求上帝击退仇敌

上圣殿朝圣之诗。

129 以色列要说:
我从小就深受仇敌的迫害,
我从小就深受仇敌的迫害,
但他们没能胜过我。
他们鞭打我的背,
伤痕如同农夫耕出的长长犁沟。
耶和华是公义的,
祂砍断了恶人捆绑我的绳索。
愿所有憎恶锡安的人狼狈而逃。
愿他们像房顶的草,
没长起来就已枯萎,
割下来不满一把,
扎起来不足一捆。
没有一个路过的人说:
“愿耶和华赐福给你们!
我们奉耶和华的名祝福你们。”

Psalm 129[a]

Against Israel’s Enemies

A song of ascents.

I

Viciously have they attacked me from my youth,
    let Israel say now.(A)
Viciously have they attacked me from my youth,(B)
    yet they have not prevailed against me.
Upon my back the plowers plowed,
    as they traced their long furrows.(C)
But the just Lord cut me free
    from the ropes of the wicked.[b]

II

May they recoil in disgrace,
    all who hate Zion.
May they be like grass on the rooftops[c]
    withered in early growth,(D)
Never to fill the reaper’s hands,
    nor the arms of the binders of sheaves,
And with none passing by to call out:
    “The blessing of the Lord be upon you![d]
    We bless you in the name of the Lord!”(E)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 129 A Psalm giving thanks for God’s many rescues of Israel over the long course of their history (Ps 129:1–4); the people pray that their oppressors never know the joy of harvest (Ps 129:5–8).
  2. 129:4 The ropes of the wicked: usually understood as the rope for yoking animals to the plow. If it is severed, the plowing (cf. Ps 129:3) comes to a halt.
  3. 129:6 Like grass on the rooftops: after the spring rains, grass would sprout from the coat of mud with which the flat roofs of simple houses were covered, but when the dry summer began there was no moisture in the thin roof-covering to sustain the grass.
  4. 129:8 The blessing of the Lord be upon you: harvesters greeted one another with such blessings, cf. Ru 2:4.

Prayer for the overthrow of Zion’s enemies.

A Song of Ascents.

[a]129 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up,
Let Israel now say,
[b]Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up:
Yet they have not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed upon my back;
They made long their furrows.
Jehovah is righteous:
He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
Let them be put to shame and turned backward,
All they that hate Zion.
Let them be as the grass upon the housetops,
Which withereth before it [c]groweth up;
Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand,
Nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom:
Neither do they that go by say,
The blessing of Jehovah be upon you;
We bless you in the name of Jehovah.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 129:1 Or, Much
  2. Psalm 129:2 Or, Much
  3. Psalm 129:6 Or, is plucked up

Cântico de peregrinação.

129 Isto é o que Israel poderá dizer:
“Muitas vezes fui perseguido,
já desde a minha juventude!
Sim, já na minha mocidade me oprimiram;
contudo, não conseguiram acabar comigo!
Exploraram-me como o agricultor que lavra a terra;
os açoites que me deram abriram sulcos profundos.”
Mas o Senhor é justo;
ele corta as amarras dos ímpios.

Sejam envergonhados e retirem-se,
todos os que odeiam a Sião.
Que todos esses sejam como a erva dos telhados,
que seca depressa, antes de a arrancarem.
Ninguém lhe liga;
nem o agricultor, nem o ceifeiro.
Que ninguém, ao vê-los, diga:
“O Senhor vos abençoe!
Que sejam abençoados em nome do Senhor!”