Olive Shoots Around Your Table
Psalm 128 summary: what it means
Psalm 128 is a short picture of an ordinary blessed life. It begins with a general statement: blessed is everyone who fears the LORD and walks in his ways. It then turns to you and makes it concrete. You will eat the labor of your hands. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine inside the house, and your children like olive shoots around your table.
Verse 4 sums it up: this is how the man who fears the LORD is blessed. The last two verses turn from statement to prayer. They ask the LORD to bless from Zion, to let the reader see the good of Jerusalem all their life, and to see their children's children. The psalm ends with peace upon Israel, widening from one home to the nation.
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Psalm 128: Olive Shoots Around Your Table
World English Bible, public domain. allpsalms.com/psalm-128
Psalm 128 commentary: explained verse by verse
Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,who walks in his ways.
Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
The psalm opens with a blessing on everyone who fears the LORD and walks in his ways. The two go together: reverence for God that shows in how a person lives.
Also read Psalm 126:1, Psalm 120:1, Psalm 115:13, Psalm 125:1
For you will eat the labor of your hands.You will be happy, and it will be well with you.
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
The blessing becomes personal and practical. You will eat the labor of your hands, you will be happy, and it will be well with you. The first reward named is simply enjoying what you worked for.
Also read Psalm 109:11, Isaiah 62:8, Genesis 3:19, Isaiah 3:10
Your wife will be as a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house,your children like olive shoots around your table.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
The picture moves inside the home. The wife is a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of the house, and the children are olive shoots around the table. Both images are of living, growing things.
Also read Romans 11:24, Ezekiel 19:10, Psalm 144:12, Psalm 52:8
Behold, this is how the man who fears the LORD is blessed.
Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
This verse sums up verses 1 to 3: this is how the man who fears the LORD is blessed. The word behold asks the reader to look at the picture just drawn.
May the LORD bless you out of Zion,and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
The psalm turns to prayer. May the LORD bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. The blessing of one home is tied to the good of the city.
Also read Ephesians 1:3, Psalm 135:21, Psalm 122:6, Isaiah 2:3
Yes, may you see your children’s children.Peace be upon Israel.
Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.
The prayer reaches forward to a long life: may you see your children's children. The psalm then ends with peace upon Israel, moving from one family to the whole people.
Also read Psalm 125:5, Job 42:16, Isaiah 66:12, Genesis 50:23
A prayer from Psalm 128
LORD, blessed is everyone who fears you and walks in your ways. Help me to walk in them. Let me eat the labor of my hands, and let it be well with me. Bless the homes of those who fear you, with the fruitful vine within the house and children like olive shoots around the table. Bless us out of Zion. Let us see the good of Jerusalem all the days of our lives, and let us see our children's children. Peace be upon Israel. Amen.
Psalm 128 Bible study questions
- In verse 1, who does the psalm call blessed, and what two things describe them?
- In verse 3, what pictures are used for the wife and for the children, and where in the home are they placed?
- The blessings in this psalm are ordinary ones: work, food, family and a long life. How do you think about ordinary things as blessings?
- Verses 5 and 6 widen the blessing from one home to Jerusalem and Israel. How does your own life connect with a wider community?
- Psalm 127:3 calls children a heritage of the LORD. How does Psalm 128:3 continue that thought?
Questions about Psalm 128
What is the meaning of Psalm 128?
It describes the blessing on someone who fears the LORD: enjoying the work of their hands, a fruitful home, and children around the table. It ends with a prayer for blessing from Zion and peace upon Israel.
Who wrote Psalm 128?
The author is not named. The heading calls it a Song of Ascents, one of the group of Psalms 120 to 134.
What does Psalm 128:1-2 mean?
Verse 1 blesses everyone who fears the LORD and walks in his ways. Verse 2 makes it practical: you will eat the labor of your hands, and it will be well with you.
What does Psalm 128:3 mean?
It pictures the wife as a fruitful vine inside the house and the children as olive shoots around the table. Both are images of a home that is alive and growing.
What does Psalm 128:5 mean?
It prays that the LORD will bless the reader out of Zion and that they will see the good of Jerusalem all the days of their life.
What does Psalm 128:6 mean?
It prays that the reader will live to see their children's children, and ends with peace upon Israel.
Psalm 128 KJV: the King James Version
Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.1
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.2
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.3
Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.4
The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.5
Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.6
Psalm 128 in Hebrew
The Hebrew text from the Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible, which counts a psalm's heading as verse 1, so they can run one ahead of English Bibles.
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1 שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת אַ֭שְׁרֵי כָּל־יְרֵ֣א יְהוָ֑ה הַ֝הֹלֵ֗ךְ בִּדְרָכָֽיו׃
2 יְגִ֣יעַ כַּ֭פֶּיךָ כִּ֣י תֹאכֵ֑ל אַ֝שְׁרֶ֗יךָ וְט֣וֹב לָֽךְ׃
3 אֶשְׁתְּךָ֤ ׀ כְּגֶ֥פֶן פֹּרִיָּה֮ בְּיַרְכְּתֵ֪י בֵ֫יתֶ֥ךָ בָּ֭נֶיךָ כִּשְׁתִלֵ֣י זֵיתִ֑ים סָ֝בִ֗יב לְשֻׁלְחָנֶֽךָ׃
4 הִנֵּ֣ה כִי־כֵ֭ן יְבֹ֥רַךְ גָּ֗בֶר יְרֵ֣א יְהוָֽה׃
5 יְבָרֶכְךָ֥ יְהוָ֗ה מִצִּ֫יּ֥וֹן וּ֭רְאֵה בְּט֣וּב יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם כֹּ֝֗ל יְמֵ֣י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃
6 וּרְאֵֽה־בָנִ֥ים לְבָנֶ֑יךָ שָׁ֝ל֗וֹם עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
Psalm 128 in the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible
The Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain. It follows the Greek and Latin numbering, so this psalm is Psalm 127 there.
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1 Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: that walk in his ways.
2 For thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee.
3 Thy wife as a fruitful vine, on the sides of thy house.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.
5 May the Lord bless thee out of Sion: and mayest thou see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
6 And mayest thou see thy children’s children, peace upon Israel.
Psalm 128 in Latin
The Clementine Vulgate, public domain, where this psalm is Psalm 127.
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1 Canticum graduum. Beati omnes qui timent Dominum, qui ambulant in viis ejus.
2 Labores manuum tuarum quia manducabis: beatus es, et bene tibi erit.
3 Uxor tua sicut vitis abundans in lateribus domus tuæ; filii tui sicut novellæ olivarum in circuitu mensæ tuæ.
4 Ecce sic benedicetur homo qui timet Dominum.
5 Benedicat tibi Dominus ex Sion, et videas bona Jerusalem omnibus diebus vitæ tuæ.
6 Et videas filios filiorum tuorum: pacem super Israël.
Printable Psalm 128: free, large print and PDF
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Psalm 128 at a glance
| Verses | 6 |
| Heading in the text | A Song of Ascents. |
| Attributed to | Not named in the text. The heading calls it a Song of Ascents, one of Psalms 120 to 134. |
| Type | Song of Ascents and Wisdom |
| Number in Greek and Latin Bibles | Psalm 127 |
Read Psalm 128 when you are facing
familymarriageworkpeace in the home
Psalm 128 in other translations
This page prints the World English Bible and the King James Version because both are public domain. The NIV, ESV, NKJV, NLT and NASB are under copyright, so they cannot be printed in full here. You can read Psalm 128 in those translations at Bible Gateway.
Where Psalm 128 belongs
Songs of AscentsBook 5 of the Psalms
How this page was made
The psalm text comes from public domain translations and is not edited. The summary, the verse notes and the answers are written for this page from the text of the psalm itself. Where a claim goes beyond the text, it is sourced below.
Sources
- Text: World English Bible and King James Version, both public domain, from ebible.org source
- Hebrew text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Douay-Rheims: Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 edition, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Latin text: Clementine Vulgate, public domain, from ebible.org source
- Numbering: Greek and Latin psalm numbering, Wikipedia, Psalms source