Psalm 120 :: Amplified Bible (AMP)

Prayer for Breaking Away from the Treacherous.

Psa 120:1

A Song of [fn]Ascents.

In my trouble I cried to the LORD,

And He answered me.

Psa 120:2

Rescue my soul, O LORD, from lying lips,

And from a deceitful tongue.

Psa 120:3

What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,

You deceitful tongue?—

Psa 120:4

Sharp arrows of the warrior,

With the [fn]burning coals of the broom tree.

Psa 120:5

Woe to me, for I sojourn in Meshech,

and I live among the tents of Kedar [among hostile people]!

Psa 120:6

Too long my soul has had its dwelling

With those who hate peace.

Psa 120:7

I am for peace, but when I speak,

They are for war.

See the AMP Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

AMP Footnotes

(120:1)

It is possible that the fifteen psalms (chs 120-134) known as the “Songs of Degrees or Ascents” were sung by the caravans of pilgrims going up to attend the annual feasts at Jerusalem. But it is equally possible that the title has reference to some peculiarity in connection with the music or the manner of using it.

(120:4)

The ancient rabbis explained that coals from a broom tree are unusual in that they continue burning on the inside even after they are extinguished on the outside. They compared this to a person who listens to slander: even if you try to persuade him otherwise and he seems to be convinced, he is still “burning” on the inside, i.e. still unconvinced.

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