שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת אֵלֶיךָ נָשָׂאתִי אֶת עֵינַי הַיֹּשְׁבִי בַּשָּׁמָיִם

A song of ascents. I lift my eyes to You. I, so distant from heaven, having reached the lowest point, raise my eyes in prayer and supplication to You who dwell in heaven.

הִנֵּה כְעֵינֵי עֲבָדִים אֶל יַד אֲדוֹנֵיהֶם כְּעֵינֵי שִׁפְחָה אֶל יַד גְּבִרְתָּהּ כֵּן עֵינֵינוּ אֶל ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ עַד שֶׁיְּחָנֵּנוּ

Behold, as the eyes of servants to their master’s hand, and even as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, for if male servants are dependent and submissive, even more so are maidservants, who are weaker, so our eyes are to the Lord our God until He is gracious to us. A “master’s hand” is the source of giving and succor as well as punishment, and the slave has no recourse other than his master’s goodwill. Similarly, our position vis-à-vis God is that of utter dependency and submission, and we thus wholeheartedly beseech His aid, in the knowledge that only He can help us.

חָנֵּנוּ ה' חָנֵּנוּ כִּי רַב שָׂבַעְנוּ בוּז

And this is our prayer: Be gracious to us, Lord; be gracious to us, for we are sated with scorn. Beyond our other suffering, we have been subjected to a full measure of degradation.

רַבַּת שָׂבְעָה לָּהּ נַפְשֵׁנוּ הַלַּעַג הַשַּׁאֲנַנִּים הַבּוּז לִגְאֵי יוֹנִים

We are sated with the mockery of the complacent, the abuse of the arrogant.