Psalms — Chapter 129

Loading ESV text...

1A song of ascents. Many a time they have persecuted me from my youth—let Israel now declare—

2many a time they have persecuted me from my youth, but they have not prevailed against me.

3The plowmen plowed over my back; they made their furrows long.

4The LORD is righteous; He has cut me from the cords of the wicked.

5May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame.

6May they be like grass on the rooftops, which withers before it can grow,

7unable to fill the hands of the reaper, or the arms of the binder of sheaves.

8May none who pass by say to them, “The blessing of the LORD be on you; we bless you in the name of the LORD.”

1Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:

2Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.

3The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.

4The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.

5Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.

6Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:

7Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.

8Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.

1Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up, Let Israel now say,

2Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up: Yet they have not prevailed against me.

3The plowers plowed upon my back; They made long their furrows.

4Jehovah is righteous: He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.

5Let them be put to shame and turned backward, All they that hate Zion.

6Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth before it groweth up;

7Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand, Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.

8Neither do they that go by say, The blessing of Jehovah be upon you; We bless you in the name of Jehovah. Psalm 130 A Song of Ascents.

1A song of ascents. “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.

3The plowers plowed my back; they made their furrows long.

4The Lord is just; he cut the ropes of the wicked.”

5May all who hate Zion be humiliated and turned back.

6May they be like the grass on the rooftops, which withers before one can even pull it up,

7which cannot fill the reaper’s hand or the lap of the one who gathers the grain.

8Those who pass by will not say, “May you experience the Lord’s blessing! We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”

1Many times they have afflicted me from my youth up. Let Israel now say,

2many times they have afflicted me from my youth up, yet they have not prevailed against me.

3The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long.

4Yahweh is righteous. He has cut apart the cords of the wicked.

5Let them be disappointed and turned backward, all those who hate Zion.

6Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up;

7with which the reaper doesn’t fill his hand, nor he who binds sheaves, his bosom.

8Neither do those who go by say, “The blessing of Yahweh be on you. We bless you in Yahweh’s name.”

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

This Song of Ascents has Israel recalling a lifetime of affliction from its youth, describing enemies who plowed long furrows across their back, yet never prevailed (vv. 1-3). The psalmist declares the LORD righteous for cutting the ropes of the wicked (v. 4), then prays that those who hate Zion would be turned back and wither like grass on a rooftop — cut down before anyone can even harvest or bless it (vv. 5-8).

Authorship & Background

Author: Multiple authors — primarily David (73 psalms attributed), plus Asaph (12), Sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Heman (1), Ethan (1), and anonymous. The Psalter was compiled over approximately 1000 years and served as Israel's hymnal and prayer book. The book is divided into five 'books' (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), paralleling the five books of Moses.
Classification: Song of Ascents / Communal Lament
Attributed Author: Anonymous (superscription: "A Song of degrees")
Key Themes: Israel's history of persecution, survival through affliction, God cutting the cords of the wicked, judgment on those who hate Zion, resilience of God's people
Historical Context: Psalm 129 is the tenth Song of Ascents — a national testimony of survival. Israel has been afflicted "from my youth" (from Egypt onward), yet the enemy has not prevailed. The vivid image of plowers making long furrows on Israel's back (v.3) captures centuries of oppression: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and beyond. Yet the defiant refrain: "they have not prevailed against me." The second half calls for judgment on Zion's enemies, comparing them to grass on rooftops that withers before being pulled — fruitless and temporary.
The Plowers Plowed upon My Back (vv.1-4): Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say. The line is written for a congregation to repeat, and the youth in question is the nation's, which puts Egypt at the start of the list. Yet they have not prevailed against me. That clause is the psalm's whole argument, and it claims survival rather than victory. The image of the affliction is agricultural and brutal, the plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows, which is a flogged back described as a field. Then the reply, and it is short, the LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
As the Grass upon the Housetops (vv.5-8): Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion. The curse that follows is the mildest in the psalter and the most carefully chosen. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up, since a flat mud roof grows a little grass after rain and it dies in days with no soil to hold it. What is asked for is not destruction but futility, and the two farming verses spell it out, wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. The last verse withholds something instead of inflicting it, neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you. In a culture where that greeting was said to any harvester, being passed in silence is the sentence.

Map & Geography

  • Zion (v.5): The hill on which Jerusalem/the Temple stood; often used poetically for God's dwelling.

Places on this map

  • JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia

Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Psalms 125-129 | God's Righteous Kingdom | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Psalm 129 - Afflicted Yet Confident in God’s Deliverance
David Guzik

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of Psalms -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • Afflicted but Never Overcome (vv.1-2) — Israel can testify to affliction stretching back to its youth, yet declares the enemy has not prevailed. What long-running struggle can you look back on and honestly say, by God's grace, it hasn't defeated you?
  • Deep Wounds, Yet the Lord Cuts the Cords (vv.3-4) — The image of plowers cutting long furrows into a back pictures deep, sustained suffering, but the Lord is righteous and cuts the ropes of the wicked. What binding, oppressive situation do you need to trust God to sever rather than trying to escape on your own strength?
  • Enemies That Wither Like Rooftop Grass (vv.5-8) — Those who hate Zion are compared to shallow-rooted grass on a roof that withers before it can even be harvested. When you're tempted to fear people who oppose what's right, does this picture of their ultimate fruitlessness change how much weight you give them?