Translations
A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
I burst with joy when they said to me, 'Let us go to the House of YHWH!'
A Song of the Steps. Of David.
My heart leapt for joy when they said to me, 'Let us go up to the house of Yahweh!'
A song of ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
Footnotes
Shir HaMa'alot—literally "Song of the Going-Ups," the collection title for Psalms 120–134, the pilgrimage hymns sung as worshippers made their ascent to Jerusalem for the three great festivals (Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles). The verb alah means to go up, carrying both physical and spiritual elevation—Jerusalem sits atop Mount Zion, so every journey there was literally an ascent. Samachti, "I rejoiced," is a simple past but may carry the force of a vivid perfect—the joy of that announced departure is re-lived in the telling.

