Psalms 129:1--132:18 
ContextA 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
129:5 May all who hate Zion
be humiliated and turned back!
129:6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops
which withers before one can even pull it up, 4
129:7 which cannot fill the reaper’s hand,
or the lap of the one who gathers the grain!
129:8 Those who pass by will not say, 5
“May you experience the Lord’s blessing!
We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”
A song of ascents. 7
130:1 From the deep water 8 I cry out to you, O Lord.
Pay attention to 10 my plea for mercy!
130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of 11 sins,
O Lord, who could stand before you? 12
130:4 But 13 you are willing to forgive, 14
so that you might 15 be honored. 16
I rely on him with my whole being; 18
I wait for his assuring word. 19
130:6 I yearn for the Lord, 20
more than watchmen do for the morning,
yes, more than watchmen do for the morning. 21
130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,
for the Lord exhibits loyal love, 22
and is more than willing to deliver. 23
130:8 He will deliver 24 Israel
from all the consequences of their sins. 25
A song of ascents, 27 by David.
131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look. 28
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me. 29
131:2 Indeed 30 I am composed and quiet, 31
like a young child carried by its mother; 32
I am content like the young child I carry. 33
131:3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
now and forevermore!
A song of ascents. 35
132:1 O Lord, for David’s sake remember
all his strenuous effort, 36
132:2 and how he made a vow to the Lord,
and swore an oath to the powerful ruler of Jacob. 37
132:3 He said, 38 “I will not enter my own home, 39
or get into my bed. 40
132:4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep,
or my eyelids to slumber,
132:5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a fine dwelling place 41 for the powerful ruler of Jacob.” 42
132:6 Look, we heard about it 43 in Ephrathah, 44
we found it in the territory of Jaar. 45
132:7 Let us go to his dwelling place!
Let us worship 46 before his footstool!
132:8 Ascend, O Lord, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your strength!
132:9 May your priests be clothed with integrity! 47
May your loyal followers shout for joy!
132:10 For the sake of David, your servant,
do not reject your chosen king! 48
132:11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David; 49
he will not go back on his word. 50
He said, 51 “I will place one of your descendants 52 on your throne.
132:12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the rules I teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
132:13 Certainly 53 the Lord has chosen Zion;
he decided to make it his home. 54
132:14 He said, 55 “This will be my resting place forever;
I will live here, for I have chosen it. 56
132:15 I will abundantly supply what she needs; 57
I will give her poor all the food they need. 58
132:16 I will protect her priests, 59
and her godly people will shout exuberantly. 60
132:17 There I will make David strong; 61
I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. 62
132:18 I will humiliate his enemies, 63
and his crown will shine.
1 sn Psalm 129. Israel affirms God’s justice and asks him to destroy the enemies of Zion.
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.
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.
4 tn The Hebrew verb שָׁלַף (shalaf) normally means “to draw [a sword]” or “to pull.” BDB 1025 s.v. suggests the meaning “to shoot up” here, but it is more likely that the verb here means “to pluck; to pull up,” a nuance attested for this word in later Hebrew and Aramaic (see Jastrow 1587 s.v. שָׁלַף).
5 tn The perfect verbal form is used for rhetorical effect; it describes an anticipated development as if it were already reality.
6 sn Psalm 130. The psalmist, confident of the Lord’s forgiveness, cries out to the Lord for help in the midst of his suffering and urges Israel to do the same.
7 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.
8 tn Heb “depths,” that is, deep waters (see Ps 69:2, 14; Isa 51:10), a metaphor for the life-threatening danger faced by the psalmist.
9 tn Heb “my voice.”
10 tn Heb “may your ears be attentive to the voice of.”
11 tn Heb “observe.”
12 tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”
13 tn Or “surely.”
14 tn Heb “for with you [there is] forgiveness.”
15 tn Or “consequently you are.”
16 tn Heb “feared.”
17 tn Or “wait for.”
18 tn Heb “my soul waits.”
19 tn Heb “his word.”
20 tn Heb “my soul for the master.”
21 tn Heb “more than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning.” The words “yes, more” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
22 tn Heb “for with the
23 tn Heb “and abundantly with him [is] redemption.”
24 tn Or “redeem.”
25 tn The Hebrew noun עָוֹן (’avon) can refer to sin, the guilt sin produces, or the consequences of sin. Only here is the noun collocated with the verb פָּדָה (padah, “to redeem; to deliver”). The psalmist may refer to forgiveness per se (v. 4), but the emphasis in this context is likely on deliverance from the national consequences of sin. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 192.
26 sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.
27 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.
28 tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”
29 tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”
30 tn Or “but.”
31 tn Heb “I make level and make quiet my soul.”
32 tn Heb “like a weaned [one] upon his mother.”
33 tn Heb “like the weaned [one] upon me, my soul.”
34 sn Psalm 132. The psalmist reminds God of David’s devotion and of his promises concerning David’s dynasty and Zion.
35 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.
36 tn Heb “all his affliction.” This may refer to David’s strenuous and tireless efforts to make provision for the building of the temple (see 1 Chr 22:14). Some prefer to revocalize the text as עַנַוָתוֹ (’anavato, “his humility”).
37 tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.”
38 tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows is David’s vow.
39 tn Heb “the tent of my house.”
40 tn Heb “go up upon the bed of my couch.”
41 tn The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; David envisions a special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 84:1).
42 tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.”
43 tn Rather than having an antecedent, the third feminine singular pronominal suffix here (and in the next line) appears to refer to the ark of the covenant, mentioned in v. 8. (The Hebrew term אָרוֹן [’aron, “ark”] is sometimes construed as grammatically feminine. See 1 Sam 4:17; 2 Chr 8:11.)
44 sn Some understand Ephrathah as a reference to Kiriath-jearim because of the apparent allusion to this site in the next line (see the note on “Jaar”). The ark was kept in Kiriath-jearim after the Philistines released it (see 1 Sam 6:21-7:2). However, the switch in verbs from “heard about” to “found” suggests that Ephrathah not be equated with Jair. The group who is speaking heard about the ark while they were in Ephrath. They then went to retrieve it from Kiriath-jearim (“Jaar”). It is more likely that Ephrathah refers to a site near Bethel (Gen 35:16, 19; 48:7) or to Bethlehem (Ruth 4:11; Mic 5:2).
45 tn Heb “fields of the forest.” The Hebrew term יָעַר (ya’ad, “forest”) is apparently a shortened alternative name for קִרְיַת יְעָרִים (qiryat yÿ’arim, “Kiriath-jearim”), the place where the ark was kept after it was released by the Philistines and from which David and his men retrieved it (see 1 Chr 13:6).
46 tn Or “bow down.”
47 tn Or “righteousness.”
48 tn Heb “do not turn away the face of your anointed one.”
49 tn Heb “the
50 tn Heb “he will not turn back from it.”
51 tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows are the
52 tn Heb “the fruit of your body.”
53 tn Or “for.”
54 tn Heb “he desired it for his dwelling place.”
55 tn The words “he said” are added in the translation to clarify that what follows are the
56 tn Heb “for I desired it.”
57 tn Heb “I will greatly bless her provision.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.
58 tn Heb “her poor I will satisfy [with] food.”
59 tn Heb “and her priests I will clothe [with] deliverance.”
60 tn Heb “[with] shouting they will shout.” The infinitive absolute is used to emphasize the verb.
61 tn Heb “there I will cause a horn to sprout for David.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Pss 18:2; 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that used its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36.
62 tn Heb “I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.” Here the “lamp” is a metaphor for the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kgs 11:36).
63 tn Heb “his enemies I will clothe [with] shame.”
