PB
The People's BibleScripture Unlocked • By the People, For the People
3-Layer Interactive Reader • 66-Book Bible

Psalms Chapter 123

Showing all 4 verses for Psalms Chapter 123.

← Prev ChapterNext Chapter →
← Prev Book: JobNext Book: Proverbs →
💡 How to Use The People's Bible Chapter Reader

The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:

📜 1. Original KJV VerseHover over highlighted Jacobean 1611 words to see modern shift definitions.
🏛️ 2. Original LexiconView original Hebrew/Greek roots and 1st-century historical exegesis context.
✍️ 3. Interpret & ApproveApprove submitted verse (💖), contest wording (🚩), or click + Add your interpretation to submit your own interpretation.
Psalms 123:1
📜 Original KJV VersePsalms 123:1

"Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. "

🏛️ Original Language Illumination:
Original Term:Root Analysis (psalms 123:1) (Hebrew)
Range of Meanings:This is a simple but deliberate posture - deciding where to direct your attention when you're struggling. Lifting your eyes 'up' rather than staring at the problem itself is a small but real choice.
Why It Matters Here:A short communal lament, likely written when the people faced mockery or oppression from more powerful neighbours; it opens, like Psalm 121, by lifting the eyes - but here directly to God rather than to the hills.
✨ Suggested InterpretationsSynthesized from 1 public contribution(s)
"I lift my eyes up to you, the one enthroned in the heavens."
🌱 Modern Life Connection & Pastoral Antidote:

When you're stuck staring at what's hurting you, try lifting your eyes somewhere else for a moment - towards something bigger than the problem. That shift in attention itself can be the first step towards relief.

Psalms 123:2
📜 Original KJV VersePsalms 123:2

"Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us. "

🏛️ Original Language Illumination:
Original Term:Root Analysis (psalms 123:2) (Hebrew)
Range of Meanings:This image captures total dependence without shame - a servant watching a master's hand isn't weak, it's simply honest about who holds the resources in that relationship. The poet isn't ashamed to say 'we are waiting on you, we need your mercy.'
Why It Matters Here:The poet uses the image of a household servant watching for the slightest hand-signal from their employer - attentive, dependent, waiting - to describe the people's posture towards God during hardship.
✨ Suggested InterpretationsSynthesized from 1 public contribution(s)
"Just as a servant watches their master's hand for instruction, and a maid watches her mistress's hand, so we watch the LORD our God, waiting for him to show us mercy."
🌱 Modern Life Connection & Pastoral Antidote:

There's no shame in openly needing help and watching closely for it. I'd rather you wait on me honestly, like a hand you're watching for a signal, than pretend you don't need anything from anyone.

Psalms 123:3
📜 Original KJV VersePsalms 123:3

"Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. "

🏛️ Original Language Illumination:
Original Term:Root Analysis (psalms 123:3) (Hebrew)
Range of Meanings:Repeating the plea isn't decorative - it conveys real urgency and exhaustion. Naming 'contempt' specifically, rather than vague suffering, points to a very particular kind of pain: being sneered at, dismissed, made to feel small.
Why It Matters Here:The plea becomes urgent and repeated ('have mercy... have mercy'), naming exactly what's wearing the people down: contempt from others.
✨ Suggested InterpretationsSynthesized from 1 public contribution(s)
"Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy - we have had more than enough of being looked down on."
🌱 Modern Life Connection & Pastoral Antidote:

Being looked down on by others is a real wound, not something you should just brush off as unimportant. It's alright to say, urgently and more than once, that you've had enough of it.

Psalms 123:4
📜 Original KJV VersePsalms 123:4

"Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud. "

🏛️ Original Language Illumination:
Original Term:Root Analysis (psalms 123:4) (Hebrew)
Range of Meanings:This names a particular sting: being mocked by people who have it easy, who look down from comfort rather than understanding from shared struggle. It validates the specific bitterness of that kind of contempt.
Why It Matters Here:The poet closes by identifying who's doing the mocking: not the desperate or the struggling, but people who are comfortable and proud - looking down from a position of ease.
✨ Suggested InterpretationsSynthesized from 1 public contribution(s)
"We have had far more than enough of the mockery from those who are comfortable, and the contempt of the arrogant."
🌱 Modern Life Connection & Pastoral Antidote:

It stings more when the mockery comes from people who've never known your struggle. I notice that particular unfairness too, and you're not wrong to feel its weight differently than criticism from someone who's walked your road.

← Previous Chapter (122)Page 123 of 150 (Psalms)Next Chapter (124) →