New Living Translation
Psalms 129:6
6May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown,
Psalms 129:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:
- New International Version (NIV)May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it can grow;
- English Standard Version (ESV)Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up,
Context of Psalms 129:6
4But the Lord is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly. 5May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat. May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown, 7ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder. 8And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing: “The Lord bless you; we bless you in the Lord’s name.”
Read all of Psalms 129Psalms 129:6 word by word
יִ֭הְיוּ כַּחֲצִ֣יר גַּגּ֑וֹת שֶׁקַּדְמַ֖ת שָׁלַ֣ף יָבֵֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 129:6
- Psalms 37:2For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither.
- Psalms 92:7Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
- Jeremiah 17:5This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
- Matthew 13:6But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.
Commentaries on Psalms 129:6
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Let them be as the grass upon the housetops - The housetops, or roofs of houses, covered with sand or earth, in which seeds of grass may germinate and begin to grow, but where, as there is no depth of earth, and as the heat of the sun there would be intense, it would soon wither away. See the notes at Isaiah 37:27. Which withereth afore it groweth up - This, even if it has any meaning, is not the meaning of the original. The idea in the Hebrew is - and it…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-8Verses 5-8 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-tops, which in eastern countries are flat, and what grows there never ripens; so it is with the designs of God's enemies. No wise man will pray the Lord to bless these mowers or reapers. And when we remember how Jesus arose and reigns; how his people have been supported, like the burning but…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-8Grass on a rooftop had shallow roots and would scorch easily. A crop was ignored by the harvester when the yield was low. The enemies who had sown hurt among God’s people would gain little.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-65-6. The ill-rooted roof grass, which withers before it grows up and procures for those gathering it no harvest blessing (Ru 2:4), sets forth the utter uselessness and the rejection of the wicked.Read the comment
- Rashi on Tanakh · v. 6which, before it is plucked, withers Which, before they pluck it and uproot it from its place, is withered.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 129:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 129
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
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