Psalm 123sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.
A song of ascents.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.
1 I look uptn Heb “I lift my eyes.” toward you,
the one enthronedtn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12). 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,sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.
so my 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.tn Heb “for greatly we are filled [with] humiliation.”
4 We have had our filltn Heb “greatly our soul is full to it.”
of the taunts of the self-assured,
of the contempt of the proud.
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