Psalm 122

Psalm 123 in the KJV and most English Bibles

Tap Fathers under a verse to read what the saints said about it.

A Song of Degrees. Unto thee who dwellest in heaven Have I lifted up mine eyes.

Ὠδὴ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν. Πρὸς σὲ ᾖρα τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου, τὸν κατοικοῦντα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ.

Behold, as the eyes of servants are directed to the hands of their masters, And as the eyes of a maidservant to the hands of her mistress; So our eyes are directed to the Lord our God, Until he have mercy upon us.

Ἰδοὺ ὡς ὀφθαλμοὶ δούλων εἰς χεῖρας τῶν κυρίων αὐτῶν, ὡς ὀφθαλμοὶ παιδίσκης εἰς χεῖρας τῆς κυρίας αὐτῆς, οὕτως οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν πρὸς Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν, ἕως οὗ οἰκτειρῆσαι ἡμᾶς.

Have pity upon us, O Lord, have pity upon us: For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

Ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς Κύριε, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς, ὅτι ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐπλήσθημεν ἐξουδενώσεως.

Yea, our soul has been exceedingly filled with it: Let the reproach be to them that are at ease, And contempt to the proud.

Ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἐπλήσθη ἡ ψυχὴ ἡμῶν· τὸ ὄνειδος τοῖς εὐθηνοῦσι καὶ ἡ ἐξουδένωσις τοῖς ὑπερηφάνοις.

About these notes

Every note is a real passage, quoted word for word from a published English translation, with its source. Nothing here is summarised or written by us. Some verses have many notes and some have none, because the Fathers wrote more on some passages than others.

Blessed Augustine, Expositions on the Book of Psalms, tr. A. Cleveland Coxe from the Oxford translation, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888).
Scripture: the Septuagint, in the translation of Sir Lancelot Brenton (1851), with spelling updated by Adam Boyd (2020); the Greek is Brenton's Septuagint text.

All of these translations are in the public domain. The passages were matched to their verses by the Historical Christian Commentaries project, which also hosts the full texts we link to. The Fathers are a treasury of the Church's mind, and they are best read alongside the life of the Church: if a passage raises a question, bring it to your priest.