Psalm 126, Songs of Joy

A song of ascents.

This is the seventh of fifteen psalms identified as "songs of ascents," songs presumably sung as people traveled to Jerusalem and then went up to the temple.

Here the psalmist recalls returning to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity

Psalm 126:1-2, Dreams and laughter

When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, 

we were like men who dreamed.

 Our mouths were filled with laughter, 

our tongues with songs of joy. 

Then it was said among the nations, 

"The LORD has done great things for them."

 

Walking among the ancient streets of Jerusalem, the returning refugees are awestruck. It is a fulfillment of old dreams -- and they are finally seeing the beautiful city (even if it is in ruins.) They see the events as demonstrating to the world that YHWH has done (will do) great things for Israel.

Psalm 126:3-4, Like streams in the desert

The LORD has done great things for us,

 and we are filled with joy.

 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, 

like streams in the Negev.

There is joy and ectasy in returning to the beautiful land after a long absence. The singer asks for a full return of fortunes -- of power and peace -- and likens such an event to rain in the desert, flooding the wadis of the Negev.

Psalm 126:5-6, Weeping then singing

Those who sow in tears 

will reap with songs of joy.

 He who goes out weeping, 

carrying seed to sow, 

will return with songs of joy,

 carrying sheaves with him.

The previous weeping has now led to joy, just as a struggling farmer might carryseeds into the tilled land later returns with an overflowing crop. This stanza expands on the promises of Psalm 121:7-8. Verse 5, in the order of the Hebrew, is a four word chiamus of contrasts (says Alter):

sow 

tears

joy 

reap

while verse 6 is a nice example of antithetical parallelism:

weeping, carrying seeds 

is replaced, later, by 

songs of joy, carrying sheaves.

The analogy of one "reaping what they sow" runs throughout the book of Proverbs and is mentioned, in the New Testament, explicitly in Galatians 6:7-10 (and elsewhere.)

First published November 8, 2025; updated November 8, 2025