Chapter Text
128:1 A Song of the Ascents. O the happiness of every one fearing Jehovah, Who is walking in His ways.
128:2 The labour of thy hands thou surely eatest, Happy <FI>art<Fi> thou, and good <FI>is<Fi> to thee.
128:3 Thy wife <FI>is<Fi> as a fruitful vine in the sides of thy house, Thy sons as olive plants around thy table.
128:4 Lo, surely thus is the man blessed who is fearing Jehovah.
128:5 Jehovah doth bless thee out of Zion, Look, then, on the good of Jerusalem, All the days of thy life,
128:6 And see the sons of thy sons! Peace on Israel!
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "song", "ascents", "happiness", "fearing", "jehovah", "walking", "ways", and "labour". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "song" and "ascents", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The local YLT text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "song" and "ascents" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "song" and "ascents" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.