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A Song of Ascents.

129 Many times they have afflicted me from my youth up.
    Let Israel now say,
many times they have afflicted me from my youth up,
    yet they have not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed on my back.
    They made their furrows long.
Yahweh is righteous.
    He has cut apart the cords of the wicked.
Let them be disappointed and turned backward,
    all those who hate Zion.
Let them be as the grass on the housetops,
    which withers before it grows up,
with which the reaper doesn’t fill his hand,
    nor he who binds sheaves, his bosom.
Neither do those who go by say,
    “The blessing of Yahweh be on you.
    We bless you in Yahweh’s name.”

A Song of Ascents

God Defeats Israel’s Enemies

129 “Since my youth they have often persecuted me,”
    let Israel repeat it,
“Since my youth they have often persecuted me,
    yet they haven’t defeated me.
Wicked people[a] plowed over my back,
    creating long-lasting wounds.”[b]

The Lord is righteous—
    he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.

Let all who hate Zion
    be turned away and be ashamed.
May they become like a tuft of grass on a roof top,
    that withers before it takes root—
not enough to fill one’s hand
    or to bundle in one’s arms.
And may those who pass by never tell them,
    “May the Lord’s blessing be upon you.
        We bless you in the name of the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 129:3 So LXX DSS 11QPsa; MT reads The ploughman
  2. Psalm 129:3 Or long furrows; LXX reads back; they prolonged their lawlessness