May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let them be disappointed and turned backward, all those who hate Zion.
- KJV Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.
- NKJV Let all those who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned back.
- NASB ¶May all who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned backward;
- NLT May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.
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
It prays that all who hate Zion be shamed and turned back. It asks God to defeat those opposed to His people and His worship.
Overview
The psalmist prays that the enemies of Zion, the city of God's dwelling, be put to shame and driven into retreat. To hate Zion is to oppose God Himself, so their defeat upholds His honor. Such prayers anticipate the final triumph of God's kingdom in Christ over all who resist it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Isa 37:35‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
- Ps 71:13May the accusers of my soul be ashamed and consumed; may those who seek my harm be covered with scorn and disgrace.
- Isa 37:22this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
- Isa 10:12So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.
- Ps 83:4–11saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation; may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
- Zech 12:3On that day, when all the nations of the earth gather against her, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will be severely injured.
- Esth 6:13Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.”
- Ps 122:6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper.
- Zech 1:14–17Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,
- Mic 4:11But now many nations have assembled against you, saying, “Let her be defiled, and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”
- 1 Cor 16:22If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!
- Esth 9:5The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did as they pleased to those who hated them.
- Zech 12:6On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and on the left, while the people of Jerusalem remain secure there.
- Isa 37:28–29But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 129:5 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.