Psalms 129:6

KJV1611 – Modern English

Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withers before it grows up:

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

יִ֭הְיוּ כַּחֲצִ֣יר גַּגּ֑וֹת שֶׁקַּדְמַ֖ת שָׁלַ֣ף יָבֵֽשׁ׃

Transliteration

yihyû like ḥăṣîr gaggôt that qadmat šālaph yāḇēš

Grammar Details

• *yihyû*: verb, Qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural - they will be
• *ḥăṣîr*: noun, masculine singular - grass
• *gaggôt*: noun, masculine plural construct - roofs
• *šeqadmat*: conjunction + noun, feminine singular construct - that before
• *šālaph*: verb, Qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular - it is pulled out/drawn out
• *yāḇēš*: verb, Qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular - it withers/dries up

Word Meanings

• *ḥăṣîr*: grass/hay/herb
• *gaggôt*: roofs/housetops
• *qadmat* *šālaph*: before being pulled out/before sprouting forth
• *šālaph*: pulled out/drawn out/extracted
• *yāḇēš*: withers/dries up/becomes dry

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  Let them be like grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  Let them be as the grass upon the houseto, which withereth afore it groweth up:

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth before it groweth up;

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Let the be eue as the haye vpon the house toppes, which wythereth afore it be pluckte vp.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  They shalbe as the grasse on the house tops, which withereth afore it commeth forth.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  They shall be as the grasse growing vpon the house toppes: whiche withereth afore that it be shot foorth to his growth.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  Let them be as the grass [upon] the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  Let them be as the grass on the housetops, Which withers before it grows up;

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  They are as grass of the roofs, That before it was drawn out withereth,

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth before it groweth up;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, Which withereth before it groweth up;

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  Let them be like the grass on the house-tops, which is dry before it comes to full growth.

• World English Bible (2000)

  Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up;

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  May they be like the grass on the rooftops which withers before one can even pull it up,

Referenced Verses

• Ps 37:2 : 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
• Ps 92:7 : 7 When the wicked spring up like the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity flourish, it is so they may be destroyed forever.
• Isa 37:27 : 27 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as grain blighted before it is grown up.
• Jer 17:5-6 : 5 Thus says the LORD; Cursed is the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart departs from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
• Matt 13:6 : 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
• 2 Kgs 19:26 : 26 Therefore their inhabitants were of little power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were like the grass of the field, and like the green herb, like the grass on the housetops, and like grain blighted before it is grown up.