Psaumes 129

1 Cantique des degrés. "Violemment on m’a persécuté dès ma jeunesse peut bien dire Israël

A song for pilgrims going up to Jerusalem. Many enemies have attacked from the time I was young. Let everyone in Israel say:

2 violemment on m’a persécuté dès ma jeunesse, mais on n’a pu triompher de moi.

Many enemies have attacked from the time I was young, but they never defeated me.

3 Des laboureurs ont labouré mon dos, y ont tracé de longs sillons."

They beat me on my back, leaving long furrows as if it had been ploughed by a farmer.

4 L’Eternel est juste, il brise les entraves des méchants.

But the Lord does what is right: he has cut me free from the ropes of the wicked.

5 Qu’ils rougissent et reculent, tous ceux qui haïssent Sion!

May everyone who hates Zion be driven back in humiliating defeat.

6 Qu’ils soient comme l’herbe des toits, qui se dessèche avant qu’on l’enlève,

May they be like grass that grows on a roof that withers before it can be harvested,

7 dont le moissonneur n’emplit pas sa main, ni le faiseur de gerbes son giron!

There's not enough even for a reaper to hold, not enough even for the binder to bind.

8 De sorte que les passants ne disent point: "La bénédiction de Dieu soit sur vous! Nous vous bénissons au nom de l’Eternel."

May passers-by not say to them, “The blessing of the Lord be on you; we bless you in the name of the Lord.”