1A song of the ascents OFTEN since I was young have I been attacked -- let Israel now say --
2often since I was young have I been attacked, but never have my attackers prevailed.
3They scored my back with scourges, like ploughmen driving long furrows.
4The LORD is victorious; he has cut me free from the bonds of the wicked.
5Let all who hate Zion be thrown back in confusion;
6let them be like grass growing on the roof, which withers before it can shoot,
7which will never fill a mower's hand nor yield an armful for the harvester,
8so that passers-by will never say to them, “The blessing of the LORD be on you! We bless you in the name of the LORD.”