Logos Bible Study

Psalm 109:6–15

The NET BibleOther versions

English

Arabic

Czech

French

German

Hebrew

Hungarian

Italian

Korean

Latin

Portuguese

Russian

Simplified Chinese

Spanish

Traditional Chinese

109:67 Appoint an evil man to testify against him!8

May an accuser stand9 at his right side!

109:7When he is judged, he will be found10 guilty!11

Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.

109:8May his days be few!12

May another take his job!13

109:9May his children14 be fatherless,

and his wife a widow!

109:10May his children15 roam around begging,

asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home!16

109:11May the creditor seize17 all he owns!

May strangers loot his property!18

109:12May no one show him kindness!19

May no one have compassion20 on his fatherless children!

109:13May his descendants21 be cut off!22

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives!23

109:14May his ancestors’24 sins be remembered by the Lord!

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten!25

109:15May the Lord be constantly aware of them,26

and cut off the memory of his children27 from the earth!

Read in Logos

Footnotes

  1. 7 In vv. 6–19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’ ” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2–5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1–5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6–19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6–19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6–19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6–19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6–19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4–5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6–19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view—that vv. 6–19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist—see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101–150 (), .
  2. 8 Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”
  3. 9 The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).
  4. 10 The prefixed verbal form could be taken as a jussive, but the use of the imperfect form in the following line suggests that v. 7 anticipates the outcome of the accusation envisioned in v. 6.
  5. 11 Heb “he will go out [as] a criminal” (that is, guilty).
  6. 12 The prefixed verbal forms (except those with vav [ו] consecutive) in vv. 8–20 are taken as jussives of prayer. Note the distinct jussive forms used in vv. 12–13, 15, 19.
  7. 13 The Hebrew noun פְּקֻדָּה (péquddah) can mean “charge” or “office,” though 824 suggests that here it refers to his possessions.
  8. 14 Or “sons.”
  9. 15 Or “sons.”
  10. 16 Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the , emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (védoreshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (yégoreshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. , ]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shi’elu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.
  11. 17 Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).
  12. 18 Heb “the product of his labor.”
  13. 19 Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”
  14. 20 Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).
  15. 21 Or “offspring.”
  16. 22 On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.
  17. 23 Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”
  18. 24 Or “fathers’ sins.”
  19. 25 Heb “not be wiped out.” According to ancient Israelite theology and its doctrine of corporate solidarity and responsibility, children could be and often were punished for the sins of their parents. For a discussion of this issue see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (). (Kaminsky, however, does not deal with Ps 109.)
  20. 26 Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the Lord continually.”
  21. 27 Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13, and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Appoint a wicked man against him;

let an accuser stand at his right hand.

When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;

let his prayer be counted as sin!

May his days be few;

may another take his office!

May his children be fatherless

and his wife a widow!

May his children wander about and beg,

seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

May the creditor seize all that he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!

Let there be none to extend kindness to him,

nor any to pity his fatherless children!

May his posterity be cut off;

may his name be blotted out in the second generation!

May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,

and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!

Let them be before the Lord continually,

that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;

let an accuser stand at his right hand.

When he is tried, let him be found guilty,

and may his prayers condemn him.

May his days be few;

may another take his place of leadership.

May his children be fatherless

and his wife a widow.

May his children be wandering beggars;

may they be driven from their ruined homes.

May a creditor seize all he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

May no one extend kindness to him

or take pity on his fatherless children.

May his descendants be cut off,

their names blotted out from the next generation.

May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord;

may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.

May their sins always remain before the Lord,

that he may blot out their name from the earth.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Set a wicked person over him;

let an accuser stand at his right hand.

When he is judged, let him be found guilty,

and let his prayer be counted as sin.

Let his days be few;

let another take over his position.

Let his children be fatherless

and his wife a widow.

Let his children wander as beggars,

searching for food far from their demolished homes.

Let a creditor seize all he has;

let strangers plunder what he has worked for.

Let no one show him kindness,

and let no one be gracious to his fatherless children.

Let the line of his descendants be cut off;

let their name be blotted out in the next generation.

Let the iniquity of his fathers

be remembered before the Lord,

and do not let his mother’s sin be blotted out.

Let their sins always remain before the Lord,

and let him remove all memory of them from the earth.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him.

Send an accuser to bring him to trial.

When his case comes up for judgment,

let him be pronounced guilty.

Count his prayers as sins.

Let his years be few;

let someone else take his position.

May his children become fatherless,

and his wife a widow.

May his children wander as beggars

and be driven from their ruined homes.

May creditors seize his entire estate,

and strangers take all he has earned.

Let no one be kind to him;

let no one pity his fatherless children.

May all his offspring die.

May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.

May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers;

may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.

May the Lord always remember these sins,

and may his name disappear from human memory.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Appoint over him a wicked man,

and let an accuser stand at his right hand.

When he is judged, let him come out guilty,

and let his prayer become as sin.

Let his days be few;

let another take his office.

Let his children be orphans,

and his wife a widow,

and let his children wander aimlessly and beg,

and let them plead from their ruins.

Let the creditor seize all that is his,

and let strangers plunder his property.

Let there be none who extend to him loyal love,

nor any who pities his orphans.

Let his descendants be cut off.

Let their name be blotted out in the next generation.

Let the iniquity of his ancestors be remembered before Yahweh,

and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out.

Let them be before Yahweh continually,

that he may cut off their memory from the earth,

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Set thou a wicked man over him:

And let Satan stand at his right hand.

When he shall be judged, let him be condemned:

And let his prayer become sin.

Let his days be few;

And let another take his office.

Let his children be fatherless,

And his wife a widow.

Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg:

Let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

Let the extortioner catch all that he hath;

And let the strangers spoil his labour.

Let there be none to extend mercy unto him:

Neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.

Let his posterity be cut off;

And in the generation following let their name be blotted out.

Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord;

And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

Let them be before the Lord continually,

That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Public Domain