Bible Strands
Psalms 129:8
May none who pass by say to them, “The blessing of the LORD be on you; we bless you in the name of the LORD.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks of the reapers and sheaf-binders from verse 7, expressing a wish that passersby would not offer them a standard agricultural blessing.
The words — בִּרְכַּֽת־ יְהוָ֥ה (bir.kat- Yah.weh) = "blessing of Yahweh"; בֵּרַ֥כְנוּ (be.Rakh.nu) = "we bless."
The thread — This formula mirrors the harvest greetings in Ruth 2:4 and the liturgical declaration in Psalms 118:26, where blessing is normally given to those laboring or entering God's presence.
Why it lands — The text demands the reader see a deliberate inversion: a customary blessing is withheld from the oppressed, marking the reapers' failure as a visible sign of divine judgment on their persecutors.
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
Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we bless you in the name of the Lord.
Cross-references
- Ruth 2:4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, “The LORD be with you.” “The LORD bless you,” they replied.
- Psalms 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.