1. “They have oppressed
me greatly from my youth.”
Make this your song, O Israel, and repeat it:
“They have oppressed me greatly
from my youth,
but they have failed, for I
am undefeated.
“They ploughed my back as if
they ploughed a field;
long furrows drew those enemies
who hound me.”
2. The Lord is righteous; he, my strength and
shield,
has cut the cords with which
the wicked bound me.
May all those who hate Zion
be brought low.
Put them to shame, Lord. Crush them by your power.
Make
them like grasses that on housetops grow,
that
shrivel in the sun before they flower.
3. No reaper gathers those
to have them threshed;
no binder such a worthless
crop will rescue.
No passers-by will shout,
“May you be blessed!”
They will not say, “We in
the Lord’s name bless you!”
They have oppressed me greatly
from my youth,
but they have failed, for I
am undefeated.
