Salmi 129
Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
Contro i nemici di Sion
129 Canto delle ascensioni.
Dalla giovinezza molto mi hanno perseguitato,
- lo dica Israele -
2 dalla giovinezza molto mi hanno perseguitato,
ma non hanno prevalso.
3 Sul mio dorso hanno arato gli aratori,
hanno fatto lunghi solchi.
4 Il Signore è giusto:
ha spezzato il giogo degli empi.
5 Siano confusi e volgano le spalle
quanti odiano Sion.
6 Siano come l'erba dei tetti:
prima che sia strappata, dissecca;
7 non se ne riempie la mano il mietitore,
né il grembo chi raccoglie covoni.
8 I passanti non possono dire:
«La benedizione del Signore sia su di voi,
vi benediciamo nel nome del Signore».
Psalm 129
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 129[a]
Against Israel’s Enemies
1 A song of ascents.
I
Viciously have they attacked me from my youth,
let Israel say now.(A)
2 Viciously have they attacked me from my youth,(B)
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 Upon my back the plowers plowed,
as they traced their long furrows.(C)
4 But the just Lord cut me free
from the ropes of the wicked.[b]
II
5 May they recoil in disgrace,
all who hate Zion.
6 May they be like grass on the rooftops[c]
withered in early growth,(D)
7 Never to fill the reaper’s hands,
nor the arms of the binders of sheaves,
8 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
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 129:8 The blessing of the Lord be upon you: harvesters greeted one another with such blessings, cf. Ru 2:4.
Psalm 129
New English Translation
Psalm 129[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
129 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”
let Israel say.
2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not defeated me.
3 The plowers plowed my back;
they made their furrows long.
4 The Lord is just;
he cut the ropes of the wicked.”[c]
5 May all who hate Zion
be humiliated and turned back.
6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops,
which withers before one can even pull it up,[d]
7 which cannot fill the reaper’s hand,
or the lap of the one who gathers the grain.
8 Those who pass by will not say,[e]
“May you experience the Lord’s blessing!
We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 129:1 sn Psalm 129. Israel affirms God’s justice and asks him to destroy the enemies of Zion.
- Psalm 129:1 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.
- Psalm 129:4 tn The background of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Perhaps the “ropes” are those used to harness the ox for plowing (see Job 39:10). Verse 3 pictures the wicked plowing God’s people as if they were a field. But when God “cut the ropes” of their ox, as it were, they could no longer plow. The point of the metaphor seems to be that God took away the enemies’ ability to oppress his people. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 187.
- Psalm 129:6 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁלַף (shalaf) normally means “to draw [a sword]” or “to pull.” BDB 1025 s.v. suggests the meaning “to shoot up” here, but it is more likely that the verb here means “to pluck; to pull up,” a nuance attested for this word in later Hebrew and Aramaic (see Jastrow 1587 s.v. שָׁלַף).
- Psalm 129:8 tn The perfect verbal form is used for rhetorical effect; it describes an anticipated development as if it were already reality.
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