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Psalms 129:3

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT
The plowmen plowed over my back; they made their furrows long.
Psalms 129:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long.
  • KJV The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.
  • NKJV The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.”
  • NASB “The plowers plowed upon my back; They lengthened their furrows.”
  • NLT My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Oppressors plowed long furrows across Israel's back like a field. It vividly depicts the deep, prolonged suffering inflicted on God's people.

Overview

Using a striking agricultural image, the psalm portrays enemies treating Israel's back as plowed ground, scarring it with long furrows. The metaphor conveys severe, sustained abuse. Such suffering anticipates the Servant of the Lord, whose back was literally torn for the salvation of His people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Isa 51:23I will place it in the hands of your tormentors, who told you: ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you,’ so that you made your back like the ground, like a street to be traversed.”
  • Ps 141:7As when one plows and breaks up the soil, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)
ENEMYPLOW

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 129:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 129:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.

The plowersחָרַשׁplowedחָרַשׁupon my backגַבthey made longאָרַךְtheir furrowsמַעֲנָה
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