— Psalm 128 (Hebrew / English)
Beati omnes qui timent Dominum
By GRAHAM JOHN
A psalm of everyday blessing, portraying the good life not as power or wealth, but as fruitful labour, family stability, and peace within a moral order.
6 verses total
VERSUS 1–6 (LATIN + LITERAL ENGLISH + WORD NOTES)
1
Beati omnes qui timent Dominum, qui ambulant in viis eius.
Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways.
Word Notes:
- beatus, beata, beatum — blessed, flourishing
- timeo, timere, timui — to fear, revere
- Dominus, Domini m. — Lord
- ambulo, ambulare, ambulavi, ambulatum — to walk
- via, viae f. — way, path
2
Labores manuum tuarum quia manducabis, beatus es, et bene tibi erit.
You shall eat the labour of your hands; you are blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Word Notes:
- labor, laboris m. — labour
- manus, manus f. — hand
- manduco, manducare, manducavi, manducatum — to eat
- sum, esse, fui, futurus — to be
- bene — well
3
Uxor tua sicut vitis abundans in lateribus domus tuae; filii tui sicut novellae olivarum in circuitu mensae tuae.
Your wife is like a fruitful vine at the sides of your house; your children like olive shoots around your table.
Word Notes:
- uxor, uxoris f. — wife
- sicut — like, as
- vitis, vitis f. — vine
- abundo, abundare, abundavi, abundatum — to abound
- latus, lateris n. — side
- domus, domus f. — house
- filius, filii m. — son, child
- novella, novellae f. — young shoot
- oliva, olivae f. — olive tree
- mens a, mensae f. — table
- circumitus, -us m. — surrounding
4
Ecce sic benedicetur homo qui timet Dominum.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
Word Notes:
- ecce — behold
- sic — thus
- benedico, benedicere, benedixi, benedictum — to bless
- homo, hominis m. — human being
5
Benedicat tibi Dominus ex Sion; et videas bona Ierusalem omnibus diebus vitae tuae.
May the Lord bless you from Zion; and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
Word Notes:
- benedico, benedicere, benedixi, benedictum — to bless
- video, videre, vidi, visum — to see
- bonus, bona, bonum — good
- dies, diei m. — day
- vita, vitae f. — life
6
Et videas filios filiorum tuorum; pacem super Israel.
And may you see your children’s children; peace upon Israel.
Word Notes:
- filius, filii m. — son
- pax, pacis f. — peace
- Israel — Israel (indeclinable)
MORPHOLOGY EXERCISES (6)
Identify tense, voice, mood, and principal parts:
- timent
- ambulant
- manducabis
- erit
- benedicetur
- videas
MORPHOLOGY EXERCISES — KEY
- timent
- Verb: timeo, timere, timui
- Tense: present
- Voice: active
- Mood: indicative
- Meaning: they fear
- ambulant
- Verb: ambulo, ambulare, ambulavi, ambulatum
- Tense: present
- Voice: active
- Mood: indicative
- Meaning: they walk
- manducabis
- Verb: manduco, manducare, manducavi, manducatum
- Tense: future
- Voice: active
- Mood: indicative
- Meaning: you will eat
- erit
- Verb: sum, esse, fui, futurus
- Tense: future
- Voice: active
- Mood: indicative
- Meaning: it will be
- benedicetur
- Verb: benedico, benedicere, benedixi, benedictum
- Tense: future
- Voice: passive
- Mood: indicative
- Meaning: will be blessed
- videas
- Verb: video, videre, vidi, visum
- Tense: present
- Voice: active
- Mood: subjunctive (jussive / optative)
- Meaning: may you see
TRANSLATION EXERCISES (6)
Translate into Latin:
- Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
- They walk in his ways.
- You will eat the labour of your hands.
- Your children surround your table.
- May the Lord bless you.
- Peace be upon Israel.
TRANSLATION EXERCISES — KEY
- Beati omnes qui timent Dominum.
- In viis eius ambulant.
- Labores manuum tuarum manducabis.
- Filii tui mensam tuam circumdant.
- Benedicat tibi Dominus.
- Pax super Israel.
SUMMARY (≈100 words)
Psalm 127 presents blessing in deliberately ordinary terms. The good life is not heroic or ascetic, but domestic, social, and sustained. Work yields food, family gathers at the table, generations overlap, and peace frames it all. The “fear of the Lord” is not anxiety but orientation — a way of walking that aligns effort, relationship, and continuity. Prosperity is measured not by accumulation but by fruitfulness and endurance. The psalm quietly resists both luxury and despair, offering a vision of stability rooted in reverence, shared labour, and intergenerational hope.
REFLECTION QUESTION
How does this psalm challenge modern assumptions about success, fulfilment, and what it means for a life to be “blessed”?