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King James Version
Psalms 129:6
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
Let them be like grass on the rooftops,which withers before it grows up
Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up;
Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,
Let them be like the grass on the roof that dries up before it has grown.
May they be like the grass on the rooftops which withers before one can even pull it up,
Let them be like the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up,
May they be like grass upon the housetops, Which withers before it grows up;
Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up;
They shalbe as the grasse on the house tops, which withereth afore it commeth forth.
Let them be like grass upon the rooftops,Which dries up before it grows up;
May they be like grass on the rooftops, which withers before it can grow,
May they be like grass on the flat roof of a house, grass that dries up as soon as it sprouts.
Let them be like grass on the roof, which dries out before it grows up
Let them be as the grass upon the house-tops, which withereth before it is plucked up,
They will be like grass on a flat roof that dies before it has time to grow.
Let them be as the grass upon the house tops, which pulls out and withers when the wind strikes it,
May they all be like grass growing on the housetops, which dries up before it can grow;
Let them be like grass on the housetops, that withers before it grows up,
let them be like the grass on the rooftops, which dries up before it draws out;
Let the be eue as the haye vpon the house toppes, which wythereth afore it be pluckte vp.
Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth before it groweth up;
Let them be like the grass on the house-tops, which is dry before it comes to full growth.
Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it springeth up;
Let them bee as the grasse vpon the house tops: which withereth afore it groweth vp:
They shall be as the grasse growing vpon the house toppes: whiche withereth afore that it be shot foorth [to his growth.]
Let them be as the grass of the house-tops, which withers before it is plucked up.
Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:
Be thei maad as the hey of hous coppis; that driede vp, bifore that it be drawun vp.
Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up;
Let them be as the grass [upon] the house-tops, which withereth before it groweth up:
Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up,
May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown,
Let them be like grass on the roof, which dries up before it grows.
Let them be like the grass on the housetops that withers before it grows up,
Let them become like the grass of housetops, which, before it is pulled up, hath withered;
(128-6) Let them be as grass upon the tops of houses: which withereth before it be plucked up:
Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,
They are as grass of the roofs, That before it was drawn out withereth,
Let them be like grass upon the housetops, Which withers before it grows up;
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
as the grass: Psalms 37:2, Psalms 92:7, Jeremiah 17:5, Jeremiah 17:6, Matthew 13:6
Reciprocal: Genesis 41:23 - thin 2 Kings 19:26 - the grass Job 8:12 - General Isaiah 37:27 - as the grass of 1 Peter 1:24 - all flesh
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Let them be as the grass [upon] the housetops,.... The tops of the houses in Judea were flat, and so grass grew upon them, being covered with plaster of terrace; though it was but small and weak, and being on high was exposed to the scorching sun, and soon withered b; and Menochius says c he saw such roofs in the island of Corsica, flat, and having earth upon them, smoothed and pressed, on which grass grew of its own accord; but being burnt up in summertime by the sun, soon withered, as here said. But what Olaus Magnus d relates is somewhat extraordinary; that, in the northern Gothic countries, they feed their cattle on the tops of houses, especially in a time of siege; he describes their houses as built of stone, high and large, and covered with rafters of fir and bark of birch; upon which is laid grass earth, cut out of the fields foursquare, and sowed with barley or oats, so that their roofs look like green meadows; and that what is sown, and the grass that grows thereon, might not wither before plucked up, they very constantly and diligently water it; but in the eastern countries, which are hot, and have but little rain, grass could not retain its verdure long, as follows;
which withereth afore it groweth up; to any height, the usual height of grass: or, "before it is plucked up", as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions; and so Jarchi. And this was their usual way of gathering in their corn; and which continues to this day, as Mr. Maundrell e affirms, who was an eyewitness to it in many places; where they plucked it up by handfuls from the roots, leaving the most fruitful fields as naked as if nothing had grown on them; and this they did for the sake of the straw, which was generally very short, and necessary for the sustenance of cattle; to which he thinks there is here a manifest allusion; but not corn, but grass, is here spoken of. The Targum is,
"before it flourisheth, an east wind cometh, blows upon it, and it is withered;''
and to the same purpose the Syriac version,
"which when the wind comes upon it, it fades and withers.''
This expresses the high and elevated state and condition of wicked men, the pride and haughtiness of their hearts; yet their weakness and frailty, and the danger they are exposed unto, through the wrath and vengeance of God upon them; when they consume and wither away like grass on the housetops, and never come to the happiness they are hoping and wishing for; see Isaiah 37:27.
b See Shaw's Travels, p. 210, 211. c De Republica Heb. l. 7. c. 5. p. 666. d De Ritu Gent. Septent. l. 9. c. 12. e Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 144. Ed. 7.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Let them be as the grass upon the housetops - The housetops, or roofs of houses, covered with sand or earth, in which seeds of grass may germinate and begin to grow, but where, as there is no depth of earth, and as the heat of the sun there would be intense, it would soon wither away. See the notes at Isaiah 37:27.
Which withereth afore it groweth up - This, even if it has any meaning, is not the meaning of the original. The idea in the Hebrew is - and it is so rendered in the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, and by Luther - “which before (one) pulls it, withers.” Grass would wither or dry up, of course, if it were pulled up or cut down, but the grass here spoken of withers even before this is done. It has no depth of earth to sustain it; having sprouted, and begun to grow, it soon dies - a perfect image of feebleness and desolation; of hopes begun only to be disappointed. “This morning” (says Dr. Thomson, “Land and the Book,” vol. ii., p. 574) “I saw a striking illustration of this most expressive figure. To obtain a good view of the Tyropean, my guide took me to the top of a house on the brow of Zion, and the grass which had grown over the roof during the rainy season was now entirely withered and perfectly dry.”
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Psalms 129:6. As the grass upon the housetops — As in the east the roofs of the houses were flat, seeds of various kinds falling upon them would naturally vegetate, though in an imperfect way; and, because of the want of proper nourishment, would necessarily dry and wither away. If grass, the mower cannot make hay of it; if corn, the reaper cannot make a sheaf of it. Let the Babylonians be like such herbage-good for nothing, and come to nothing.
Withereth afore it groweth up — Before שלק shalak, it is unsheathed; i.e., before it ears, or comes to seed.
