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Psalm 128 · a question people ask

The psalm says "you will" (128:2) and then "May the LORD bless you" (128:5). Is it promising, or praying?

In the text

The WEB gives 128:2-3 as statements: "For you will eat the labor of your hands. You will be happy, and it will be well with you" (128:2), and "Your wife will be as a fruitful vine" (128:3). Then 128:4 sums up: "Behold, this is how the man who fears the LORD is blessed." The last two verses the WEB gives as wishes: "May the LORD bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life" (128:5), and "Yes, may you see your children’s children" (128:6). May the LORD bless you opens with the same two Hebrew words as the priests' blessing, "The LORD bless you, and keep you" (Numbers 6:24), which the LORD told Moses to speak to Aaron and his sons (Numbers 6:22-23): "This is how you shall bless the children of Israel" (Numbers 6:23). The psalm doesn't say who speaks its blessing, and these notes don't name a speaker for it.

The verses

“For you will eat the labor of your hands. You will be happy, and it will be well with you. Your wife will be as a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house, your children like olive shoots around your table. Behold, this is how the man who fears the LORD is blessed. May the LORD bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel.”
Psalm 128:2-6 · World English Bible
“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is how you shall bless the children of Israel.’ You shall tell them, ‘The LORD bless you, and keep you.”
Numbers 6:22-24 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Psalm 128

Psalm 128: Everyone who fears the LORD

In Psalm 128, Blessed (128:1) and You will be happy (128:2) are one Hebrew word, ashrei. Its olive shoots (128:3) is a word found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible, and its "May the LORD bless you out of Zion" (128:5) opens with the same three Hebrew words as the last verse of the last song of ascents (Psalm 134:3).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions