Psalms 144:12-14

144:12 Then ¹  our sons will be like plants,

that quickly grow to full size. ² 

Our daughters will be like corner pillars, ³ 

carved like those in a palace. ⁴ 

144:13 Our storehouses ⁵  will be full,

providing all kinds of food. ⁶ 

Our sheep will multiply by the thousands

and fill ⁷  our pastures. ⁸ 

144:14 Our cattle will be weighted down with produce. ⁹ 

No one will break through our walls,

no one will be taken captive,

and there will be no terrified cries in our city squares. ¹⁰ 

[144:12]  ¹ tn Some consider אֲשֶׁר (’asher) problematic, but here it probably indicates the anticipated consequence of the preceding request. (For other examples of אֲשֶׁר indicating purpose/result, see BDB 83 s.v. and HALOT 99 s.v.) If the psalmist – who appears to be a Davidic king preparing to fight a battle (see vv. 10-11) – is victorious, the whole nation will be spared invasion and defeat (see v. 14) and can flourish. Some prefer to emend the form to אַשְׁרֵי (“how blessed [are our sons]”). A suffixed noun sometimes follows אַשְׁרֵי (’ashrey; see 1 Kgs 10:8; Prov 20:7), but the presence of a comparative element (see “like plants”) after the suffixed noun makes the proposed reading too awkward syntactically.

[144:12]  ² tn Heb “grown up in their youth.” The translation assumes that “grown up” modifies “plants” (just as “carved” modifies “corner pillars” in the second half of the verse). Another option is to take “grown up” as a predicate in relation to “our sons,” in which case one might translate, “they will be strapping youths.”

[144:12]  ³ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here and in Zech 9:15, where it refers to the corners of an altar.

[144:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “carved [in] the pattern of a palace.”

[144:13]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.

[144:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “from kind to kind.” Some prefer to emend the text to מָזוֹן עַל מָזוֹן (mazon ’al mazon, “food upon food”).

[144:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “they are innumerable.”

[144:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “in outside places.” Here the term refers to pastures and fields (see Job 5:10; Prov 8:26).

[144:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “weighted down.” This probably refers (1) to the cattle having the produce from the harvest placed on their backs to be transported to the storehouses (see BDB 687 s.v. סָבַל). Other options are (2) to take this as reference to the cattle being pregnant (see HALOT 741 s.v. סבל pu) or (3) to their being well-fed or fattened (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 288).

[144:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there [will be] no breach, and there [will be] no going out, and there [will be] no crying out in our broad places.”