Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Parallel translations
- WEB Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.
- KJV Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
- BSB Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.
- NASB ¶Be gracious to us, Lord, be gracious to us, For we have had much more than enough of contempt.
- NLT Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy, for we have had our fill of contempt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He pleads urgently for God's mercy because they have suffered much contempt. In scorn and disdain, the people cry for God's compassion.
Overview
The doubled cry 'Have mercy on us' conveys urgency as the people groan under 'much contempt.' Their only recourse against scorn is God's mercy. This appeal anticipates the gospel, where God answers the humble cry for mercy with the grace lavished in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Luke 18:11–13The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
- Ps 57:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave. Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.
- Ps 89:50–51Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the mighty peoples,
- Neh 4:2–4He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are burned?”
- Ps 56:1–2For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A poem by David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up. All day long, he attacks and oppresses me.
- Luke 23:35The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”
- Isa 53:3He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
- Ps 4:1For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm by David. Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
- Luke 16:14The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.
- Ps 69:13–16But as for me, my prayer is to you, Yahweh, in an acceptable time. God, in the abundance of your loving kindness, answer me in the truth of your salvation.
- Ps 44:13–16You make us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those who are around us.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 123:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.