Psalms 129:3-4

Israel’s enemies had, as it were, plowed deep furrows on Israel’s back. This was a vivid figure of speech in an agricultural economy. It pictures the land as a human being. However, righteous Yahweh had cut the cords to Israel’s oppressors. The cords in Psalms 129:4 may represent the reins that the plowman of Psalms 129:3 used, or they may simply stand for the things that bound Israel.