1A Song of degrees. Many times they have afflicted me from my youth, Israel may now say;
2many times they have afflicted me from my youth; yet they have not prevailed over me.
3The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long.
4The LORD is righteous; He cuts off the cords of the wicked.
5Let them all be ashamed and turned back, those who hate Zion.
6Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which dries up before it grows up,
7with which the reaper does not fill his hand, nor the binder of sheaves his bosom.
8And those who pass by have never said, The blessing of the LORD be on you; we bless you in the name of the LORD.