Psalms 109–31
Psalm 109:1-31
Psa.109.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לדוד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מזמור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- תהלתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- אל: NEG
- תחרש: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Ps.22:2 (verbal): Both are cries to God that stress a lack of divine answer/silence (Hebrew uses similar language of crying out and finding no reply).
- Ps.28:1 (verbal): A direct plea to the LORD not to be silent or deaf to the petitioner (Hebrew verb תחרש/'be silent' is used in the petitionary sense).
- Ps.83:1 (verbal): Begins with the same urgent petition, 'O God, do not keep silence' (very close wording and shared petitionary theme).
- Isa.42:14 (allusion): God declares 'I have long been silent'—an explicit contrast to the psalmist's plea that God not be silent; both passages engage the theme of divine speech vs. silence.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the choirmaster. A psalm of David. O God of my praise, do not be silent.
- To the choirmaster; a psalm of David. O God of my praise, do not be silent.
Psa.109.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- פי: NOUN,m,sg,construct
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ופי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מרמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- פתחו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- דברו: INF,qal,inf+3ms
- אתי: PRON,1,sg
- לשון: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- שקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 120:2 (verbal): Directly petitions deliverance from 'lying lips' and a 'deceitful tongue'—near identical language and concern with false, deceitful speech.
- Psalm 12:3-4 (verbal): Complains of flattering lips and a 'tongue that speaketh proud things'—a parallel denunciation of duplicitous, lying speech against the righteous.
- Psalm 27:12 (thematic): Speaks of false witnesses rising against the psalmist—similar theme of enemies who oppose by falsehood and slander.
- Psalm 35:11 (thematic): Describes malicious/false witnesses who testify against the speaker—another instance of slanderous, deceitful testimony attacking the righteous.
- Proverbs 12:19 (verbal): Contrasts truthful lips with a 'lying tongue'—the same phraseology and moral judgment regarding lying speech found in Psalm 109:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the mouths of the wicked and the mouth of deceit are opened against me; they speak with a lying tongue.
- For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have opened against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
Psa.109.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ודברי: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,1cs
- שנאה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- סבבוני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- וילחמוני: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- חנם: ADV
Parallels
- Psalm 69:4 (verbal): Uses the same wording and idea — "they that hate me without a cause" — and speaks of enemies seeking to destroy the psalmist without justification.
- John 15:25 (quotation): Jesus cites the OT phrase 'They hated me without a cause' to explain the unjust hatred directed at him, explicitly echoing the psalmic motif.
- Psalm 35:19 (verbal): Speaks of enemies who hate and wrong the psalmist without cause; shares language and theme of hostile words and unjust opposition.
- Psalm 41:10 (thematic): Describes betrayal and hostile action by a trusted associate ('lifted up his heel'), thematically paralleling surrounding hostility and unjust attacks on the righteous.
Alternative generated candidates
- Words of hatred surround me; they wage war against me for no cause.
- They have surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without cause.
Psa.109.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תחת: PREP
- אהבתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ישטנוני: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- תפלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 35:12 (verbal): Expresses the same contrast—being repaid evil for good (’they rewarded me evil for good’), closely matching the wording and theme of betrayal/reward.
- Psalm 41:9 (thematic): Speaks of betrayal by a close companion who repays trust with harm—resonant with enemies repaying love with hostility in Ps 109:4.
- Psalm 55:12-14 (thematic): Records the pain of a friend’s betrayal (’it was thou, my equal’), paralleling the shock of being met with hatred instead of love.
- Matthew 5:44 (thematic): Jesus’ command to love and pray for enemies parallels Ps 109:4’s juxtaposition of being hated despite love and the psalmist’s turning to prayer.
- Romans 12:14 (thematic): Calls believers to bless and pray for persecutors rather than repay evil—echoing the psalmist’s response of prayer when faced with hostility.
Alternative generated candidates
- In return for my love they are my adversaries, though I keep on praying.
- In return for my love they are my adversaries, while I am engaged in prayer.
Psa.109.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישימו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תחת: PREP
- טובה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ושנאה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- תחת: PREP
- אהבתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 35:12 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel: both complain that enemies repay good with evil—'they repay me evil for good.'
- Psalm 69:4 (verbal): Verbal/thematic parallel: both describe being hated without cause—'they hated me without a cause,' echoing 'hatred for my love.'
- John 15:25 (quotation): Jesus cites the OT formula 'they hated me without a cause' to explain being hated despite acting in love, reflecting the situation of Ps 109:5.
- Romans 12:17-21 (thematic): Thematic parallel: Paul addresses the reality of receiving evil for good and prescribes non-retaliation and overcoming evil with good as a response to such treatment.
Alternative generated candidates
- They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
- They have set evil against me instead of good, and hatred for my love.
Psa.109.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הפקד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושטן: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעמד: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- ימינו: NOUN,m,sg,suff-3ms
Parallels
- Zechariah 3:1 (verbal): Uses the same courtroom image of Satan standing at the right hand as accuser/opposer (Zech. 3:1 depicts Satan at Joshua's right hand).
- Job 1:6-11 (structural): Heavenly council scene where Satan appears among the 'sons of God' and accuses Job—parallels the motif of an accuser appointed against a person.
- Revelation 12:10 (allusion): Refers to Satan as 'the accuser of our brothers' who accuses day and night before God, echoing the Psalm's plea for an accuser against the psalmist's enemy.
- Psalm 35:11-16 (thematic): Another imprecatory passage that speaks of false witnesses and hostile adversaries rising against the psalmist, sharing the theme of appointed enemies and accusation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Appoint over him a wicked man; let an adversary stand at his right hand.
- Appoint over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
Psa.109.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בהשפטו: PREP
- יצא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותפלתו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss3,m
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- לחטאה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 28:9 (verbal): Explicitly links refusal to hear God's law with prayer becoming an abomination—closely parallels Psalm 109:7's idea that a wicked man's prayer is treated as sin.
- Isaiah 1:15 (thematic): God refuses to listen to the prayers of those whose hands are full of blood; thematically parallels the rejection/condemnation of a sinner's prayer in Ps 109:7.
- Isaiah 59:1-2 (thematic): Sin separates people from God so that he does not hear them—explains why a person's prayer may be counted as sin or be ineffective, as in Ps 109:7.
- Psalm 66:18 (thematic): If one harbors iniquity the LORD will not hear—directly connects personal sin with the Lord's refusal to accept prayer, echoing Ps 109:7.
- Jeremiah 14:11 (structural): God tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people because He will not hear them—parallel situation where prayer is rejected and thus functionally 'condemned' as in Ps 109:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- When he comes to trial, let him be condemned; let his prayer be counted as sin.
- When he is judged, let him be condemned; let his prayer be counted for sin.
Psa.109.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ימיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- מעטים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- פקדתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- יקח: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אחר: PREP
Parallels
- Acts 1:20 (quotation): Peter (quoting the LXX/MT) applies Ps 109:8 to Judas: 'May his days be few; may another take his office,' a direct citation and application in selecting a replacement.
- Psalm 109:6 (structural): Verses 6–8 form a linked imprecatory triad ('appoint a wicked man... let his days be few... let another take his office'); v.8 is structurally tied to v.6.
- Psalm 109:7 (verbal): The immediately preceding verse continues the same curse theme and language ('When he is judged, let him be condemned...'); v.7–8 form a verbal unit of judgment and removal.
- Psalm 69:27–28 (thematic): Similar imprecatory motifs asking for the enemy's end and exclusion (e.g., 'Add iniquity to their iniquity... let them not be written with the righteous'), reflecting the desire that the foe's days/influence be ended.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let his days be few; let another seize his office.
- Let his days be few; let another take his office.
Psa.109.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בניו: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- יתומים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואשתו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- אלמנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 22:30 (verbal): A prophetic curse declaring a man 'childless' and that none of his offspring will prosper—closely parallels the wish that an enemy's children be left fatherless.
- Isaiah 14:21 (thematic): Calls for punishment extending to the offender's sons ('Prepare slaughter for his sons')—themes of familial devastation as retributive justice echo Psalm 109:9.
- 1 Kings 21:21-23 (verbal): Elijah's judgment on Ahab (wives taken, sons struck down, Jezebel eaten by dogs) depicts family ruin and widowhood as part of divine retribution, paralleling the psalm's imprecation.
- Deuteronomy 28:32 (thematic): A covenant curse promising that 'your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people'—another instance where covenantal/curse language envisions loss and dispossession of one's children.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
- Let his children be orphans, and his wife a widow.
Psa.109.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונוע: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- ינועו: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,pl
- בניו: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- ושאלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ודרשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מחרבותיהם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Psalm 69:25 (structural): Shares imprecatory language about desolation of the enemy's dwelling—'May their habitation be desolate; let no one live in their tents' parallels the wish that the offender's household be driven from their places.
- Deuteronomy 28:32 (thematic): Part of the covenant curses: 'Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people,' echoing the motif of children dispossessed, scattered, or delivered into hardship as a consequence.
- Isaiah 14:21 (allusion): Speaks of punishment extending to offspring—'Prepare slaughter for his children'—reflecting the biblical motif (used in imprecatory contexts) that the enemy's children suffer as part of the curse.
- Lamentations 5:2–3 (thematic): Describes communal loss and displacement—houses turned over to strangers and bearing the consequences of former generations—resonates with the image of children wandering and seeking sustenance in desolate places.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let his children wander and beg; let them seek their bread from their desolate places.
- Let his children wander and beg; let them seek bread from their desolations.
Psa.109.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ינקש: VERB,niphal,imf,3,m,sg
- נושה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לכל: PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- ויבזו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- זרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יגיעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:30-33 (thematic): Part of the Deuteronomic curse-speech in which foreign peoples eat the produce and take possession of houses and livelihoods—parallels Psalm 109's imprecatory wish that creditors and strangers seize a man's goods and labor.
- Lamentations 5:9-10 (thematic): Lamentations laments oppression by foreigners and loss of property/livelihood (sons taken, servitude, lack of deliverance), echoing the theme of strangers and enemies profiting at the sufferer's expense.
- Nehemiah 5:1-5 (structural): Describes creditor oppression of fellow Israelites—land and children pledges, forced labor and loss of subsistence—providing a concrete social situation analogous to the psalmist's curse that creditors and strangers seize a man's possessions and toil.
- Psalm 35:15-26 (thematic): Another imprecatory psalm in which enemies gloat, plunder, and seek the psalmist's ruin; parallels Psalm 109's curse-language directing loss, shame, and seizure by others.
Alternative generated candidates
- May his creditors seize all that he has, and may strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
- Let the creditor seize all that he has, and let strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.
Psa.109.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- יהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- משך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חסד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- יהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- חונן: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- ליתומיו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 109:13 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same imprecation sequence against the enemy and his household; closely linked contextually and rhetorically to v.12's wish that no one show him kindness or pity his children.
- Psalm 69:25 (thematic): Another imprecatory psalm calling for the enemy's habitation to be desolate and for no one to dwell with him — similar language of exclusion and denial of mercy.
- Deuteronomy 27:19 (thematic): Pronounces a curse on anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow; thematically related through concern for the fatherless and the ethical/religious significance of showing them mercy (here as a law/curse against failing to do so).
- Psalm 82:3–4 (thematic): Commands judges to give justice to the weak and the fatherless and to deliver the poor — functions as a moral counterpoint to Ps 109:12's desire that no one pity the enemy's children.
- Isaiah 1:17 (thematic): Prophetic injunction to 'seek justice, correct oppression, defend the fatherless' — another authoritative appeal to protect orphans that contrasts with the psalmist's imprecation that the enemy receive no compassion.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let there be no extension of mercy to him; let no one be gracious to his children.
- Let there be none to extend mercy to him, nor any to pity his children.
Psa.109.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- אחריתו: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- להכרית: PREP+VERB,hiph,inf,NA,NA,NA
- בדור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחר: PREP
- ימח: VERB,qal,impr,3,m,sg
- שמם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Psalm 69:28 (verbal): Uses the same imprecatory motif of being ‘blotted out’—here of the enemies from the book of the living, paralleling ‘let their name be blotted out.’
- Psalm 37:38 (thematic): Speaks of the wicked’s end being ‘cut off,’ echoing the petition that the enemy’s posterity be cut off in Ps 109:13.
- Proverbs 10:7 (thematic): Contrasts the remembrance of the righteous with the fate of the wicked—‘the name of the wicked shall rot’—a parallel concern with the obliteration of a name or memory.
- Deuteronomy 25:19 (allusion): God’s command to ‘blot out the remembrance of Amalek’ provides a legal/historical precedent for the language of erasing a people’s memory or name.
- Revelation 3:5 (verbal): Uses the same imagery of blotting names from the book of life (here as a promise not to blot), directly corresponding to the motif of names being blotted out in Ps 109:13.
Alternative generated candidates
- May his posterity be cut off; in the next generation may their name be blotted out.
- Let his posterity be cut off; in the next generation let their name be blotted out.
Psa.109.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יזכר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבתיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3s
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וחטאת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,cons
- אמו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- תמח: VERB,niphal,juss,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 20:5 (verbal): Uses the same formula of God “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children”; provides the covenantal language behind the psalmist’s petition to remember ancestral sin.
- Deuteronomy 5:9 (verbal): Reiterates the wording about God visiting parental iniquity on descendants, echoing the legal/traditional phraseology found in the psalm.
- Numbers 14:18 (verbal): Contains the explicit oath-like formula—'visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation'—which the psalm invokes by asking that fathers’ sin be remembered.
- Jeremiah 31:29–30 (thematic): Offers a deliberate counterpoint to the idea of inherited guilt—'parents have eaten sour grapes... the teeth of the children are set on edge'—serving as a prophetic critique of collective/blamed inheritance implicit in the psalmist’s request.
- Ezekiel 18:20 (thematic): Asserts individual responsibility—'the soul who sins shall die'—and thus functions as a theological rebuttal or corrective to the psalm’s appeal to hold ancestors’ sins against descendants.
Alternative generated candidates
- May the guilt of his fathers be remembered before the LORD; let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
- May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Psa.109.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- נגד: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- תמיד: ADV
- ויכרת: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- זכרם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,pl
Parallels
- Ps.109.14 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same imprecatory unit—both verses call for the offender’s memory to be blotted out and for their name not to be recorded among the living.
- Ps.69.25 (verbal): Similar imprecatory language: 'Let their camp be desolate; let no one dwell in their tents'—a prayer for removal from the land/possession and social erasure.
- Ps.37.9 (thematic): Speaks of the wicked being 'cut off'—shares the theme of divine removal/destruction of the wicked from the earth.
- Exod.17:14 (allusion): God’s declaration to blot out the remembrance of Amalek ('I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven') parallels the idea of erasing a name or memory from the earth.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let them stand before the LORD continually; may their memory be cut off from the earth.
- Let them stand opposed to the LORD continually, and let their memory be cut off from the earth.
Psa.109.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יען: CONJ
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- זכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עשות: VERB,qal,inf
- חסד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וירדף: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עני: ADJ,m,sg
- ואביון: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונכאה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- לבב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למותת: VERB,hif,inf
Parallels
- Psalm 10:2-3 (verbal): Both passages depict the wicked persecuting the poor and needy; language and theme of pursuing/oppressing the poor and failing to seek or show mercy are parallel.
- Proverbs 29:7 (thematic): Contrasts the righteous who care for justice for the poor with the wicked who do not—echoes Psalm 109’s condemnation of one who ‘did not remember to show kindness’ to the needy.
- Amos 5:11-12 (thematic): Condemns those who trample on the poor, deprive the needy and pervert justice; similar social-ethical charge against oppressors of the poor in Psalm 109:16.
- Luke 16:19-31 (thematic): The parable of the rich man and Lazarus portrays neglect of the poor (lack of mercy) resulting in judgment—a New Testament illustration of the moral consequence of persecuting or ignoring the needy.
Alternative generated candidates
- Because he did not remember to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and the needy, and crushed a broken heart to death.
- Because he did not remember to show kindness, but persecuted the poor and needy and broke the crushed in heart to death.
Psa.109.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאהב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- קללה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותבואהו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- ולא: CONJ
- חפץ: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בברכה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותרחק: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- ממנו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 3:33 (verbal): Contrasts the LORD’s curse on the house of the wicked with his blessing on the righteous’ dwelling—echoes the language of curse vs. blessing in Ps 109:17.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (thematic): Begins the list of curses that will come upon Israel for disobedience—reflects the theological principle that those who pursue what is evil receive curse rather than blessing.
- Deuteronomy 30:19 (thematic): Moses sets before Israel life and death, blessing and curse, and urges choice of blessing—frames the antithesis between loving curse and desiring blessing found in Ps 109:17.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (thematic): Pronounces a curse on those who trust in man rather than God (and later blessing on those who trust God), paralleling the idea that one’s orientation (loving curse vs. loving blessing) determines the outcome.
Alternative generated candidates
- He loved a curse—let it come; he did not delight in blessing—let it be far from him.
- He loved a curse, so it came upon him; he did not delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
Psa.109.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וילבש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- קללה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כמדו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+poss3,m
- ותבא: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- כמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בקרבו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRS,3,sg
- וכשמן: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בעצמותיו: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+poss3,m
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 27:15-26 (structural): Covenantal curse-list: a formal, communal series of 'Cursed be…' declarations that parallels the psalmist's imprecatory petition and the formulaic placing of a curse upon an enemy.
- Psalm 7:15-16 (thematic): Retributive imagery in which a man's own mischief returns on his head (he falls into the pit he dug), echoing the psalmist's desire that the enemy's curse/evil come upon his own body.
- Psalm 35:8 (thematic): An imprecatory petition for sudden destruction to overtake the enemy (‘Let destruction come upon him unawares’), reflecting the same desire that misfortune and reproach affect the foe as in Ps.109:18.
- Galatians 1:8-9 (allusion): Paul's anathema formula ('let him be accursed') echoes the OT imprecatory tradition and shows continuity in invoking divine curse on adversaries or false teachers, paralleling the psalm's petition for a curse to 'clothe' the enemy.
- Proverbs 26:27 (thematic): The proverb's retributive principle ('Whoever digs a pit will fall into it') parallels the reciprocal justice motif of curses or evil turning back on the perpetrator, similar in intent to the psalmist's wish that the curse enter the enemy's body.
Alternative generated candidates
- May a curse clothe him like his garment; may it enter him like water and like oil into his bones.
- He clothed himself with cursing as with his garment; it entered like water into his inward parts and like oil into his bones.
Psa.109.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,f,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- כבגד: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעטה: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms
- ולמזח: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תמיד: ADV
- יחגרה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 35:13-14 (verbal): Uses clothing imagery (sackcloth/garment) to portray ongoing affliction; like Ps.109:19, garments symbolize an unremitting condition that clings to the sufferer or enemy.
- Isaiah 59:17 (thematic): Describes God 'putting on' garments of vengeance and wrapping himself in zeal — parallels the motif of clothing/girding as a metaphor for divine judgment or punitive power.
- Isaiah 11:5 (thematic): Belt/girdle imagery denotes a persistent characteristic (righteousness as a belt); this mirrors Ps.109:19’s use of a girdle/garment to signify a continual, inescapable condition (here, a curse).
- Psalm 69:25 (thematic): Another imprecatory petition calling for the ruin/desolation of adversaries; shares Ps.109’s legalistic, punitive tone and desire that judgment rest upon the enemy.
Alternative generated candidates
- May it be to him as a cloak that he wraps about himself, and like a sash that he girds continually.
- Let it be to him as a garment to wear, and like a sash with which he is continually girded.
Psa.109.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- פעלת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- שטני: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מאת: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- והדברים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
Parallels
- Psalm 109:6 (verbal): Same psalmic context about an adversary/accuser set against the speaker; shared language of ‘enemy/accuser’ and hostile action.
- Job 1:12 (thematic): God gives Satan permission to act against Job, paralleling the motif that the enemy’s harmful work occurs with or under divine allowance.
- Isaiah 45:7 (verbal): God declares he creates ‘peace and evil/calamity’ (Heb. raʿ), echoing the idea that calamities or hostile acts ultimately come from the LORD.
- Proverbs 16:4 (thematic): Affirms that the LORD has fashioned even the wicked for their day, reflecting the theological theme that evil persons/actions serve God’s purposes.
- Lamentations 3:38 (verbal): Rhetorical question that both good and evil proceed from the Most High, directly resonating with the claim that the adversary’s work is ‘from the LORD.’
Alternative generated candidates
- Such be the portion of my adversaries from the LORD; these things are grievous words upon my soul.
- This is the work of my accusers from the LORD, and these words are evil against my life.
Psa.109.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- ע: ADJ,m,pl,cons
- שה: PRON,rel
- אתי: PRON,1,sg
- למען: PREP
- שמך: NOUN,m,sg,cs,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- חסדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- הצילני: VERB,hif,impv,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 25:11 (verbal): Both plead 'for your name's sake' as the reason God should pardon or act on the supplicant's behalf.
- Psalm 31:3 (verbal): Uses the phrase 'for your name's sake' to request guidance and deliverance—same form of appeal to God's honor.
- Psalm 6:4 (verbal): 'Save me for your mercy's sake' parallels the Psalm 109 appeal to God's steadfast love ('חסדך') as the basis for deliverance.
- Jeremiah 14:7 (verbal): The prophet pleads 'do it for your name's sake'—a similar motif of invoking God's name/reputation as ground for divine action.
- Ezekiel 36:22 (thematic): God declares he will act 'for my holy name's sake,' reflecting the theological logic that God's actions are tied to the preservation of his name, which the psalmist appeals to.
Alternative generated candidates
- But you, O LORD my Lord, do this for me for your name's sake; for your steadfast love is good—deliver me.
- But you, O LORD my Lord, act for me for your name's sake; for your steadfast love is good—deliver me.
Psa.109.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- עני: ADJ,m,sg
- ואביון: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- ולבי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,_,sg
- חלל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בקרבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
Parallels
- Ps.40.17 (verbal): Uses the same wording and theme: the speaker declares himself 'poor and needy' and appeals to God's help (Hebrew and thematic verbal parallel).
- Ps.86.1 (verbal): Begins with an urgent petition 'Incline Your ear... answer me, for I am poor and needy,' echoing the identical confession of poverty in Ps 109:22.
- Ps.70.5 (verbal): A near-duplicate confession — 'But I am poor and needy' — coupled with a plea for God’s hastening, paralleling the poverty/plea motif of Ps 109:22.
- Ps.55.4 (verbal): Expresses inner distress in language close to 'my heart is wounded/anguished within me,' paralleling the emotional complaint of Ps 109:22 (inner pain and despair).
Alternative generated candidates
- For I am poor and needy; my heart is wounded within me.
- For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
Psa.109.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כצל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כנטותו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נהלכתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ננערתי: VERB,niphal,perf,1,_,sg
- כארבה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 102:11 (verbal): Uses the same 'days like a shadow' imagery of transience — 'My days are like a shadow that declineth,' paralleling the fleeting/shadow motif in Ps 109:23.
- Job 14:2 (verbal): Explicitly compares human life to a shadow that flees and does not continue ('he fleeth like a shadow'), echoing the transient, vanishing image of Ps 109:23.
- Psalm 39:6 (verbal): Speaks of human life as a 'vain shadow' (or walking in a shadow), reinforcing the motif of life’s brevity and insubstantiality found in Ps 109:23.
- Joel 1:4 (thematic): Employs locust imagery for devastation and removal — the reference to locusts as a devouring, dispossessing force resonates with Ps 109:23's simile 'shaken off like a locust.'
Alternative generated candidates
- I go about like a passing shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
- I go about like a shadow that lengthens; I am driven away, I am like a locust.
Psa.109.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ברכי: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,1,sg
- כשלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מצום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובשרי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- כחש: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- משמן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 102:4-5 (thematic): Describes loss of appetite and physical wasting in the context of distress—like Ps 109:24’s fasting-induced weakness and failing flesh.
- Daniel 10:8-10 (verbal): Daniel reports utter physical collapse after a vision—"no strength remained in me" and a changed, ghastly appearance, paralleling Ps 109:24’s bodily weakness from spiritual/ascetic pressure.
- Psalm 22:15 (verbal): “My strength is dried up… my tongue cleaves to my jaws”—a vivid description of bodily exhaustion that echoes the image of knees giving way and flesh wasting in Ps 109:24.
- Lamentations 4:7-8 (thematic): Graphic imagery of emaciation—skin clinging to bones and loss of body fat—parallels Ps 109:24’s note that the psalmist’s flesh has failed of fatness.
- Habakkuk 3:16 (thematic): The prophet’s bodily trembling and decay in the face of divine revelation (“rottenness entereth into my bones”) echoes the physical collapse and wasting described in Ps 109:24.
Alternative generated candidates
- My knees have failed from fasting; my flesh has grown lean and has no fat.
- My knees give way from fasting, and my body wastes away.
Psa.109.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- חרפה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- יראוני: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl+PRON,1,sg
- יניעון: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ראשם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 22:7 (verbal): Same image of being mocked and opponents 'shaking their heads' at the sufferer (Hebrew and LXX/MT parallels of derision).
- Matthew 27:39 (allusion): Bystanders mock Jesus and 'wag/ shake their heads' as they pass—New Testament fulfillment/echo of the psalmic motif of public derision (cf. Ps 22).
- Mark 15:29 (allusion): Parallel Gospel account where passersby deride Jesus and shake their heads, reflecting the same contemptuous gesture found in the Psalms.
- Psalm 69:20 (thematic): Expresses the psalmist's experience of reproach and shame—'reproach has broken my heart'—a thematic kinship with being a 'reproach' and object of derision in Ps 109:25.
Alternative generated candidates
- I have become a reproach to them; when they see me they shake their heads.
- I am a reproach to them; when they see me they shake their heads.
Psa.109.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עזרני: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg,obj:1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- הושיעני: VERB,hiph,impv,2,m,sg
- כחסדך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2,ms
Parallels
- Psalm 70:1 (verbal): Almost identical petition language: 'Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD'—a short, urgent cry for help like Ps.109:26.
- Psalm 40:13 (verbal): Similar plea for swift deliverance: 'Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me,' echoing the request for God's help and salvation.
- Psalm 6:4 (verbal): Appeals to God's mercy for salvation—'Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake' parallels the explicit invocation to 'save me according to thy mercy.'
- Psalm 69:13 (thematic): Prayer for rescue grounded in God's abundant mercy—'But as for me, my prayer is unto thee... O God, in the multitude of thy mercy, answer me'—closely related devotional language and theology of merciful salvation.
- Luke 18:13 (allusion): New Testament echo of the penitential plea for mercy: 'God, be merciful to me a sinner'—a personal cry for God's saving mercy that parallels the Psalmist's appeal.
Alternative generated candidates
- Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to your steadfast love.
- Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to your steadfast love.
Psa.109.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידעו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עשיתה: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 118:23 (verbal): Both verses use an explicit formula attributing an action to the LORD—"This is the LORD's doing" (Hebrew: 'זה־מעשה יהוה')—parallel to Ps 109:27's "know that your hand... you, LORD, have done it."
- Psalm 126:2-3 (thematic): The community declares that "the LORD has done great things for us," echoing the theme of public recognition that the LORD is the agent of deliverance celebrated in Ps 109:27.
- Isaiah 25:1 (verbal): Isaiah 25:1 praises God for having "done" marvelous things (Hebrew "עשית"), closely matching the language and thanksgiving/resignation found in Ps 109:27's attribution of the act to God's hand.
- Acts 4:10 (allusion): Peter's declaration—"let it be known to all of you...that by the name of Jesus Christ...this man stands before you well"—parallels Ps 109:27's formula of public acknowledgment that the observed act is God's work.
Alternative generated candidates
- And let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it.
- Let them know that it is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it.
Psa.109.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יקללו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- תברך: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- קמו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- ויבשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- ועבדך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs-2ms
- ישמח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Genesis 12:3 (verbal): The promise formula pairing blessing and cursing—'I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse'—echoes the theme of enemies cursing while God bestows blessing.
- Numbers 24:9 (verbal): Balaam's oracle: 'Blessed is everyone who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you'—a close verbal parallel to the curse/bless contrast.
- Luke 6:28 (verbal): Jesus' command 'Bless those who curse you' resonates with the psalm's reversal of enemies' curses into God's blessing and the faithful's rejoicing.
- Romans 12:14 (verbal): Paul's exhortation 'Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse' echoes the ethical dimension of blessing in the face of enemies found in the psalm.
- Psalm 35:27 (thematic): 'Let them shout for joy and be glad...and say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified”'—parallels the psalm's note of vindication and the servant's rejoicing when God acts.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let them be cursed, and you bless; let them be put to shame, and let your servant rejoice.
- Let them curse, but you bless; let them arise and be put to shame, and let your servant rejoice.
Psa.109.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ילבשו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- שוטני: NOUN,m,pl,abs+1cs-suf
- כלמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויעטו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- כמעיל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בשתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 35:26 (thematic): An imprecatory plea that enemies be put to shame and confusion—closely parallels Ps 109:29’s petition that foes be clothed with shame.
- Psalm 83:17-18 (verbal): Calls for perpetual shame and confusion on hostile nations; shares the same vocabulary of ‘shame/confusion’ as the curse in Ps 109:29.
- Isaiah 47:3 (verbal): Speaks of nakedness and exposed shame as a consequence of judgment; parallels the motif of shame as a visible covering (or its removal) in Ps 109:29.
- Isaiah 61:10 (structural): Uses garment imagery to express vindication—provides a deliberate contrast to Ps 109:29’s image of being ‘clothed’ in shame, highlighting garments as a theological symbol of status (shame vs. salvation).
Alternative generated candidates
- May my enemies be clothed with dishonor; may they wrap themselves in shame as with a cloak.
- May my adversaries be clothed with dishonor; may they cover themselves with their shame as with a cloak.
Psa.109.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אודה: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מאד: ADV
- בפי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,construct
- ובתוך: PREP
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- אהללנו: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ps.35:18 (verbal): Same wording and setting: the psalmist vows thanksgiving/praise to Yahweh within the great assembly (Hebrew קָהָל/בְּתוֹךְ הַקָּהָל).
- Ps.22:22 (verbal): Almost identical phrasing: declaring/praising God 'in the midst of the congregation'—a communal proclamation motif shared with Ps 109:30.
- Ps.111:1 (thematic): Affirms public, wholehearted praise of the LORD 'in the assembly'—echoes the communal/assembly context and vow to praise found in Ps 109:30.
- Ps.34:1 (verbal): Expresses continual praise with the mouth ('I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth'), paralleling Ps 109:30's emphasis on vocal, ongoing thanksgiving.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth; in the midst of many I will praise him.
- I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth; in the throng I will praise him.
Psa.109.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- יעמד: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- לימין: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אביון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- להושיע: VERB,hiph,inf,-,-,-,abs
- משפטי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- נפשו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 10:14 (verbal): Both speak of God seeing the plight of the poor and acting as their helper/rescuer—God’s direct intervention on behalf of the needy.
- Psalm 82:3-4 (thematic): Calls to defend and rescue the poor and needy parallel Ps 109:31’s theme of God vindicating and saving the oppressed.
- Psalm 146:7-9 (thematic): Describes the LORD executing justice for the oppressed and rescuing the needy—same motif of divine help for the poor found in Ps 109:31.
- Psalm 68:5 (verbal): Declares God as father of the fatherless/protector of widows, echoing the portrait of God who stands for and saves the needy.
- Luke 18:7-8 (thematic): Jesus asks whether God will not vindicate his elect who cry out—New Testament parallel to the expectation that God will stand up for and save the oppressed.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the LORD stands at the right hand of the needy to uphold his cause and to save the crushed in spirit.
- For he stands at the right hand of the poor to save him, to deliver the verdict of his life.
To the chief musician; a psalm of David. O LORD, my God of praise, do not be silent;
for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have opened against me; they have spoken to me with a lying tongue.
They have surrounded me with words of hatred and fought against me without cause.
For my love they hate me, and I am in prayer.
They have set evil for me instead of good, and hatred for my love.
Appoint over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; and 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 and beg; may they seek their bread from their ruins.
Let a creditor seize all that he has; let strangers plunder the fruit of his toil.
Let there be none to show him kindness, nor any to be gracious to his orphans.
Let his posterity be cut off; in the next generation let their name be blotted out.
May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD; let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Let them be before the LORD continually; cut them off from the land—let their memory perish.
Because he did not remember to show kindness, but persecuted the poor and needy and crushed the broken of heart to death.
He loved cursing, and it came to him; he did not delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
May a curse clothe him like his garment; may it enter into him like water, and like oil into his bones.
May it be to him as a garment to cover him, and as a belt with which he is girded continually.
This is the recompense from the LORD for my accusers—those who speak evil against my soul. But you, O LORD my Lord, act on my behalf for your name's sake; for your steadfast love is good—deliver me.
For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
I pass like a shadow; I am driven away like a locust.
My knees give way from fasting, and my body wastes away; I am become thin, lacking in fat.
I have become a reproach to them; when they see me they shake their heads.
Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to your steadfast love. And let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it.
Let them be cursed, and you bless; let them be ashamed, and let your servant rejoice.
Let my adversaries be clothed with shame; let them cover themselves with their own dishonor as with a mantle.
I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yes, I will praise him among the throng.
For he stands at the right hand of the needy to save him; he will deliver the needy from those who condemn his soul.