Psalm 129
Expanded Bible
A Prayer Against the Enemies
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
129 ·They have treated me badly all my life [L Many are my foes from my youth].
(Let Israel ·repeat this [L say].)
2 ·They have treated me badly all my life [L Many are my foes from my youth],
but they have not ·defeated [overcome; prevailed over] me.
3 ·Like farmers plowing, they plowed over my back [L The plowers plowed my back],
making ·long wounds [L their furrows long].
4 But the Lord does what is right;
he has ·set me free from those [L cut the cords of] wicked people.
5 Let those who hate ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]
be ·turned back in shame [L humiliated and turn back].
6 Let them be like the grass on the roof
that dries up before it has grown.
7 There is not enough of it ·to [L for the harvester to] fill a hand
or ·to make into a bundle [those who bind sheaves] to fill one’s arms.
8 Let those who pass by them not say,
“May the Lord bless you.
We bless you by the ·power [L name] of the Lord.”
Psalm 129
New American Standard Bible
Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.
A Song of Ascents.
129 “[a]Many times they have (A)attacked me from my (B)youth up,”
(C)Let Israel say,
2 “[b]Many times they have attacked me from my youth up;
Yet they have (D)not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
4 The Lord (E)is righteous;
He has cut up the (F)ropes of the wicked.
5 May all who (G)hate Zion
Be (H)put to shame and turned backward;
6 May they be like (I)grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it [c]grows up;
7 With which the harvester does not fill his [d]hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his [e](J)arms;
8 Nor do those who pass by say,
“The (K)blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 129:1 Lit Much
- Psalm 129:2 Lit Much
- Psalm 129:6 Lit draws out
- Psalm 129:7 Lit palm
- Psalm 129:7 Lit the fold of his robe
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
