Psalms / Chapter 122

Psalms 122

9 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

A psalm of David for pilgrimage. The speaker recalls the joy of being invited to go to the house of the LORD, then describes standing within Jerusalem's gates. The city is praised as a compact, unified place where the tribes gather for worship and where thrones of justice stand. The psalm closes with a prayer for Jerusalem's peace and prosperity — for the sake of family, friends, and the house of the LORD.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This is the only Song of Ascents attributed to David, and it reads as though the pilgrim has arrived — feet are standing inside Jerusalem (v. 2). The psalm is structured around the name Yerushalayim, which appears three times (vv. 2, 3, 6) and whose sound echoes in the repeated shalom ('peace') of the closing verses. The wordplay shalu shalom Yerushalayim ('pray for the peace of Jerusalem') links the city's name to its destiny: Jerusalem is the city whose very name contains shalom, yet whose history is marked by conflict. The prayer for peace is both a wish and a reminder of what the name promises.

Translation Friction

The Davidic attribution (le-David) is debated. The psalm assumes a standing temple and established pilgrimage practice, which some scholars date later than David. However, the attribution may indicate Davidic authorship of a core text later adapted for pilgrimage use, or it may designate the psalm as belonging to a Davidic collection. The phrase sheshom alah shivtei Yah ('where the tribes of Yah go up') uses the shortened form of the divine name (Yah rather than YHWH), which is characteristic of liturgical and poetic speech.

Connections

The prayer for Jerusalem's peace connects forward to Isaiah 62:6-7, where watchmen on Jerusalem's walls are commanded never to be silent until God establishes the city. The description of Jerusalem as a city 'joined together' (she-chubberah lah yachdav) anticipates the eschatological vision of a restored, unified Jerusalem in Ezekiel 48. The thrones of the house of David (v. 5) connect to the Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7.

Psalms 122:1

שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד שָׂ֭מַחְתִּי בְּאֹמְרִ֣ים לִ֑י בֵּ֥ית יְ֝הוָ֗ה נֵלֵֽךְ׃

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

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Davidic superscription (le-David) appears on only four of the fifteen Songs of Ascents (122, 124, 131, 133). Whether this indicates authorship or dedication to a Davidic collection remains debated. The psalm presupposes an established pilgrimage system and a standing temple.
  2. samachti is in the perfect tense, suggesting the joy is recalled — the pilgrim remembers the moment of invitation, perhaps now standing in Jerusalem looking back at that first summons.
Psalms 122:2

עֹ֭מְדוֹת הָי֣וּ רַגְלֵ֑ינוּ בִּ֝שְׁעָרַ֗יִךְ יְרוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

Our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The participle omedot ('standing') conveys present experience — the pilgrim is there, feet on the ground, inside the city. The shift from past tense (samachti, 'I was glad') to present participle creates a vivid sense of arrival. The gates (she'arayikh) are the entry points of the walled city, places of commerce, judgment, and greeting.
Psalms 122:3

יְרוּשָׁלַ֥͏ִם הַבְּנוּיָ֑ה כְּ֝עִ֗יר שֶׁחֻבְּרָה־לָּ֥הּ יַחְדָּֽו׃

Jerusalem — built as a city joined firmly together,

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb chubberah is a pual passive participle — the city has been joined. The agent is unstated, which may imply divine agency: God is the one who bound this city together. The word yachdav ('together, as one') reinforces the theme of unity that dominates the psalm.
Psalms 122:4

שֶׁשָּׁ֨ם עָל֪וּ שְׁבָטִ֡ים שִׁבְטֵי־יָ֭הּ עֵד֣וּת לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לְ֝הֹד֗וֹת לְשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָֽה׃

There the tribes go up, the tribes of Yah — a decree for Israel — to give thanks to the name of the LORD.

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

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

עֵדוּת edut
"a decree" — testimony, witness, decree, covenant stipulation, ordinance

edut can mean 'testimony' (what is witnessed) or 'decree' (what is commanded as covenant obligation). Here it refers to the covenantal requirement of pilgrimage — Israel's tribes go up to Jerusalem because they are commanded to, and the going itself is a testimony to their covenant identity.

Translator Notes

  1. The shortened divine name Yah (shivtei Yah, 'tribes of Yah') is a poetic and liturgical form of YHWH, found frequently in Psalms and in the exclamation Hallelu-Yah. The phrase edut le-Yisrael ('a decree/testimony for Israel') refers to the commandment requiring pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times yearly (Deuteronomy 16:16). The purpose of the ascent is lehodot le-shem YHWH ('to give thanks to the name of the LORD') — thanksgiving is the engine of pilgrimage.
Psalms 122:5

כִּ֤י שָׁ֨מָּה ׀ יָשְׁב֣וּ כִסְא֣וֹת לְמִשְׁפָּ֑ט כִּ֝סְא֗וֹת לְבֵ֣ית דָּוִֽד׃

For there the thrones of justice are set, the thrones of the house of David.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Jerusalem is not only a worship center but a judicial capital. The thrones (kis'ot) are seats of royal judgment. The phrase le-mishpat ('for justice') defines their purpose: the Davidic kings administer justice from Jerusalem. The repetition of kis'ot ('thrones') in parallel emphasizes the permanence and legitimacy of Davidic rule. This verse connects worship and governance — the same city that houses God's temple houses the king's court.
Psalms 122:6

שַׁ֭אֲלוּ שְׁל֣וֹם יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם יִ֝שְׁלָ֗יוּ אֹהֲבָֽיִךְ׃

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure."

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

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

שָׁלוֹם shalom
"peace" — peace, wholeness, completeness, welfare, well-being, soundness, prosperity

shalom is far richer than the English 'peace' (which often implies merely the absence of conflict). shalom is the presence of wholeness — everything functioning as it should, relationships intact, needs met, justice operating. To pray for Jerusalem's shalom is to pray for its total flourishing.

Translator Notes

  1. The wordplay sha'alu shelom Yerushalayim yishlayu is untranslatable in its full sonic density. Three words from the sh-l-m root cluster together. We translate for meaning, but the original creates an experience of the word shalom reverberating through the sentence.
Psalms 122:7

יְהִֽי־שָׁל֥וֹם בְּחֵילֵ֑ךְ שַׁ֝לְוָ֗ה בְּאַרְמְנוֹתָֽיִךְ׃

May peace be within your walls, security within your citadels.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. chelekh ('your rampart, your outer wall') refers to the defensive fortifications surrounding the city. Armnotayikh ('your citadels, your palaces') refers to the inner strongholds and royal residences. The prayer moves from outer wall to inner palace — may peace saturate the city from its perimeter to its heart. The word shalvah ('security, tranquility, ease') is a cognate of shalom, continuing the sonic pattern.
Psalms 122:8

לְ֭מַעַן אַחַ֣י וְרֵעָ֑י אֲדַבְּרָה־נָּ֖א שָׁל֣וֹם בָּֽךְ׃

For the sake of my brothers and friends, let me say, "Peace be in you."

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The motivation shifts to the personal: the pilgrim prays for Jerusalem's peace because his family and companions live there or gather there. The phrase adabberah nna shalom bakh ('let me speak peace in you') is both a blessing and a commitment — the pilgrim pronounces peace over the city as a verbal act of devotion.
Psalms 122:9

לְ֭מַעַן בֵּית־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ אֲבַקְשָׁ֖ה ט֣וֹב לָֽךְ׃

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

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The psalm closes with a second and deeper motivation: not only for the sake of human relationships (v. 8) but for the sake of beit YHWH Eloheinu ('the house of the LORD our God'). The verb avaqshah ('I will seek') implies active pursuit — the pilgrim commits to working for Jerusalem's welfare. The word tov ('good') is comprehensive: prosperity, beauty, flourishing, everything that is right.
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