Mazmur 123:1-4
KonteksA song of ascents. 2
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.
123:3 Show us favor, O Lord, show us favor!
For we have had our fill of humiliation, and then some. 6
of the taunts of the self-assured,
of the contempt of the proud.
Mazmur 143:6
Konteks[123:1] 1 sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.
[123:1] 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.
[123:1] 3 tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”
[123:1] 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).
[123:2] 5 sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.
[123:3] 6 tn Heb “for greatly we are filled [with] humiliation.”
[123:4] 7 tn Heb “greatly our soul is full to it.”
[143:6] 8 tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.
[143:6] 9 tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.
[143:6] 10 tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).