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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

  1. Psalm 123:1 sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.
  2. 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.
  3. Psalm 123:1 tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”
  4. 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).
  5. Psalm 123:2 sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.
  6. Psalm 123:3 tn Heb “for greatly we are filled [with] humiliation.”
  7. Psalm 123:4 tn Heb “greatly our soul is full to it.”
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Psalm 123
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Psalm 123

Supplication for Mercy

A Song of Ascents.

1 To you I lift up my eyes,
    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!(A)
2 As the eyes of servants
    look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
    to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
    until he has mercy upon us.(B)

3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of contempt.(C)
4 Our soul has had more than its fill
    of the scorn of those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of the proud.(D)

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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

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