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About this chapterIsrael looks back and says that since its youth it has been greatly afflicted, yet its enemies have not prevailed. The picture is of plowmen making long furrows on Israel's back. But the Lord is righteous and has cut the cords of the wicked. Those who hate Zion are said to be like grass on a rooftop that withers before it grows, where no reaper fills a hand and no one gathers it into sheaves. Passers-by do not offer them the blessing of the Lord. It is a psalm of survival, admitting suffering honestly while trusting that God's justice will win in the end.

Israel looks back and says that since its youth it has been greatly afflicted, yet its enemies have not prevailed. The picture is of plowmen making long furrows on Israel's back. But the Lord is righteous and has cut the cords of the wicked. Those who hate Zion are said to be like grass on a rooftop that withers before it grows, where no reaper fills a hand and no one gathers it into sheaves. Passers-by do not offer them the blessing of the Lord. It is a psalm of survival, admitting suffering honestly while trusting that God's justice will win in the end.

Themes

  • Survival under oppression
  • God's justice
  • Fading of the wicked
  • Songs of Ascents

Key verses

Audio Bible · Psalms 129

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Psalms 129

Berean Standard Bible8 verses · 1 min read

1Many 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.”
Verses in Psalms 129
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