English Standard Version
Psalms 121:1
1I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
Psalms 121:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
- New International Version (NIV)I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?
- New King James Version (NKJV)I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?
- New Living Translation (NLT)I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there?
Context of Psalms 121:1
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
Read all of Psalms 121Psalms 121:1 word by word
אֶשָּׂ֣א עֵ֭ינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִ֑ים מֵ֝אַ֗יִן יָבֹ֥א עֶזְרִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 121:1
- Psalms 120:1In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
- Jeremiah 3:23Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
- Psalms 2:6"As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill."
- Psalms 68:15O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
- Psalms 78:68but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
- Psalms 87:1On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
- Psalms 123:1To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
- Isaiah 2:3and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Commentaries on Psalms 121:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Unto the hills - Jerusalem was built upon a mountain; and Judea was a mountainous country; and the Jews, in their several dispersions, turned towards Jerusalem when they offered up their prayers to God.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1I will lift up mine eyes - Margin, “Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills? Whence should my help come?” The expression would properly denote a condition where there was danger; when no help or aid was visible; and when the eyes were turned to the quarter from which help might be expected to come. What the danger was cannot now be ascertained. Unto the hills - Hebrew, the mountains. To the quarter from where I look for assistance. This (as has been shown…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The safety of the godly. --We must not rely upon men and means, instruments and second causes. Shall I depend upon the strength of the hills? upon princes and great men? No; my confidence is in God only. Or, we must lift up our eyes above the hills; we must look to God who makes all earthly things to us what they are. We must see all our help in God; from him we must expect it, in his own way and time. This psalm teaches us to comfort ourselves in the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The mountains were known for idol worship (Deuteronomy 12:2), and Israel was drawn to the hilltop shrines (Hosea 4:13). This verse can be seen as a rhetorical question expecting a "no" answer: The gods of the hilltop shrines cannot save anyone. Others understand the mountains to be a symbol of the Lord’s strength (Psalm 95:4). In that case, the question would be taken literally (From where does my help come?), with the answer in the next verse.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-81. I will lift up mine eyes--expresses desire (compare Psa 25:1), mingled with expectation. The last clause, read as a question, is answered,Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 121:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 121
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries