Psalms 129:1-6

Victory Over the Enemies of Zion

1

A song of ascents.

1 "Too often they have attacked me from my youth." Let Israel say,

2 "Too often they have attacked me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.

3 On my back plowmen have plowed. They have made their furrows long."

4 Yahweh [is] righteous. He has cut [the] ropes of [the] wicked.

5 Let all be put to shame and repulsed who hate Zion.

6 Let them be like grass on [the] housetops, that withers before it grows up,

Psalms 129:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 129

\\<>\\. This psalm was written in later times, after many of the distresses of Israel; very probably upon the Jews return from the Babylonish captivity, by Ezra, or some other godly person. Aben Ezra says the psalmist speaks in the language of Israel in captivity; and the same is the sense of Kimchi and Arama. The Syriac inscription is, ``a psalm without a name, concerning the distress of the people; but as to us, it intimates to us the victory and triumph of the worshippers.''

Footnotes

• [a]. The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
• [b]. Or "Greatly"
• [c]. Or "Greatly"
• [d]. According to the reading tradition (Qere)
• [e]. That is, the yoke and tackle on a beast of burden