Why read Psalm 125?
Read Psalm 125 for hope after loss and patience in your work. The movement from sowing in tears to reaping with joy encourages perseverance without promising an immediate outcome.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
Psalm 125 — «When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion...» — is the prayer through which the Psalmist places the experience of an entire hour of life before God. It belongs to the 18th Kathisma and has 6 verses, which you will find in full below.
The text of Psalm 125
1. When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, we were filled with consolation.
2. Then our mouth was filled with joy and our tongue with gladness; then it was said among the nations: “Great things has the Lord done for them!”
3. Great things has the Lord done for us: He has filled us with joy.
4. Bring back our captives, Lord, as You turn the streams towards the south.
5. Those who sow with tears will reap with joy.
6. They went along weeping, scattering their seeds, but they will return with joy, carrying their sheaves.
When Psalm 125 is read
- It belongs to the 18th Kathisma and is recited in personal prayer, especially for peace and understanding.
- At the end of each psalm, tradition adds: «Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.».
Adjacent psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
