -?) Addressing of the prayer and in verse 7 into the form of blessing . This suggests an alternating prayer with different singers or groups of singers.

No single author of the psalm is known. As with other psalms, it may be a "grown" text.

German translations

verse Translation by Martin Luther
1 “A pilgrimage song.” I lift my eyes to the mountains, where does help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
3 He won't let your foot slip, and he who guards you does not sleep.
4th See, the guardian of Israel sleeps and does not slumber.
5 The Lord will keep you; the Lord is your shadow over your right hand,
6th that the sun will not sting you in the daytime, nor the moon in the night.
7th The Lord will keep you from all evil, he will keep your soul.
8th The LORD keep your coming and going from now on and forever.

Further translation variants - also into other languages ​​- as well as the Hebrew text can be found under Ps 121.1–8 EU (here preset to the standard translation  ).

Impact history

Psalm 121 is used as a blessing for travelers and as a pilgrimage blessing . It is one of the texts that are often used in the context of terminal care , especially at the blessing of the deceased, as well as at church funerals .

In addition to the introductory prayers to morning and evening prayers, which are common in Orthodox prayer, the daily rule of prayer of the believer should also contain Psalm 121.

A number of psalm songs are post-poetry:

Psalm 121 has often been set to music. In its Latin version Levavi oculos , there are motets by Orlando di Lasso , Herbert Howells and Vytautas Miškinis . One of the best-known German settings is Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Lift Up Your Eyes , originally a trio from the oratorio Elias (op. 70, 1846). Heinrich Schütz created a version (SWV 31) for a four-part favorite, two four-part Capell choirs and basso continuo . In 1848 Carl Loewe composed Up to those Mountains for mixed choir a cappella to a paraphrase of the psalm by Wilhelm Telschow (1809–1872). A setting of the text for soloists, choir and orchestra from 1848 (unpublished) was made by Joachim Raff . The line “The Lord is your shadow over your right hand” was added to the song Our Father by E Nomine . In the Intermezzo lirico , the composer Jörg Duda processed Psalm 121 for bassoon and organ.

Psalm 121 is sung in Israel on the memorial day for fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terrorism - Yom HaZikaron .

literature

Web links

Commons : Psalm 121  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Mac Arthur: Study Bible. CLV-Verlag, Bielefeld 2004, ISBN 3-89397-017-7 .
  2. ↑ Luther originally translated from the Vulgate ... to the mountains from which help comes to me. This translation was only revised in the 20th century to "Where does my help come from".
  3. ↑ Orthodox Church in Germany (ed.): Orthodox Prayer Book - Orthodox Pocket Prayer Book. Orthodoxe Rundschau, Stuttgart / Wilhermsdorf 1972, p. 15ff.