Psalms 129

1 A SONG OF THE ASCENTS. Often they distressed me from my youth, Pray, let Israel say:

A song of ascents. ‘Sore have they vexed me from youth’ thus let Israel say

2 Often they distressed me from my youth, Yet they have not prevailed over me.

‘Sore have they vexed me from youth, but they have not prevailed against me.

3 Plowers have plowed over my back, They have made their furrows long.

‘The ploughers ploughed on my back, they made their furrows long.

4 YHWH [is] righteous, He has cut apart cords of the wicked.

But the Lord, who is righteous, has cut the cords of the wicked.’

5 All hating Zion [are] confounded and turn backward.

Let all who are haters of Zion be put to shame and defeated.

6 They are as grass of the roofs, That withers before it was drawn out,

May they be as the grass on the house-top, which withers before it shoots up;

7 That has not filled the hand of a reaper, And the bosom of a binder of sheaves.

which fills not the arms of the reaper, nor the lap of the binder of sheaves

8 And the passers by have not said, “The blessing of YHWH [is] on you, We blessed you in the Name of YHWH!”

whereof no one says as they pass, ‘The blessing of God be upon you.’ In the name of the Lord we bless you.