Psa 129:1-3 | Clarke | STEP | The Jews give an account of the afflicions which they have passed through, . And thank God for their deliverance, . The judgments that shall fall on the workers of iniquity, . This Psalm was written after the captivity; and contains a reference to the many tribulations which the Jews passed through from their youth, i.e., the earliest part of their history, their bondage in Egypt. It has no title in any of the Versions, nor in the Hebrew text, except the general one of A Psalm of Degrees. The author is uncertain. Verse 1 Many a time have they afflicted me - The Israelites had been generally in affliction or captivity from the earliest part of their history, here called their youth. So : "She shall sing as in the days of her youth, when she came up out of the land of Egypt." See , and , etc.

Psalms 129:1-3

Introduction

The Jews give an account of the afflicions which they have passed through, Psa 129:1-3. And thank God for their deliverance, Psa 129:4. The judgments that shall fall on the workers of iniquity, Psa 129:5-8.

This Psalm was written after the captivity; and contains a reference to the many tribulations which the Jews passed through from their youth, i.e., the earliest part of their history, their bondage in Egypt. It has no title in any of the Versions, nor in the Hebrew text, except the general one of A Psalm of Degrees. The author is uncertain.

Verse 1

Many a time have they afflicted me - The Israelites had been generally in affliction or captivity from the earliest part of their history, here called their youth. So Hos 2:15 : "She shall sing as in the days of her youth, when she came up out of the land of Egypt." See Jer 2:2, and Eze 16:4, etc. Verse 2

Yet they have not prevailed - They endeavored to annihilate us as a people; but God still preserves us as his own nation. Verse 3

The plowers plowed upon my back - It is possible that this mode of expression may signify that the people, during their captivity, were cruelly used by scourging, etc.; or it may be a sort of proverbial mode of expression for the most cruel usage. There really appears here to be a reference to a yoke, as if they had actually been yoked to the plouph, or to some kind of carriages, and been obliged to draw like beasts of burden. In this way St. Jerome understood the passage; and this has the more likelihood, as in the next verse God is represented as cutting them off from these draughts.