Psalm 128:1-3

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 128:1 sn Psalm 128. The psalmist observes that the godly individual has genuine happiness because the Lord rewards such a person with prosperity and numerous children.
2. Psalm 128:1 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
3. Psalm 128:1 tn Heb “every fearer of the Lord.”
4. Psalm 128:1 tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”
5. Psalm 128:2 tn The psalmist addresses the representative God-fearing man, as indicated by the references to “your wife” (v. 3) and “the man” (v. 4), as well as the second masculine singular pronominal and verbal forms in vv. 2-6.
6. Psalm 128:2 tn Heb “the work of your hands, indeed you will eat.”
7. Psalm 128:2 tn Heb “how blessed you [will be] and it will be good for you.”
8. Psalm 128:3 sn The metaphor of the fruitful vine pictures the wife as fertile; she will give her husband numerous children (see the next line).
9. Psalm 128:3 tn One could translate “sons” (see Ps 127:3 and the note on the word “sons” there), but here the term seems to refer more generally to children of both genders.