Psalms 129:1-6

1 "They've kicked me around ever since I was young" - this is how Israel tells it -
2 "They've kicked me around ever since I was young, but they never could keep me down.
3 Their plowmen plowed long furrows up and down my back;
4 Then God ripped the harnesses of the evil plowmen to shreds."
5 Oh, let all those who hate Zion grovel in humiliation;
6 Let them be like grass in shallow ground that withers before the harvest,

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.''

Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.