Psalms 123:1-3

Context

Psalm 123¹

A song of ascents.²

123:1 I look up³ toward you,

the one enthroned⁴ 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.

123:3 Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!

For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some.⁶

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

[123:1] ²sn 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.

[123:1] ³tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[123:1] ⁴tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12).

[123:2] ⁵sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.

[123:3] ⁶tn Heb “for greatly we are filled [with] humiliation.”