With which the reaper does not fill his hand, Nor he who binds sheaves, his arms.
Parallel translations
- WEB with which the reaper doesn’t fill his hand, nor he who binds sheaves, his bosom.
- KJV Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
- BSB unable to fill the hands of the reaper, or the arms of the binder of sheaves.
- NASB With which the harvester does not fill his hand, Or the binder of sheaves his arms;
- NLT ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder.
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
Such grass yields nothing for the reaper to gather. It underscores that the wicked produce no lasting fruit or harvest.
Overview
Continuing the image, the rooftop grass is so worthless that no reaper fills his hand and no binder his arms with it. The wicked, like this grass, leave nothing of value behind. By contrast, those who abide in Christ bear fruit that remains.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Gal 6:8For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
- Isa 17:10–11For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the rock of your strength. Therefore you plant pleasant plants, and set out foreign seedlings.
- Ps 126:6He who goes out weeping, carrying seed for sowing, will certainly come again with joy, carrying his sheaves.
- Hos 8:7For they sow the wind, and they will reap the whirlwind. He has no standing grain. The stalk will yield no head. If it does yield, strangers will swallow it up.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 129:7 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
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