The Lord watches over you

I have been memorizing Psalm 121. I have been impressed by the number of times the term "watches over" is used in this one Psalm.

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

The term "watch/watches/watched/watching over" appeared 43 times in the bible (NIV translation). It is used almost exclusively in the Old Testament in relationship to God watching over his people. It is used a couple of times as God being a "watchman", or that he has placed a "watch" over his people. In the New Testament, it is often used to exhort pastors and leaders of the church to watch over their "flocks".

A good way to understand the meaning of a bible term is to read a variety of translations. For example, in Genesis 28:15 (the context of this verse is God renewing his covenant with Jacob, the same covenant he made with Abraham and Isaac), using the Biblehub.com to get the parallel translations, I get a number of concepts closely tied with being "watched over":

• (NIV) I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
• (NLT, NET) I will protect you...
• (ESV, NASB, KJB...most translations) I will keep you...

Another good way to drill a little deeper for a bible term is to use a bible dictionary. For example, the meaning of the term "watch over" in Psalm 1:6 is explained in Luminated.net:
"For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction."

The Hebrew word used in this verse is "Yada". It can mean "to know (NAS95, ESV, KJV..), to guard (NET) or to watch over (NIV, HCSB and many others)". (AMP - amplified) translates it this way:
"For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God's will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought)."
But (The Message) and (BBE) is different:
(MESSAGE) GOD charts the road you take. The road they take is Skid Row.
(BBE) Because the Lord sees the way of the upright, but the end of the sinner is destruction.

To summarize, this is what I have learned from being "watched over" by the Lord - the Maker of heaven and earth:

• This is God's promise and he will see to it until it is accomplished.
• God knows me. He knows all my needs. He will chart the course that is best for me.
• He will keep me and will never leave me or forsake me.
• He will protect and guard me against my enemies.
• He who watches over me will neither slumber nor sleep! He is with me all the way and at all times!