Psalm 129

Psalm 129
"Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth"
Song of Ascents
Beginning of Psalm 129 in Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Folio 62r
Other name	Psalm 128 "Saepe expugnaverunt me a iuventute"
Language	Hebrew (original)

Psalm 129 is the 129th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 128. In Latin, it is known as "Saepe expugnaverunt me a iuventute".^[1] It is one of 15 psalms that begin with the words "A song of ascents" (Shir Hama'alot). The New King James Version calls it "A Song of Victory over Zion’s Enemies",^[2] and the Revised Standard Version calls it a "Prayer for the Downfall of Israel’s Enemies",^[3] but Albert Barnes notes that the psalm itself is merely entitled "A Song of Degrees" (i.e. a Song of Ascents) and it is not attributed to any author.^[4]

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.