Psalm 128, Blessings and Prosperity

A song of ascents.

This is the ninth of fifteen psalms identified as "songs of ascents." It is likely that these songs were sung as people traveled to Jerusalem and then went up to the second temple, after the return from Babylon.

Psalm 128:1, Walk in His ways

 Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.

The song begins with a thematic statement, echoing the first psalm. One is blessed (happy) if they follow the righteous path set by YHWH.

Psalm 128:2-4, Prosperity

 You will eat the fruit of your labor; 

blessings and prosperity will be yours.

 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; 

your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.

 Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD.

Following the thematic opening, the blessings are described. They include prosperity, a fruitful (fertile?) and contented wife, many children, many sons. The happiness occurs in a basic sufficiency for life, not in luxury or wealth (Alter.) Olive shoots are young and flexible, a fitting metaphor for young, active children, as are the arrows of the previous psalm (Psalm 127:3-5.)

The NIV translates the Hebrew word yereka as merely "within" the house, but it represents the "remotest" part or "rear" of the house. In keeping with the culture of the ANE, the fruitful wife is not in public view but back in the secluded "heart" of the home.

Psalm 128:5-6, A blessing

 May the LORD bless you from Zion all the days of your life; 

may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

 and may you live to see your children's children. 

Peace be upon Israel.

The song ends with a blessing -- may you prosper and see the prosperity of Jerusalem (your city) -- and may you live to see your grandchildren. The last line is echoed in the New Testament in Galatians 6:16.

Some Random Thoughts

I was working through this psalm when a friend texted me about the strange cultural changes around us in America. We encouraged each other on focusing on the important things (friends, neighbors family) and we ended the conversation with an agreement that, yes, indeed, we are blessed to have seen our children's children!

First published November 11, 2025; updated November 11, 2025