Chapter Text
123:1 A Song of the Ascents. Unto Thee I have lifted up mine eyes, O dweller in the heavens.
123:2 Lo, as eyes of men-servants <FI>Are<Fi> unto the hand of their masters, As eyes of a maid-servant <FI>Are<Fi> unto the hand of her mistress, So <FI>are<Fi> our eyes unto Jehovah our God, Till that He doth favour us.
123:3 Favour us, O Jehovah, favour us, For greatly have we been filled with contempt,
123:4 Greatly hath our soul been filled With the scorning of the easy ones, With the contempt of the arrogant!
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "song", "ascents", "thee", "lifted", "mine", "eyes", "dweller", and "heavens". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "song" and "ascents", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The local YLT text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "song" and "ascents" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "song" and "ascents" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.