A song of ascents. 4
128:1 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers, 5
each one who keeps his commands! 6
128:2 You 7 will eat what you worked so hard to grow. 8
You will be blessed and secure. 9
3:10 Tell the innocent 10 it will go well with them, 11
for they will be rewarded for what they have done. 12
1 tn Heb “Whether good or whether evil we will hearken to the voice of the
2 tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV).
3 sn Psalm 128. The psalmist observes that the godly individual has genuine happiness because the Lord rewards such a person with prosperity and numerous children.
4 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
5 tn Heb “every fearer of the
6 tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”
7 tn The psalmist addresses the representative God-fearing man, as indicated by the references to “your wife” (v. 3) and “the man” (v. 4), as well as the second masculine singular pronominal and verbal forms in vv. 2-6.
8 tn Heb “the work of your hands, indeed you will eat.”
9 tn Heb “how blessed you [will be] and it will be good for you.”
10 tn Or “the righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, TEV); NLT “those who are godly.”
11 tn Heb “that it is good.”
12 tn Heb “for the fruit of their deeds they will eat.”