Psalms 123:1-2

Psalm 123 1 

A song of ascents. 2 

123:1 I look up 3  toward you,

the one enthroned 4  in heaven.

123:2 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, 5 

so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.

Isaiah 45:22

45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, 6 

all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!

For I am God, and I have no peer.

Hebrews 12:2

12:2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 7 

1 sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.

2 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 tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

4 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 sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.

6 tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”

7 sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.