Psalm 129

A song of ascents.

“They have greatly oppressed(A) me from my youth,”(B)
    let Israel say;(C)
“they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
    but they have not gained the victory(D) over me.
Plowmen have plowed my back
    and made their furrows long.
But the Lord is righteous;(E)
    he has cut me free(F) from the cords of the wicked.”(G)

May all who hate Zion(H)
    be turned back in shame.(I)
May they be like grass on the roof,(J)
    which withers(K) before it can grow;
a reaper cannot fill his hands with it,(L)
    nor one who gathers fill his arms.
May those who pass by not say to them,
    “The blessing of the Lord be on you;
    we bless you(M) in the name of the Lord.”

A Prayer against Israel's Enemies

129 Israel, tell us how your enemies have persecuted you
    ever since you were young.

“Ever since I was young,
    my enemies have persecuted me cruelly,
    but they have not overcome me.
They cut deep wounds in my back
    and made it like a plowed field.
But the Lord, the righteous one,
    has freed me from slavery.”

May everyone who hates Zion
    be defeated and driven back.
May they all be like grass growing on the housetops,
    which dries up before it can grow;
    no one gathers it up
    or carries it away in bundles.
No one who passes by will say,
    “May the Lord bless you!
    We bless you in the name of the Lord.”

129 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:

Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.

The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.

The Lord is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.

Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.

Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:

Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.

Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we bless you in the name of the Lord.