Read Psalm 123 and 124 at Bible Gateway.
Hebrew paragraph divisions:
Psa 123
1 Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.
2a Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, {n}
2b As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, {n}
2c So our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4a Our soul is exceedingly filled {n}
4b With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud. {p}
Psa 124
1 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” let Israel now say—
2 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul;
5 Then the swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.”
6 Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
7a Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; {n}
7b The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. {p}
Psa 123:1-124:8 chiastic structure:
1a) Psa 123:1-2, Unto You I lift up my eyes, who dwell in the heavens, until You have mercy on us;
1a) Psa 123:1, Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens;
1b) Psa 123:2a, Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters; {n}
2b) Psa 123:2b, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress; {n}
2a) Psa 123:2c, So our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us;
1b.1) Psa 123:3a, Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us!
1b.2) Psa 123:3b-4 {p} Our soul is exceedingly filled with the contempt of the proud;
central axis) Psa 124:1-5, If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, men would have swallowed us alive;
2b.1) Psa 124:6, Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth;
2b.2) Psa 124:7, Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
2a) Psa 124:8 {p} Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. {p}
How do we know that the A pairs, Psa 123:1-2, and Psa 124:8, are matching pairs? Psa 121 tells us they are:
I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psa 121:1-2
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