Psalms 129:1-4

Psalm 129 ¹ 

A song of ascents. ² 

129:1 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”

let Israel say.

129:2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,

but they have not defeated me.

129:3 The plowers plowed my back;

they made their furrows long.

129:4 The Lord is just;

he cut the ropes of the wicked.” ³ 

[129:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 129. Israel affirms God’s justice and asks him to destroy the enemies of Zion.

[129:1]  ² 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.

[129:4]  ³ tn The background of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Perhaps the “ropes” are those used to harness the ox for plowing (see Job 39:10). Verse 3 pictures the wicked plowing God’s people as if they were a field. But when God “cut the ropes” of their ox, as it were, they could no longer plow. The point of the metaphor seems to be that God took away the enemies’ ability to oppress his people. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 187.