Bible Strands
Psalms 129:7
unable to fill the hands of the reaper, or the arms of the binder of sheaves.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist pronounces a curse against Israel's oppressors, describing their futile agricultural efforts. The imagery follows a wish that enemies become like rooftop grass that withers prematurely.
The words — The Hebrew מִלֵּא (mi.Le') means "he has filled" and כַפּוֹ (kha.P/o) translates to "his hand." These terms specify that the reaper's hands and the binder's arms remain empty.
The thread — This agricultural failure contrasts with the harvest imagery in Psalms 126:6, where faithful workers return carrying sheaves. The concept of sowing and reaping also appears in Galatians 6:8 regarding flesh versus Spirit.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that opposition to God's people yields no lasting reward. Readers must acknowledge that divine judgment renders human efforts against the covenant community completely fruitless.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
Cross-references
- Galatians 6:8 The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
- Isaiah 17:10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
- Psalms 126:6 He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.
- Hosea 8:7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.