Text -- Psalms 126:2-6 (NET)

126:2 At that time we laughed loudly and shouted for joy. At that time the nations said, “The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.” 126:3 The Lord did indeed accomplish great things for us. We were happy. 126:4 O Lord, restore our well-being, just as the streams in the arid south are replenished. 126:5 Those who shed tears as they plant will shout for joy when they reap the harvest. 126:6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag of seed, will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 126:2

¹ tn Heb “then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a shout.”

² tn Heb “they said among the nations.”

NET Notes: Psa 126:4

¹ tn Heb “like the streams in the Negev.”

sn The streams in the arid south. Y. Aharoni writes of the streams in the Negev: “These usually dry wadis collect water on rainy days from vast areas. The situation is also aggravated by floods from the desert mountains and southern Judah. For a day or two or, more frequently, for only a few hours they turn into dangerous torrents” (Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 26). God’s people were experiencing a “dry season” after a time of past blessing; they pray here for a “flash flood” of his renewed blessing. This does not imply that they are requesting only a brief display of God’s blessing. Rather the point of comparison is the suddenness with which the wadis swell during a rain, as well as the depth and power of these raging waters. The community desires a sudden display of divine favor in which God overwhelms them with blessings.

NET Notes: Psa 126:5

¹ sn O. Borowski says regarding this passage: “The dependence on rain for watering plants, the uncertainty of the quantity and timing of the rains, and the possibility of crop failure due to pests and diseases appear to have kept the farmer in a gloomy mood during sowing” (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 54). Perhaps the people were experiencing a literal drought, the effects of which cause them to lament their plight as they plant their seed in hopes that the rain would come. However, most take the language as metaphorical. Like a farmer sowing his seed, the covenant community was enduring hardship as they waited for a new outpouring of divine blessing. Yet they are confident that a time of restoration will come and relieve their anxiety, just as the harvest brings relief and joy to the farmer.

NET Notes: Psa 126:6

¹ tn The noun occurs only here and in Job 28:18 in the OT. See HALOT 646 s.v. I מֶשֶׁךְ which gives “leather pouch” as the meaning.

² tn The Hebrew noun אֲלֻמָּה (’alummah, “sheaf”) occurs only here and in Gen 37:7 in the OT.

sn Verse 6 expands the image of v. 5. See the note on the word “harvest” there.