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Psalm 123
New International Version
Psalm 123
New International Version
Psalm 123
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned(A) in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord(B) our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4 We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.
Psalm 123
New English Translation
Psalm 123
New English Translation
Psalm 123[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
123 I look up[c] toward you,
the one enthroned[d] in heaven.
2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress,[e]
so our eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.
3 Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!
For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some.[f]
4 We have had our fill[g]
of the taunts of the self-assured,
of the contempt of the proud.
Footnotes
- Psalm 123:1 sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.
- Psalm 123:1 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
- Psalm 123:1 tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”
- Psalm 123:1 tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12).
- Psalm 123:2 sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.
- Psalm 123:3 tn Heb “for greatly we are filled [with] humiliation.”
- Psalm 123:4 tn Heb “greatly our soul is full to it.”
Psalm 123
New King James Version
Psalm 123
New King James Version
Prayer for Relief from Contempt
A Song of Ascents.
123 Unto You (A)I lift up my eyes,
O You (B)who dwell in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
(C)So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.
Psalm 123
English Standard Version
Psalm 123
English Standard Version
Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
A Song of (A)Ascents.
New International Version (NIV) 
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New English Translation (NET)
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.