Psalms 122:6
in Psalms 122Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee.
KJV
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
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This verse in Psalms 122
Commentary
10 notes on this versePray for the peace of Jerusalem. Peace was her name, pray that her condition may verify her Title — Abode of Peace, peace be to thee. Here was a most sufficient reason for rejoicing at the thought of going up to the house of the Lord, since that sacred shrine stood in the centre of an area of peace: well might Israel pray that such peace should be continued. In a church peace is to be desired, expected, promoted, and enjoyed. If we may not say "Peace at any price, "yet we may certainly cry "Peace at the highest price."
This site's exposition
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
on Psalms 122:6-7
The psalm commands a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. The verb behind prosper at verse 6 is shalah, to be secure, so what is asked for Jerusalem returns on those who love her. Verse 7 splits the prayer in two, peace inside the walls and prosperity inside the fortresses.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
He at once adds, as unto the seats themselves, "Enquire ye the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem" [Psalm 122:6]. O you seats, who now sit unto judgment, and are made the seats of the Lord who judges (since they who judge, enquire; they who are judged, are enquired of), "Enquire ye," he says, "the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem." What will they find by asking? That some have done deeds of charity, that others have not. Those whom they shall find to have done deeds of charity, they will summon them unto Jerusalem; for these deeds are "for the peace of Jerusalem." Love is a powerful thing, my brethren, love is a powerful thing. Do ye wish to see how powerful a thing love is?...If charity be destitute of means, so that it cannot find what to bestow upon the poor, let it love: let it give "one cup of cold water;" [Matthew 10:42] as much shall be laid to its account, as to Zaccheus who gave half his patrimony to the poor. [Luke 19:8] Wherefore this? The one gave so little, the other so much, and shall so much be imputed to the former? Just so much. For though his resources are unequal, his charity is not unequal.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Which peace our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed and gave; of whose preaching our father Francis was a renewer, announcing peace at the beginning and end of every sermon, wishing peace in every greeting, sighing for ecstatic peace in every contemplation, like a citizen of that …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,....
Those that can do nothing else for the peace of Jerusalem can pray for it, which is something more than showing their good-will; it is the appointed way of fetching in mercy. The peace and welfare of the gospel church, particularly in our land, is to be earnestly desired and prayed for by every one of us.
In singing this psalm we must have an eye to the gospel church, which is called the "Jerusalem that is from above." The Pleasures of Public Worship. A song of degrees of David. 1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the L ORD .
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Peace was her name, pray that her condition may verify her Title — Abode of Peace, peace be to thee. Here was a most sufficient reason for rejoicing at the thought of going up to the house of the Lord, since that sacred shrine stood in the centre of an area of peace: well might Israel pray that such peace should be continued. In a church peace is to be desired, expected, promoted, and enjoyed. If we may not say "Peace at any price, "yet we may certainly cry "Peace at the highest price." Those who are daily fluttered by rude alarms are charmed to reach their nest in a holy fellowship, and abide in it. In a church one of the main ingredients of success is internal peace: strife, suspicion, party spirit, division, —these are deadly things. Those who break the peace of the church deserve to suffer, and those who sustain it win a great blessing. Peace in the church should be our daily prayer, and in so praying we shall bring down peace upon ourselves; for the Psalmist goes on to say, They shall prosper that love thee, or, perhaps we may read it as a prayer, "May they have peace that love thee." Whether the passage be regarded as a promise or as a prayer matters not, for prayer pleads the promise, and the promise is the ground of prayer. Prosperity of soul is already enjoyed by those who take a deep interest in the church and cause of God: they are men of peace, and find peace in their holy endeavours: God's people pray for them, and God himself delights in them. Prosperity of worldly condition often comes to the lovers of the church if they are able to bear it: many a time the house of Obededom is blessed because of the ark of the Lord. Because the Egyptian midwives feared the Lord, therefore the Lord made them houses. No man shall ever be a permanent loser by the house of the Lord: in peace of heart alone.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem - שלום shalom signifies both peace and prosperity. Let her unanimity never be disturbed; let her prosperity ever be on the increase! They shall prosper that love thee - In the peace and prosperity of the city, they shall find their peace and their prosperity; and even on this ground they should love the city, and labor to promote its best interests. There is a remarkable alliteration in this verse, the letter ש shin frequently recurring. שאלו שלום ירושלם ישליו אהביך Shaalu shelom yerushalam yishlayu ohabeycha. “Ask ye the prosperity of Jerusalem; they shall be quiet that love thee.” There are remarkable specimens of similar alliteration to be found in all poets, ancient and modern. This formed the chief feature of our ancient poetry. Thus in Peter the plouphman: - “In a somers seysoun whan sete was the sonne I schoop me in a shrowde as I a sheep were.” And the same manner often appears, even in Milton himself. See the II Penseroso: - “Oft, on a plat of rising ground, I hear the far-off curfew sound Over some wide-watered shore, Swinging slow with sullen roar.”
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem - The prosperity, the welfare of Jerusalem - for peace is everywhere the image of prosperity and happiness. Compare Psa 51:18. This is the language which those who were going up to the city - to the house of the Lord - addressed to each other, expressing the joyful feelings of their hearts at their own near approach to the city. It breathes the desire that all would pray for the peace and prosperity of a city so dear to their own souls; where the worship of God was celebrated; where God himself dwelt; where justice was administered: a city of so much importance and so much influence in the land. To us now it inculcates the duty of praying for the church: its peace; its unity; its prosperity; its increase; its influence on our country and on the world at large. It is a prayer that the church may not be divided by schism or heresy; that its members may cherish for each other right feelings; that there may be no jealousies, no envyings, and no jars; that the different branches of the church may regard and treat each other with kindness, with respect, and with mutual recognition; that prosperity may attend them all. The shall prosper that love thee - Or rather, They shall have peace that love thee; or, May they have peace that love thee. The word prosper conveys an idea which is not in the original. The Hebrew word means to be “secure,” “tranquil,” “at rest,” spoken especially of one who enjoys quiet prosperity, Job 3:26; Job 12:6. The essential idea is that of quietness or rest; and the meaning here is, that those who love Zion will have peace; or, that the tendency of that love is to produce peace. See Rom 5:1. The prayer was for “peace;” the thought in connection with that was naturally that those who loved Zion would have peace. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Request the welfare of Jerusalem and say to her, “May those who love you enjoy tranquility, and let there be peace in your wall.”
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
For there were set thrones, etc. For also in Jerusalem the Shechinah will rest, and thrones will sit there upon which to judge the nations, and the royal thrones of the house of David.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
5 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שַׁ֭אֲלוּ | shaalu | ask for | H7592 → | 171 times |
| שְׁל֣וֹם | shelom | [the] peace of | H7965 → | 236 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| יִ֝שְׁלָ֗יוּ | yishlayu | may they be at ease | H7951 → | |
| אֹהֲבָֽיִךְ׃ | ʾohavayikh | [those who] love you | H157 → | 211 times |
שַׁ֭אֲלוּask for
shaaluH7592 →171 times
שְׁל֣וֹם[the] peace of
shelomH7965 →236 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
יִ֝שְׁלָ֗יוּmay they be at ease
yishlayuH7951 →
אֹהֲבָֽיִךְ׃[those who] love you
ʾohavayikhH157 →211 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 12:3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
it leads to
- Genesis 27:29
May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Galatians 3:8
The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
- Genesis 22:18
And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- Acts 3:25–26
And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
- Numbers 24:9
He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
- Genesis 27:29
Through
Jeremiah 29:7Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 2:1–2
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone—
- Ezra 6:10
Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons.
- 1 Timothy 2:1–2
Through
Numbers 24:9He crouches, he lies down like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”
it leads to
- Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
- Genesis 12:3
About Psalms
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 122; Bonaventure, Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Prologue; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.