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Psalm chapter 129

English Standard Version

1 "Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth" — let Israel now say — 2"Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me. 3 The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows." 4The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked. 5May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward! 6Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, 7with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms, 8nor do those who pass by say, "The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!"
New International Version

1A song of ascents. "They have greatly oppressed me from my youth," let Israel say; 2"they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me. 3Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long.
4But the Lord is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked." 5May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame. 6May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it can grow; 7a reaper cannot fill his hands with it, nor one who gathers fill his arms. 8May those who pass by not say to them, "The blessing of the Lord be on you; we bless you in the name of the Lord."
New American Standard Bible

1'Many times they have attacked me from my youth up,' Let Israel say, 2'Many times they have attacked me from my youth up; Yet they have not prevailed against me. 3The plowers plowed upon my back; They lengthened their furrows.' 4The Lord is righteous; He has cut up the ropes of the wicked. 5May all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward; 6May they be like grass upon the housetops, Which withers before it grows up; 7With which the harvester does not fill his hand, Or the binder of sheaves his arms; 8Nor do those who pass by say, 'The blessing of the Lord be upon you; We bless you in the name of the Lord.'
Christian Standard Bible

1A song of ascents. Since my youth they have often attacked me— let Israel say— 2Since my youth they have often attacked me, but they have not prevailed against me. 3Plowmen plowed over my back; they made their furrows long.
4The Lord is righteous; he has cut the ropes of the wicked. 5Let all who hate Zion be driven back in disgrace. 6Let them be like grass on the rooftops, which withers before it grows up 7and can’t even fill the hands of the reaper or the arms of the one who binds sheaves. 8Then none who pass by will say, "May the Lord’s blessing be on you. We bless you in the name of the Lord."
New Living Translation

1From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this: 2From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me. 3My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows. 4But the Lord is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.
5May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat. 6May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown, 7ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder. 8And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing: 'The Lord bless you; we bless you in the Lord’s name.'
King James Version

1A Song of degrees. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
2Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.
3The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.
4The Lord is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
5Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
6Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:
7Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
8Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we bless you in the name of the Lord.
New King James Version

1{Song of Ascents.} “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth,” Let Israel now say— 2“Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; Yet they have not prevailed against me. 3The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.” 4The Lord is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked. 5Let all those who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned back. 6Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up, 7With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Nor he who binds sheaves, his arms. 8Neither let those who pass by them say, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you; We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

What does Psalm chapter 129 mean?

Israelites heading to Jerusalem for required festivals (Deuteronomy 16:16) used certain psalms as they climbed the hills towards the city. Those passages are called songs "of ascents" (Psalms 120—134). In this example, we find language typical of the "imprecatory" psalms. These call for the Lord to bring some specific hurt on an enemy. Imprecations usually refer to defeat or shame (Psalm 17:13; 35:4–6). Others are much more aggressive (Psalm 58:6–9; 137:8–9).

The psalmist looks back on a history of near-constant oppression and hardship at the hands of enemies. This seems to have applied both personally and with respect to the nation of Israel. The Jewish people have nearly always been under attack by one adversary or another (Exodus 1:8–14; 17:8; Judges 2:16–19; 2 Chronicles 28:18; 36:17–20; Ezekiel 25:12). This is compared to a farmer's field, where the plow makes long gouges in the soil. Israel's hardships have been long and consistent, with only minor relief, just as plowing is only interrupted long enough to turn around and begin the next row. The imagery also hints at scars on a person's back from whipping. Yet the Lord has kept the nation alive (Jeremiah 29:10–14) during these hard times (Psalm 129:1–4).

In the imprecatory phase of this song, the psalmist hopes for hateful enemies to experience humiliation and defeat. Zion (2 Samuel 5:7; 1 Kings 8:1) is a byword for Jerusalem, and both can generally refer to the nation of Israel. The opponents in mind here are those who hate the Jewish people. Sadly, this attitude has run rampant in the world for thousands of years. The psalmist asks that these haters be as unproductive as weeds growing on a roof, which are shriveled up by the sun. Further, the writer rejects granting the wicked even polite social greetings (Numbers 6:22–26; 1 Samuel 15:13) which evoke blessings from God (Psalm 129:5–8).
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