Psalms 129:1-8
Psalms 129:1-8 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”— let Israel now say— “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.” The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked. May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward! Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms, nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD!”
Psalms 129:1-8 The Message (MSG)
“They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young” —this is how Israel tells it— “They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young, but they never could keep me down. Their plowmen plowed long furrows up and down my back; But GOD wouldn’t put up with it, he sticks with us. Then GOD ripped the harnesses of the evil plowmen to shreds.” Oh, let all those who hate Zion grovel in humiliation; Let them be like grass in shallow ground that withers before the harvest, Before the farmhands can gather it in, the harvesters get in the crop, Before the neighbors have a chance to call out, “Congratulations on your wonderful crop! We bless you in GOD’s name!”
Psalms 129:1-8 King James Version (KJV)
Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, May Israel now say: Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: Yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed upon my back: They made long their furrows. The LORD is righteous: He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. Let them all be confounded and turned back That hate Zion. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth afore it groweth up: Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. Neither do they which go by say, the blessing of the LORD be upon you: We bless you in the name of the LORD.
Psalms 129:1-8 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up,” Let Israel now say, “Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up; Yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed upon my back; They lengthened their furrows.” The LORD is righteous; He has cut in two the cords of the wicked. May all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward; Let them be like grass upon the housetops, Which withers before it grows up; With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Or the binder of sheaves his bosom; Nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the LORD.”
Psalms 129:1-8 New Century Version (NCV)
They have treated me badly all my life. (Let Israel repeat this.) They have treated me badly all my life, but they have not defeated me. Like farmers plowing, they plowed over my back, making long wounds. But the LORD does what is right; he has set me free from those wicked people. Let those who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shame. Let them be like the grass on the roof that dries up before it has grown. There is not enough of it to fill a hand or to make into a bundle to fill one’s arms. Let those who pass by them not say, “May the LORD bless you. We bless you by the power of the LORD.”
Psalms 129:1-8 American Standard Version (ASV)
Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up, Let Israel now say, Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up: Yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed upon my back; They made long their furrows. Jehovah is righteous: He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. Let them be put to shame and turned backward, All they that hate Zion. Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth before it groweth up; Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand, Nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom: Neither do they that go by say, The blessing of Jehovah be upon you; We bless you in the name of Jehovah.
Psalms 129:1-8 New International Version (NIV)
“They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,” let Israel say; “they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me. Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long. But the LORD is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.” May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame. May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it can grow; a reaper cannot fill his hands with it, nor one who gathers fill his arms. May those who pass by not say to them, “The blessing of the LORD be on you; we bless you in the name of the LORD.”
Psalms 129:1-8 New King James Version (NKJV)
“Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth,” Let Israel now say— “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; Yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.” The LORD is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked. Let all those who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned back. Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up, With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Nor he who binds sheaves, his arms. Neither let those who pass by them say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the LORD!”
Psalms 129:1-8 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“Many times they have persecuted me (Israel) from my youth,” Let Israel now say, “Many times they have persecuted me from my youth, Yet they have not prevailed against me. “The [enemies, like] plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows [of suffering] long [in Israel].” The LORD is righteous; He has cut in two the [thick] cords of the wicked [which enslaved the people of Israel]. ¶May all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward [in defeat]. Let them be like the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up, With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Nor the binder of sheaves his arms, Nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the LORD be upon you; We bless you in the name of the LORD.”
Psalms 129:1-8 New Living Translation (NLT)
From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this: From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me. My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows. But the LORD is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly. May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat. May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown, ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder. And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing: “The LORD bless you; we bless you in the LORD’s name.”
Psalms 129:1-8 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Let all Israel admit it. From our very beginning we have been persecuted by the nations. And from our very beginning we have faced never-ending discrimination. Nevertheless, our enemies have not defeated us. We’re still here! They have hurt us more than can be expressed, ripping us to shreds, cutting deeply into our souls. But no matter what, the Lord is good to us. He is a righteous God who stood to defend us, breaking the chains of the evil ones that bound us. May all who hate the Jews fall back in disgrace to a shameful defeat! Let them be like grass planted in shallow soil that soon withers with no sustenance. Let them be like weeds ignored by the reaper and worthless to the harvester. Let no one who sees them say, “May the blessings of YAHWEH be upon your life. May the Lord bless you.”