Christian Standard Bible
Psalms 124:1
1If the Lord had not been on our side — let Israel say —
Psalms 124:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say;
- New International Version (NIV)If the Lord had not been on our side— let Israel say—
- English Standard Version (ESV)If it had not been the Lord who was on our side— let Israel now say—
- New King James Version (NKJV)“If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” Let Israel now say—
Context of Psalms 124:1
If the Lord had not been on our side — let Israel say — 2if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, 3then they would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger against us.
Read all of Psalms 124Psalms 124:1 word by word
לוּלֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה שֶׁהָ֣יָה לָ֑נוּ יֹֽאמַר־נָ֝א יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 124:1
- Psalms 120:1In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
- Psalms 134:1Now bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who stand in the Lord’s house at night!
- Psalms 27:1The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life — whom should I dread?
- Psalms 46:7The Lord of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.Selah
- Psalms 54:4God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my life.
- Psalms 56:9Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call. This I know: God is for me.
- Psalms 118:6The Lord is for me; I will not be afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me?
- Exodus 15:1Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said: I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted; he has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.
- Isaiah 8:9Band together, peoples, and be broken; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for war, and be broken; prepare for war, and be broken.
- Romans 8:31What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
- Hebrews 13:5Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.
- Psalms 129:1Since my youth they have often attacked me — let Israel say —
Commentaries on Psalms 124:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1If it had not been the Lord - If God had not, in a very especial manner, supported and defended us, we had all been swallowed up alive, and destroyed by a sudden destruction, so that not one would have been left. This might refer to the plot against the whole nation of the Jews by Haman, in the days of Mordecai and Esther; when by his treacherous schemes the Jews, wheresoever dispersed in the provinces of Babylon, were all to have been put to death in one…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1If it had not been the Lord who was on our side - Unless it was Yahweh who was with us. The idea is, that someone had been with them, and had delivered them, and that such was the nature of the interposition that it could be ascribed to no one but Yahweh. It bore unmistakeable evidence that it was his work. The deliverance was of such a kind that it could have been accomplished by him only. Such things often occur in life, when the intervention in our…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The deliverance of the church. (1-5) Thankfulness for the deliverance. (6-8) Verses 1-5 God suffers the enemies of his people sometimes to prevail very far against them, that his power may be seen the more in their deliverance. Happy the people whose God is Jehovah, a God all-sufficient. Besides applying this to any particular deliverance wrought in our days and the ancient times, we should have in our thoughts the great work of redemption by Jesus…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2The negative rhetorical questions emphasize the positive idea that the Lord was indeed on their side.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-81-2. on our side--for us (Psa 56:9). now--or, "oh! let Israel"Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 124
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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