Read & explore together
In My Distress I Cried to the LORD
Psalm 120 is a short prayer-song about distress, deceit and conflict. The speaker cries to the LORD for help, speaks against false words, and ends by contrasting a commitment to peace with the warlike stance of others.
Understanding the passage
Read these words in context
In this psalm, the speaker addresses Yahweh and describes distress caused by lying lips and a deceitful tongue. The poem then uses vivid imagery toward the deceitful tongue, laments dwelling with Meshech and Kedar, and closes with the tension between peace and war.
Psalms 120:1–7Main takeaway
This psalm shows the speaker crying to the LORD in distress, asking for rescue from deceit, and declaring a commitment to peace.
Explore the poem and its images
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01A cry and an answerThe psalm begins with distress, prayer and response: the speaker cried to Yahweh, and says, “He answered me.”
Explanation
The psalm begins with distress, prayer and response: the speaker cried to Yahweh, and says, “He answered me.” That opening shapes the whole poem. This is a personal prayer to the LORD, and the next verses explain what kind of trouble has caused the cry.
02A plea for deliverance from deceitThe speaker asks, “Deliver my soul, Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.” The danger in this psalm is false and deceptive speech.
Explanation
The speaker asks, “Deliver my soul, Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.” The danger in this psalm is false and deceptive speech. “Soul” here points to the speaker’s own life or self, showing how deeply these lies affect the person praying.
03Poetic imagery toward the deceitful tongueThe psalm turns to the deceitful tongue with a question about what will be given or done to it.
Explanation
The psalm turns to the deceitful tongue with a question about what will be given or done to it. Then come strong images: “Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.” The passage presents vivid poetic imagery directed at the deceitful tongue.
04For peace among those for warThe speaker laments, “Woe is me,” and speaks of living in Meshech and among the tents of Kedar.
Explanation
The speaker laments, “Woe is me,” and speaks of living in Meshech and among the tents of Kedar. The pain is then explained: the speaker has dwelt too long with one who hates peace. The final contrast is clear: the speaker is for peace, but others are for war.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What does the speaker do in distress, and what result is stated?
The opening verse gives both actions plainly: the speaker cries to Yahweh, and Yahweh answers.
02What specific danger does the speaker ask Yahweh to remove?
The prayer names lying lips and a deceitful tongue, so the threat in view is deceptive speech.
03How does the last verse set the speaker against others?
Notice the direct contrast between “I am for peace” and “they are for war.”
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Psalms 120:1–7
1In my distress, I cried to Yahweh. He answered me.
2Deliver my soul, Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
3What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you, you deceitful tongue?
4Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
5Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6My soul has had her dwelling too long with him who hates peace.
7I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.