Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 129:5
Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
5. Put to shame and turned backward
Shall be all that hate Zion.
It is difficult to decide whether these words are a prayer, as most Versions and commentators render them; or an expression of faith, that Israel’s enemies will be foiled and repulsed in the present crisis as they were in the past. On the whole the latter explanation seems best. Cp. Psa 6:10. The haters of Zion were such as Sanballat and Tobiah, who “were grieved exceedingly” when Nehemiah came “to seek the welfare of the children of Israel” (Neh 2:10), and all who joined them in endeavouring to prevent the restoration of Jerusalem.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
5 8. The enemies of Zion shall be destroyed before their malicious schemes are matured.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let them all be confounded and turned back … – This might be rendered in the indicative, they are ashamed, but the connection seems to require the rendering in our version. It is a prayer that God would now interpose as he had done in former times, and that he would cause all the haters of Zion to be put to shame as formerly.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. Let them all be confounded] They shall be confounded. They who hate Zion, the Church of God, hate God himself; and all such must be dealt with as enemies, and be utterly confounded.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Forced to retreat with shame and disappointment.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5, 6. The ill-rooted roof grass,which withers before it grows up and procures for those gathering itno harvest blessing (Ru 2:4),sets forth the utter uselessness and the rejection of the wicked.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Let them all be confounded,…. Or “ashamed”: as all the enemies of God’s people will be sooner or later, either in this world, or however when Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven; or let them be disappointed of their views, aims, and ends, when they will be confounded, as disappointed persons are;
and turned back; from pursuing their designs and accomplishing them; as the Assyrian monarch was, who had a hook put into his nose, and a bridle in his lips, and was turned back by the way he came, Isa 37:29;
that hate Zion; the inhabitants of Zion, who are called out of the world, and separated from the men of it, and therefore hated by them; the King of Zion, the Messiah, whom they will not have to reign over them; the doctrines of the Gospel, the word that comes out of Zion, to which they are utter enemies; and the laws and ordinances of Zion, the discipline of God’s house, which they cannot bear to be under and submit unto.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| God’s Regard to His Church. | |
5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion. 6 Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up: 7 Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. 8 Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.
The psalmist, having triumphed in the defeat of the many designs that had been laid as deep as hell to ruin the church, here concludes his psalm as Deborah did her song, So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord! Judg. v. 31.
I. There are many that hate Zion, that hate Zion’s God, his worship, and his worshippers, that have an antipathy to religion and religious people, that seek the ruin of both, and do what they can that God may not have a church in the world.
II. We ought to pray that all their attempts against the church may be frustrated, that in them they may be confounded and turned back with shame, as those that have not been able to bring to pass their enterprise and expectation: Let them all be confounded is as much as, They shall be all confounded. The confusion imprecated and predicted is illustrated by a similitude; while God’s people shall flourish as the loaded palm-tree, or the green and fruitful olive, their enemies shall wither as the grass upon the house-top. As men they are not to be feared, for they shall be made as grass, Isa. li. 12. But as they are enemies to Zion they are so certainly marked for ruin that they may be looked upon with as much contempt as the grass on the house-tops, which is little, and short, and sour, and good for nothing. 1. It perishes quickly: It withers before it grows up to any maturity, having no root; and the higher its place is, which perhaps is its pride, the more it is exposed to the scorching heat of the sun, and consequently the sooner does it wither. It withers before it is plucked up, so some read it. The enemies of God’s church wither of themselves, and stay not till they are rooted out by the judgments of God. 2. It is of no use to any body; nor are they any thing but the unprofitable burdens of the earth, nor will their attempts against Zion ever ripen or come to any head, nor, whatever they promise themselves, will they get any more by them than the husbandman does by the grass on his house-top. Their harvest will be a heap in the day of grief, Isa. xvii. 11.
III. No wise man will pray God to bless the mowers or reapers, v. 8. Observe, 1. It has been an ancient and laudable custom not only to salute and wish a good day to strangers and travellers, but particularly to pray for the prosperity of harvest-labourers. Thus Boas prayed for his reapers. Ruth ii. 4, The Lord be with you. We must thus acknowledge God’s providence, testify our good-will to our neighbours, and commend their industry, and it will be accepted of God as a pious ejaculation if it come from a devout and upright heart. 2. Religious expressions, being sacred things, must never be made use of in light and ludicrous actions. Mowing the grass on the house-top would be a jest, and therefore those that have a reverence for the name of God will not prostitute to it the usual forms of salutation, which savoured of devotion; for holy things must not be jested with. 3. It is a dangerous thing to let the church’s enemies have our good wishes in their designs against the church. If we wish them God speed, we are partakers of their evil deeds, 2 John 11. When it is said, None will bless them, and show them respect, more is implied, namely, that all wise and good people will cry out shame on them, and beg of God to defeat them; and woe to those that have the prayers of the saints against them. I cursed his habitation, Job v. 3.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
5. All who hate Zion shall be confounded, and tutored backward. Whether we take this as a prayer or a promise, the Prophet has a respect to the time to come. Since all the verbs are in the future tense, it is certainly a very appropriate interpretation to understand him as deriving from times past instruction as to what is to be hoped for in future, even to the end. In whichever way we understand the passage, he declares that the faithful have no reason to be discouraged when they behold their enemies raised on high. The grass which grows upon the house-tops is not, on account of its higher situation, more valuable than the blade of corn which in the low ground is trampled under foot; for although it stands elevated above men’s heads, it is, in the first place, unprofitable; and secondly, it quickly withers away. (114) The verb, ףלש, shalaph, (115) which we have translate comes forth, is by some rendered, is plucked up. According to this translation the sense is, that without the hand or labor of man the grass on the house-tops is dried up. But as the verb properly signifies to be brought forth, or to come forth, the meaning, in my opinion, is that the grass on the housetops, so far from continuing long in a state of freshness, withers and perishes at its first springing up, because it has no root under it, nor earth to supply it with sap or moisture for its nourishment. Whenever, then, the splendor or greatness of our enemies strikes us with fear, let us bring to our recollection this comparison, that as the grass which grows upon the house-tops, though high, is yet without root, and consequently of brief duration, so these enemies, the nearer they approach the sun by the height of their pride, shall be the sooner consumed by the burning heat, since they have no root, it being humility alone which draws life and vigor from God.
(114) “In Judea, the roofs of the houses are flat, and covered with cement. On this the grass would not uncommonly grow: but, being thin and weak, and its situation hot and exposed, it was speedily ‘dried up and withered.’ The same sort of architecture, and the same appearances, are common in the East at this day.” — Warner.
(115) שלף differently interpreted. By the greater number of persons it is translated, to extract, to pull out; and thus it is used in Rut 4:7, and Joh 20:25, ‘Before any one extracts the grass it withereth.’ The Septuagint has πρὸ τοῦ εκσπασθὢναι, and the Vulgate, ‘ priusquam evellatur.’ Our translators have rendered שקדמת שלף, ‘afore it groweth up,’ in which they are supported by Aquila and Symmachus. Theodoret observes that many MSS. of the Septuagint have ἐξανθὢναι for ἐκσπασθὢναι. In either case the sense is, that the haters of Zion shall be exterminated by the just and wonderful judgments of God, before they have time to accomplish their wicked intentions. ” — Phillips. “Parkhurst adopts Harmer’s opinion, that the Hebrew verb in this place signifies, ‘to push out, unsheath, as corn its ear.’ It appears nowhere else but in the sense of ‘unsheathing a sword,’ or drawing off a shoe.’ The proper translation seems to be, ‘Which withereth before it unsheaths its ear.’ See Parkhurst on שלף.” — Mant.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
5. That hate Zion This indicates that Zion still had living enemies, though their chief strength had been neutralized, and deliverance attained. See the introduction.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 129:5. Let them Or, They shall. And so in the next verse, the last clause of which may be rendered, Which withereth before it be plucked up. Mr. Maundrell, on his way from Tripoli to Aleppo, observed a particular method used by the country people in gathering their corn. “They plucked it up by handfuls from the roots, leaving the most fruitful fields as naked as if nothing had ever grown upon them. This was their practice (says he) in all the places of the east that I have seen; and the reason is, that they may lose none of the straw, which is generally very short, and necessary for the subsistence of their cattle, no hay being made here.” I mention this, because it seems to give light to this passage of the Psalmist, where there seems a manifest allusion to this custom. Our Bible Translation renders it, afore it groweth up, but in doing so, it differs from most, or all other copies; and here we may truly say, the old is better. There is indeed mention of a mower in the next verse; but then it is such a mower as filleth not his hand; which confirms rather than weakens the former interpretation. See Maundrell’s Travels. Mr. Mudge observes, that as the 7th and 8th verses cannot refer to the grass on the house-tops, it is necessary to understand something to which they may refer; as grass, or crop, or harvest, &c. He therefore renders the 7th verse, like that (namely, crop or harvest) wherewith the reaper, &c. See Bishop Lowth’s 12th Prelection.
REFLECTIONS.Afflictions are designed to prove the faith and patience of the saints. We have here,
1. The Psalmist reflecting upon the past distresses of Israel: many a time had they been a prey to Philistines, Ammonites, Egyptians; yea, even now, Israel, after the flesh, lies under its saddest state of captivity. From the days of their being first formed into a people, by their transgressions they often provoked God to leave them for a while under oppression, when ploughers ploughed their backs, and like the furrows of the field they were laid waste and desolate. This may also refer to Christ Jesus, whose name is Israel, Isa 49:3 from the days of youth persecuted and afflicted, and his back with scourges furrowed deep; and with him every member of his body mystical may expect more or less to share.
2. He gratefully acknowledges, They have not prevailed against me; whatever persecutions the church hath suffered, it hath risen fairer for the floods which have passed over it; and every faithful soul, though sore troubled and tempted, by experience is enabled to say, they have not prevailed against me: and the reason is given, the Lord is righteous, hath compassion on his people, is faithful to his promises, and just to avenge their quarrels. He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked, the cords with which they enslaved his people; or their traces, with which they ploughed up their backs, and their treacherous devices, which are disappointed.
3. He prays that the enemies of Zion, of God’s church and people, who hate and persecute them, may be confounded and turned back, withering like grass on the house-top, destitute of moisture, and exposed to the scorching sun, useless and fruitless: the mower filleth not his hand therewith, nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom; thus may all their designs be abortive, and their schemes be frustrated, and never ripen into execution: nor will any pious passenger pray for God’s blessing upon them, as was usually done to the reapers, Rth 2:4 but rather curse their habitation, Job 5:3 and beg of God to defeat their malicious contrivances; that their harvest may be a heap in the day of grief, Isa 17:11.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
These expressions are delivered in the. Spirit of prophecy; as if The sacred Writer had said, such will be the sure consequence of all Zion’s foes; they must perish forever. And to which every true follower of the Lord Jesus cannot but say Amen. So spake Deborah in that divine song; So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might, Jdg 5:31 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 129:5 Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
Ver. 5. Let them all be confounded, &c. ] And if those that hate Zion, how much more those that hurt her with their virulent tongues or violent hands!
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 129:5-8
5May all who hate Zion
Be put to shame and turned backward;
6Let them be like grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it grows up;
7With which the reaper does not fill his hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his bosom;
8Nor do those who pass by say,
The blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.
Psa 129:5 b put to shame This term (BDB 101, KB 116) denotes someone out of fellowship with YHWH and under His judgment. It can be used of
1. foreigners
2. rebellious Israelites
It denotes the consequences of unfaithfulness or unbelief mentioned in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27-30 as becoming a reality (see NIDOTTE, vol. 1, pp. 621-627). For ashamed see note at Psa 119:6.
Psa 129:8 -b This may refer to the blessing that friends, family, and neighbors shouted to the harvesters (cf. Rth 2:4).
Psa 129:8 c See Special Topic: The Name of YHWH .
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. Does the opening of this Psalm imply a liturgy?
2. Why is Israel called a youth?
3. To what does cords of Psa 129:4 refer?
4. Define shame.
5. What is the possible historical setting of Psa 129:8?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Zion. See App-68.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 129:5-8
Psa 129:5-8
ZION’S ENEMIES SHALL PERISH
“Let them be put to shame and turned backward,
All they that hate Zion.
Let them be as the grass upon the housetops,
Which withereth before it groweth up;
Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand,
Nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom.
Neither do they that go by say,
The blessing of Jehovah be upon you;
We bless you in the name of Jehovah.”
This part of the psalm is an imprecation upon Israel’s enemies. It is a prayer that they will be frustrated and turned back from their evil purpose, and that they may be like the grass growing on a rooftop.
The latter figure is taken from the custom in the Mid-East of covering the roof of buildings with a thin layer of earth. This is done because of the insulation provided from the severe heat of that area. Of course, when a shower came, the grass at once sprang up; but, due to the shallow soil and the hot sun, it quickly withered without producing anything of value.
“All they that hate Zion” (Psa 129:5). As Kidner noted, If Zion were merely the capital of fleshly Israel, such an imprecation as this would appear as, “Mere petulance and bluster.
However, the Zion of the Psalter is something of exceedingly great importance. “It is the city of our God” (Psa 48:1); “The mount for God’s abode” (Psa 68:16); and the destined mother-city of the world (Psalms 87). It is a type of the New Jerusalem that cometh down from God out of heaven; and even all the Gentiles must confess that, “All our springs are in Zion” (Psa 87:7).
“In this light, it is appropriate therefore that, laying all metaphors aside, they that hate Zion are not only choosing the way of hate, which is soul-destroying; but they are setting themselves against God, which is suicide.
“As grass upon the housetops” (Psa 129:6-7). This is a prayer for the enemies to be as certain of withering death as the dried up grass that sprouts on the roof after a shower of rain. The reaper will not cut it, and the `binder of sheaves’ will not carry an armful of the hay to his gamer. This stands for total worthlessness.
“Neither do they that go by say, The blessing of Jehovah be upon you; or we bless you in the name of Jehovah” (Psa 129:8). Such expressions as these were the customary greetings of the Jews who might pass by where an abundant harvest was being gathered. This “crop” of rooftop grass was so utterly worthless that, as Yates said, “It was not even worth the customary greeting of those passing by.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 129:5. To be confounded means to be confused, and to be turned back means to be defeated and humiliated.
Psa 129:6. In times of unusual moisture a scant growth of grass would appear on the housetops, but it would have such a weak bed for rooting that the sun would soon kill it. David used the circumstance to illustrate the lot he wished to come upon the enemies of Zion.
Psa 129:7. Such a short crop would not fill the hand of the harvester. Neither would the reaper be able to fill his bosom (or body) with food, since he had not gathered sheaves of which to make bread.
Psa 129:8. These wicked men would not enjoy even the good wishes of the passers by. They would become a class of beings rejected by the Lord and ignored by men.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
be confounded: Psa 83:4-11, Psa 122:6, Est 6:13, Est 9:5, Isa 10:12, Isa 37:22, Isa 37:28, Isa 37:29, Isa 37:35, Zec 1:14-17, Zec 12:3, Zec 12:6, 1Co 16:22
Reciprocal: Psa 35:4 – turned Psa 35:26 – ashamed Psa 37:2 – General Jer 30:16 – General Lam 1:13 – he hath turned Joh 18:6 – they went
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 129:5-8. Let them all be confounded, &c. Hebrew, , they shall all be confounded, and turned back Forced to retreat with shame and disappointment. And so in the next verse, instead of Let them be, read, They shall be as grass upon the house tops Which there were flat, and therefore more capable of grass, or green corn, growing between the stones than ours are; which withereth, &c. Which, having no deep root, never comes to maturity. And so all their designs shall be abortive. Thus the enemies of Gods church wither of themselves, and stay not till they are rooted out by the judgments of God. Neither do they which go by According to the ancient and laudable custom of saluting and praying for the prosperity of harvest labours; say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you, &c. Which was a usual salutation given by passengers to reapers, as we see Rth 2:4. If, in a similar way, we acknowledge Gods providence, testify our good-will to our neighbours, and commend their industry, our kind wishes will be accepted as pious ejaculations, if they come from devout and upright hearts. But religious expressions, being sacred things, must never be made use of in light and ludicrous actions. Mowing the grass on the house-top would be a jest, and therefore those that have a reverence for the name of God will not prostitute to such an action those forms of salutation which savour of devotion; for holy things must not be jested with.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2. A petition for future deliverance 129:5-8
The psalmist encouraged the Israelite pilgrims to pray for continuing deliverance. The mention of Zion, the pilgrim’s destination, recalled the place where God dwelt, the most important place in Israel. Those who hated Zion would be hating and setting themselves against Yahweh. Grass and weed seeds often blew onto the flat roofs of the Israelites’ houses, but they did not flourish long because they had little soil in which to root. In Israel it was customary to greet someone by wishing God’s blessing on him or her (cf. Rth 2:4). However, the psalmist prayed that Israel’s enemies would receive no such greeting.
God’s people should carefully thank Him for past deliverances, but should also continue to pray for His safekeeping in the future, since their enemies will continue to oppose and oppress them.