Psalm 129, Scars on My Back

A song of ascents.

This is the tenth 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. 

Psalm 129:1-2, Bullied from my youth

 They have greatly oppressed me from my youth--

 let Israel say--

 they have greatly oppressed me from my youth, 

but they have not gained the victory over me.

Israel (and the psalmist) have been oppressed and abused, but they will not be defeated.

Kidner and Alter see a call and response in these two verses (as in the first two verses of Psalm 124): the cantor says "They have greatly oppressed me..." and then calls for the congregants to respond.

Psalm 129:3-4, Furrows in my back

Plowmen have plowed my back 

and made their furrows long.

 But the LORD is righteous;

 he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.

The singer has been assaulted, as a slave whipped with long scars in his back, but he has now been set free.

Psalm 129:5-7, Those who hate Zion

 May all who hate Zion 

be turned back in shame.

 May they be like grass on the roof, 

which withers before it can grow;

 with it the reaper cannot fill his hands,

 nor the one who gathers fill his arms.

As the previous psalm ended in a blessing, this one ends in a curse, a curse for those who hate Zion. As Kidner points out, Zion represents the city of God; the enemies of Jerusalem represent those opposed to God (see, for example, Psalm 87.)

On the flat roofs of the ANE houses, grass could often grow, but it had no soil, no depth. The singer asks that those who hate Jerusalem be like that grass that (as in Psalm 1:4) withers away.

Psalm 129:8, No blessing upon you!

 May those who pass by not say, 

"The blessing of the LORD be upon you; 

we bless you in the name of the LORD."

In Ruth 2:4, Boaz and the harvesst reapers greet each other with the saying, "The LORD bless you!" This appears to have been a common greeting and blessing in Israel. But, says the psalmist, may those who hate Zion never receive this blessing, as they are not on the side of YHWH!

First published November 12, 2025; updated November 12, 2025