A Song of Ascents.
{Or, Much}Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up,
Let Israel now say,
{Or, Much}Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up:
Yet they have not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed upon my back;
They made long their furrows.
Jehovah is righteous:
He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
Let them be put to shame and turned backward,
All they that hate Zion.
Let them be as the grass upon the housetops,
Which withereth before it {Or, is plucked up}groweth up;
Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand,
Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
Neither do they that go by say,
The blessing of Jehovah be upon you;
We bless you in the name of Jehovah.
Querverweise zu Psalm 129,1 Ps 129,1
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building a temple unto Jehovah, the God of Israel;
then they drew near to Zerubabbel, and to the heads of fathers' houses, and said unto them, Let us build with you; for we seek your God, as ye do; {Another reading is, yet we do not sacrifice since &c.}and we sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assyria, who brought us up hither.
But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us in building a house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and {Or, terrified}troubled them in building,
and hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
And in the reign of {Or, Xerxes Hebrew: Ahashrerosh.}Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
And in the days of {Hebrew: Artahshashta.}Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the {Or, Aramaic.}Syrian character, and set forth in the {Or, Aramaic.}Syrian tongue.
{Chapter 4:8-6, 18 is in Aramaic.}Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:
then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,
and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River, and so forth.
This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth.
Be it known unto the king, that the Jews that came up from thee are come to us unto Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations.
Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful unto the kings.
Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king;
that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time; for which cause was this city laid waste.
We certify the king that, if this city be builded, and the walls finished, by this means thou shalt have no portion beyond the River.
Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and {Or, unto the rest beyond &c.}in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, and so forth.
The letter which ye sent unto us hath been {Or, translated}plainly read before me.
And I decreed, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein.
There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute, custom, and toll, was paid unto them.
Make ye now a decree to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until a decree shall be made by me.
And take heed that ye be not slack herein: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?
Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they {Or, abhorred}were grieved because of the children of Israel.
And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:
and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field, all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.
Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember {Or, concerning}for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
A Song of Ascents; of David.If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,Let Israel now say,
A Song of Ascents.In my distress I cried unto Jehovah,And he answered me.
And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
and they played the harlot in Egypt; they played the harlot in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.
A Song of Ascents.I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains:From whence shall my help come?
Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
And the number of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof: for they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
Let heavier work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein; and let them not regard lying words.
And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
Go yourselves, get you straw where ye can find it: for nought of your work shall be diminished.
So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.
And the taskmasters were urgent saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.
And the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, {Hebrew: saying.}and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task both yesterday and to-day, in making brick as heretofore?
Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?
There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault it in thine own people.
But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah.
Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the number of bricks.
And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they {Or, were set on mischief, when they said}were in evil case, when it was said, Ye shall not diminish aught from your bricks, your daily tasks.
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of {That is, Troubling.}Achor for a door of hope; and she {Or, sing}shall make answer there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
A Song of Ascents; of David.I was glad when they said unto me,Let us go unto the house of Jehovah.
Whithersoever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had spoken, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them: and they were sore distressed.
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
A Song of Ascents.Unto thee do I lift up mine eyes,O thou that sittest in the heavens.
And they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel that year: eighteen years oppressed they all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
And the children of Ammon passed over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
And the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, saying, We have sinned against thee, even because we have forsaken our God, and have served the Baalim.
And Jehovah said unto the children of Israel, Did not I save you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried unto me, and I saved you out of their hand.
A Song of Ascents; of David.If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,Let Israel now say,
Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
A Song of Ascents.They that trust in JehovahAre as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever.
Judah is gone into {Or, exile}captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude;She dwelleth among the nations, she findeth no rest:All her persecutors overtook her within the straits.
A Song of Ascents.When Jehovah brought back those that returned to Zion,We were like unto them that dream.
A Song of Ascents; of Solomon.Except Jehovah build the house,They labor in vain that build it:Except Jehovah keep the city,The watchman waketh but in vain.
A Song of Ascents.Blessed is every one that feareth Jehovah,That walketh in his ways.