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Psalm 129 Bible study: Yet they have not prevailed
Psalm 129 says one line twice, and only the second time does it end: "yet they have not prevailed against me" (129:2). Between the plowers and the withered grass stands "The LORD is righteous" (129:4). And its grass on the housetops is two Hebrew words found together in only two other verses, both about people with "little power" (2 Kings 19:26).
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“The LORD is righteous. He has cut apart the cords of the wicked.”
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“In Psalm 129, the line about being afflicted many times from youth up comes twice.”
Is that in Psalm 129, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Said twice, and the second time it ends
The psalm is titled "A Song of Ascents" (129:1) (tap Ascents); Psalm 120's chapter looks at the title, and these notes don't repeat it. It begins with one line: "Many times they have afflicted me from my youth up" (129:1) (tap afflicted, youth). Then comes a call, "Let Israel now say" (129:1), and the line again, now with an ending: "many times they have afflicted me from my youth up, yet they have not prevailed against me" (129:2) (tap prevailed). In Hebrew the line's three words are the same both times, rabbat tseraruni mine'urai. Psalm 124 has the same shape, a line, then let Israel now say, then the line again (Psalm 124:1-2), and its chapter looks at the call. What Psalm 129 adds is the ending, four short Hebrew words, gam lo yakhlu li: yet they have not prevailed against me. And the words Israel is called to say speak as one person: me and my youth (129:1-2).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 129
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 129 is waiting in Favor
- The plowed back, and the cut cords
- Grass on the housetops
- Grass on the housetops, elsewhere
- "We bless you in the LORD's name"
- "They have not prevailed"
- 9 questions as you read
- 14 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 129 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
יָכֹלyakholsay ya-KHOL
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "be able, have power, prevail, endure". "yet they have not prevailed against me" (129:2) is four Hebrew words, gam lo yakhlu li: this verb, with not before it. Psalm 13 has the enemy's opposite words, "I have prevailed against him" (Psalm 13:4). The verb is also in the words that give Jacob the name Israel (Genesis 32:24-28): "for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed" (Genesis 32:28). Psalm 129 doesn't name Jacob, and these notes don't say it has that verse in mind.
For your group
Psalm 129 Bible study questions
- 1"yet they have not prevailed against me" (129:2). Looking back over your own story, where could you say *yet*?
- 2The psalm asks a whole people to say words that speak as one person:"Let Israel now say" (129:1). What part of your story would you want your group to hear, and say with you?
- 3The psalm ends with words of blessing: "We bless you in the LORD’s name" (129:8). Whose week could you change by speaking a blessing over them?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 129 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Psalm 129 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
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No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home