| Psalm 121 | |
|---|---|
| "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." | |
| Song of Ascents | |
 Looking to the mountains is the opening thought of Psalm 121 | |
| Other name |
|
| Language | Hebrew (original) |
| Psalm 121 | |
|---|---|
| Book | Book of Psalms |
| Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 19 |
Psalm 121 is the 121st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help”. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 120. In Latin, it is known as Levavi oculos meos in montes.[1]
It is one of 15 psalms categorized as Song of Ascents (Shir Hama'alot), although unlike the others, it begins, Shir LaMa'alot (A song to the ascents). The psalm is structured as a dialogue, with its opening question, From whence comes my help? being answered, possibly in a temple setting, by the priest.[2]
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music in several languages. Felix Mendelssohn used it for Hebe deine Augen auf, a trio of his 1846 oratorio Elijah. Leonard Bernstein used the psalm in his Mass.
- ^ "Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 120 (121)". Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
- ^ Rodd, C. S., 18. Psalms, in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary Archived 2017-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, p. 399