What Does Psalm 123:1 Mean in the King James?
A Song of degrees. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The “degrees” are ascents, so the song begins by enacting its title: the eyes rise toward the One seated in the heavens.
THE MEANING
You lift your eyes toward the One who sits in the heavens. Your attention rises toward a presence described as settled above what immediately fills your view.
THE ROOT
הַמַּעֲלוֹת
hamaʿalot
GROWS FROM
עָלָה
ʿālāh
to ascend, go up
The KJV’s “degrees” is מַעֲלוֹת (maʿalot), meaning ascents or steps upward. The opening gesture makes the song’s title visible: the eyes rise in a song named for rising.
ALSO GROWS
ʿālāh: to ascend, go up
עָלָה
The root names the upward movement carried by the song’s title.
ʿōlāh: ascending offering; burnt offering
עֹלָה
This branch is named for what rises, extending the root’s movement into the language of offering.
נָשָׂאתִי
nāśāʾtî
GROWS FROM
נָשָׂא
nāśāʾ
to lift, carry, bear
The verb translated “lift” also means “carry” and “bear.” The eyes are raised, and the verb’s wider range lets the gesture carry the speaker’s attention toward its object, rather than merely describe a glance.
ALSO GROWS
nōśēʾ: one carrying or bearing
נֹשֵׂא
This participle keeps the verse’s lifting action connected to carrying.
nāśîʾ: leader, prince; one raised up
נָשִׂיא
This related title carries the sense of being elevated, echoing the ascent in the verse.
הַיֹּשְׁבִי
hayyōšəḇî
GROWS FROM
יָשַׁב
yāšaḇ
to sit, dwell, remain
“dwellest” in this verse is hayyōšəḇî. The one addressed is described through yashav, which holds sitting and dwelling together. The verse pairs the reader’s rising gaze with a presence that is settled in the heavens.
ALSO GROWS
mōšāḇ: seat, dwelling, settlement
מוֹשָׁב
This branch makes the root’s sense of dwelling concrete as a place to sit and remain.
yōšēḇ: one sitting or dwelling
יוֹשֵׁב
The verse’s address presents the One in the heavens as seated there, not passing through.
THE PATTERN
Prayer is pictured as an upward turning that lifts the eyes, and even the self, toward God.
A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.A Psalm of David. Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:THE THREAD
A Song of degrees. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.Psalm 121 opens with the same Hebrew verb, נשָׂא (nāśāʾ), and the same lifted eyes. Here the gaze turns toward the One in the heavens; there it turns toward the hills and asks where help comes from, letting the upward motion become a question about its source.
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