Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

Psalm 128

Israel’s prayers give language for praise, grief, repentance, and trust. Poetry uses imagery and parallel lines; each psalm should be read as a whole rather than as a detached promise.

Historical context & book outline

1A song of ascents. Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in His ways!

2For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.

3Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.

4In this way indeed shall blessing come to the man who fears the LORD.

5May the LORD bless you from Zion, that you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life,

6that you may see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

Read closely

  1. What repeated words, contrasts, or actions stand out in this chapter?
  2. How does this chapter fit the surrounding chapters and the book’s purpose?
  3. What did it communicate to its first hearers, before applying it to your life?