1 M any a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:

“They have made it hard for me many times since I was young,” let Israel now say.

2 M any a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.

“They have made it hard for me many times since I was young. But they have not won over me.

3 T he plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.

Those who plow have plowed my back. And they have made their ditches long.”

4 T he Lord is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.

The Lord is right and good. He has cut in two the ropes of the sinful.

5 L et them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.

May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned away.

6 L et them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:

Let them be like grass on the roof, which dries up before it grows.

7 W herewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.

No one can pick it and fill his hand. No one can gather it and fill his arms.

8 N either do they which go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we bless you in the name of the Lord.

And those who pass by do not say, “May the Lord be good to you. We pray that good will come to you in the name of the Lord.”