Lyrics
VERSE 1
Esa einai el heharim,
Me'ayin yavo ezri?
Ezri me'im Adonai,
Oseh shamayim va'aretz.
Translation
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: from whence shall my help come?
2 My help cometh from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
Lai, Lai, Lai…
VERSE 2
Al yiten lamot raglekha
Al yanum shomrekha
Hineh lo yanum v’lo yiyshan
Shomer Yisrael
translation
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, He that keepeth Israel doth neither slumber nor sleep.
Lai lai lai....
VERSE 3
Adonai shomrekha Adonai Tsilkha
Alyad yeminekha
Yomam hashemesh lo yakeka
V’yareach balaila
Lai, lai, lai…
Translation
5 The LORD is thy keeper; the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
VERSE 4
Adonai yishmorkha mikol ra
Yishmor et nafshekha
Adonai yishmor tse’atkha
Uvo’ekha me’ata vad olam
Translation
7 The LORD shall keep thee from all evil; He shall keep thy soul.
8 The LORD shall guard thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and for ever.
Lai, lai, lai...
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
“Psalm 121 in Hebrew” centers on the steady protection of the Lord. Its Hebrew verses and English translations follow the psalm’s movement from a question about the source of help to a confident confession: help comes from the Maker of heaven and earth. The recurring wordless refrain gives space for that confession to settle between the declarations.
Each successive verse expands the picture of divine care. God neither slumbers nor sleeps, remains close as shade, guards against danger, and watches over every departure and return. The song therefore presents security not as freedom from every hardship, but as trust in the One whose attention never fails. Because the text closely follows Psalm 121, its hope is concrete and scriptural rather than vague. The final promise, extending from the present into eternity, leaves the song with a calm assurance that God’s keeping presence surrounds the whole of life.
Related Scripture
- Psalm 121:1-2 The song opens with the psalm’s question about help and names the Lord as Maker of heaven and earth.
- Psalm 121:3-4 The lyrics repeat the promise that Israel’s keeper neither slumbers nor sleeps.
- Psalm 121:7-8 The closing verse declares that the Lord guards life, departure, and return.