Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Psalms 120:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 120:3: Inside “A pilgrim cries from lying and warlike speech,” “What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done…” raises a real poetic question instead of supplying a detached answer.
The pilgrim songs begin with a cry from lying speech, not from a pretty road
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 120:1–7. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 120:1–7
Read Psalms 120:3 with 120:1–7. Read alone, “What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto…” could lose the individual voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 120:1–7, the individual voice carries the movement “A pilgrim cries from lying and warlike speech” as part of “A pilgrim cries from lying and warlike speech.” Its song-of-ascents-lament form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 120:1–7 opens Psalm 120 with “In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me” and establishes the individual voice and “A pilgrim cries from lying and warlike speech” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Psalm 120 begins the Songs of Ascents after Psalm 119's extended Torah prayer, moving from settled attention to instruction into a pilgrim collection voiced amid deceptive and hostile surroundings. Within that relationship, Psalm 120:3 poses the poem's question through “What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou…” and leaves the surrounding lines to answer, intensify, or hold it open.
What Remains True
Because this verse serves “A pilgrim cries from lying and warlike speech,” its enduring claim is proportionate: Biblical faith can speak unresolved pain directly, remain in relationship, seek safe help, and refuse the claim that anguish proves guilt or failed faith. Psalm 120:3 poses the poem's question through “What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou…” and leaves the surrounding lines to answer, intensify, or hold it open. The local movement is “A pilgrim cries from lying and warlike speech.” The unit's reviewed limit is: The first ascent song begins away from peace; pilgrimage language must not romanticize displacement or vilify present ethnic groups.
How It Can Shape Life
- Because Psalm 120:3 belongs to “A pilgrim cries from lying and warlike speech,” its role must lead the practice: Psalm 120:3 poses the poem's question through “What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou…” and leaves the surrounding lines to answer, intensify, or hold it open. Use “What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto…” to practice honest prayer without diagnosing the sufferer, imposing a recovery deadline, or treating unresolved grief as weak faith.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 120:1–7 — A pilgrim cries from lying and warlike speechSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 120:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 120:1–7
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 120:1–7.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 120 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 120:1–7
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗