1A song of ascents.
Viciously have they attacked me from my youth,
let Israel say now.
2Viciously have they attacked me from my youth,[#Ps 118:13.]
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3Upon my back the plowers plowed,
as they traced their long furrows.
4But the just Lord cut me free
from the ropes of the wicked.
5May they recoil in disgrace,
all who hate Zion.
6May they be like grass on the rooftops[#: after the spring rains, grass would sprout from the coat of mud with which the flat roofs of simple houses were covered, but when the dry summer began there was no moisture in the thin roof-covering to sustain the grass.]
withered in early growth,
7Never to fill the reaper’s hands,
nor the arms of the binders of sheaves,
8And with none passing by to call out:
“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the Lord !”