Psalm 121, Not the Hills, but YHWH!

A song of ascents.

This is the second of a sequence of fifteen psalms that identify as "songs of ascents", presumably sung as people in procession went up to the temple.

Psalm 121:1-2, From where?

 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- 

where does my help come from?

 My help comes from the LORD, 

the Maker of heaven and earth.

The psalmist, possibly heading up to Jerusalem, looks at the hills around and asks, "From where does my help come?" Although others trusted in idols on the high places, the psalmist instead relieson YHWH, the Creator of all things, including the mere mountains.

The KJV translates verse 1 as "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help", tempting one to create Colorado knickknacks suggesting that one's help comes from the mountains, which is not the meaning of this passage!

Psalm 121:3-4, Neither slumbers nor sleeps

He will not let your foot slip-- 

he who watches over you will not slumber;

 indeed, he who watches over Israel 

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The watcher over Israel, who keeps one's feet from slipping on the rocky paths, is One Who never sleeps, but is always watching.

Both Kidner and Alter see this psalm as a call-response, with a new voice at the beginning of verse 3. Kidner, however, translates verse 3 as a prayer and hears a third voice, an answer, coming in at the beginning of verse 4.

The Hebrew word vmer,  from shamar, means "to guard" or "to keep", and is here translated by the NIV as "watches over." In some settings, such as Genesis 17:9, the word refers to keeping God's covenant. 

Psalm 121:5-6, In the cool shade

The LORD watches over you-- 

the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

 the sun will not harm you by day, 

nor the moon by night.

The nation of Israel in verses 3 and 4 becomes the personal single "you" in verse 5. In the strong desert sun, a shade is a cool protective cover. The Hebrew word tzillecha, from tsel, can also mean shelter.  In the parallelism of verse 5, the God who guards Israel also provides shelter.

Psalm 121:7-8, Now and forevermore

 The LORD will keep you from all harm-- 

he will watch over your life;

 the LORD will watch over your coming and going 

both now and forevermore.

The One who created the heavens and earth (verse 2) is also watching throughout all time. Although the psalm promises that one is "kept from all harm", other passages (such as Psalm 126:5-6) make it clear that one is not saved from all troubles, but is watched over for future benefit.

The psalm echoes, in part, the blessing of Aaron given in Numbers 6:24-26.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is shamar, 

שָׁמַר

meaning "to keep, guard, observe." It occurs 469 times in the Old Testament, in this form, but many more times with prefixes or suffixes, as in verses 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 in this psalm.

First published November 3, 2025; updated November 3, 2025