Psalm 109
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Summary
The Psalmist speaks of the curses that fall upon the wicked and deceitful.
| KJV | JST |
| (3) They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. | (3) They compassed me about. They spake against me also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. |
| (4) For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. | (4) And notwithstanding my love, they are my adversaries. Yet I will continue in prayer for them. |
| (6) Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. | (6) Set thou a wicked man over them, and let Satan stand at his right hand. |
| (7) When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. | (7) When they shall be judged, let them be condemned, and let their prayer become sin. |
| (8) Let his days be few; and let another take his office. | (8) Let their days be few. |
| (9) Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. | (9) Let their children be fatherless and their wives widows. |
| (10) Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. | (10) Let their children be continually vagabonds, and beg. Let them seek |
| (11) Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour. | (11) Let the extortioner catch all that they have, and let the stranger spoil their labour. |
| (12) Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children. | (12) Let there be none to extend mercy unto them, neither let there be any to favor their fatherless children. |
| (13) Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. | (13) Let their posterity be cut off. |
| (14) Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. | (14) Let the iniquity of their fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of their mothers be blotted out. |
| (16) Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart. | (16) Because they remembered not to show mercy but persecuted the poor and needy man, that they might even slay the broken in heart. |
| (17) As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. | (17) As they loved cursing, so let it come upon them. As they delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from them. |
| (18) As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. | (18) As they clothed themselves with cursing like as with their garments, so let it come into their bowels like water and like oil into their bones. |
| (19) Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. | (19) Let it be unto them as a garment |
| (20) Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul. | (20) This shall be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them who speak evil against my soul. |
| (21) But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. | (21) But do thou deliver me, O Lord my God, for thy name’s sake. Because thy mercy is good, therefore deliver thou me. |
Commentary
Bible Central Commentary
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Historical Commentaries
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Historical Settings
Time
*All Dates Are Approximate, according to the narrative of the Bible. These dates may reflect literary significance as opposed to the precise dates of history.
See Biblical Chronology- 979 BC
Further Reading
David J. Larsen, “From Dust to Exalted Crown: Royal and Temple Themes Common to the Psalms and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 45 (2021): 251–262.
David J. Larsen, “Ascending into the Hill of the Lord: What the Psalms Can Tell Us About the Rituals of the First Temple,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 38 (2020): 15–34.
Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible
Matthew Henry (1706)
Commentary on the Bible
Adam Clarke (1831)
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable
Thomas Constable
Rashi’s Commentary
Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki)
Notes on the Bible
Albert Barnes (1834)
Exposition of the Entire Bible
John Gill (1746–63)
Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch (1857–78)
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
John Wesley (1754–65)