One of the Songs of Ascents, a short psalm of protection for one setting out or in danger. Used in Jewish practice at times of travel, illness and childbirth, and included in some funeral and memorial orders. Often paired with Psalm 130 in visits to the sick.
Every text below was transcribed from the edition named under it and checked twice, independently, against that edition. That is a claim about wording only: nothing here is selected or endorsed for a particular situation, and nobody credentialed in the tradition has signed it. Older spelling is kept as the edition prints it.
Psalm 121 (JPS 1917)
One of the Songs of Ascents, a short psalm of protection for one setting out or in danger. Used in Jewish practice at times of travel, illness and childbirth, and included in some funeral and memorial orders. Often paired with Psalm 130 in visits to the sick.
English · The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (JPS), 1917
I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains:
From whence shall my help come?
My help cometh from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved;
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, He that keepeth Israel
Doth neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper;
The LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall keep thee from all evil;
He shall keep thy soul.
The LORD shall guard thy going out and thy coming in,
From this time forth and for ever.
Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-02. Source
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The two columns do not cover quite the same span: the Hebrew opens with the psalm's superscription, “A Song of Ascents”, which the English published here does not carry, because the two transcription passes over the JPS volume agreed only from the first verse proper.
Psalm 121 (Singer 1890)
One of the Songs of Ascents, a short psalm of protection for one setting out or in danger. Used in Jewish practice at times of travel, illness and childbirth, and included in some funeral and memorial orders. Often paired with Psalm 130 in visits to the sick.
English · The Authorised Daily Prayer Book, with a New Translation, 1890
I lift up mine eyes unto the hills : whence will my help come ?
My help is from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to slip : he that guardeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that guardeth Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy guardian : the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall guard thee from all evil ; he shall guard thy soul.
The Lord shall guard thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and for evermore.
Simeon Singer. Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1890. Published 1890, before 1929, US public domain, and the translator died in 1906, so it is also clear in life-plus-70 jurisdictions. Source
Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-04. Source
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The two columns come from different publishers: Singer 1890 prints its own facing Hebrew, and the Hebrew shown here is a Masoretic edition rather than Singer's, which is why it is named separately above. The Hebrew also opens with the psalm's superscription, “A Song of Ascents”, which the English published here does not carry.
Psalm 121 (Coverdale)
A song of ascents used across Protestant and Anglican practice at departures, surgery, travel and deathbeds. It appears in the monthly Prayer Book psalm cycle and in most Protestant funeral and hospital orders, and it is among the psalms most frequently chosen by families asked to pick one.
English · The Book of Common Prayer, 1662, 1662
I will lift vp mine eyes vnto the hills : from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh even from the Lord : who hath made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved : and he that keepeth thee will not sleep.
Behold, he that keepeth Jsrael : shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord himself is thy keeper : the Lord is thy defence vpon thy right hand.
So that the sun shall not burn thee by day : neither the Moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : yea it is even he that shall keep thy soule.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in from this time forth for evermore.
Church of England, 1662. Published 1662, long before 1929, US public domain. UK Crown patent applies within the United Kingdom, so this edition is used here on the US basis only. Source
This page describes a prayer and, where we hold one, prints a named edition of it. It does not tell you whether to say it, or when. That judgment belongs to someone credentialed in the tradition, and nobody has signed anything here.
