Psalms / Chapter 109

Psalms 109

31 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

The most intense imprecatory psalm in the Psalter. David, attacked by enemies who return evil for good and hatred for love, calls down a devastating series of curses upon his chief accuser: let his days be few, let another take his office, let his children be orphans, let his descendants be cut off, let his name be blotted out. The central curse section (vv. 6-20) is among the most disturbing passages in the Psalms. The psalm frames these curses as a response to unprovoked malice and ends with a plea for God's salvation and a vow of praise.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Psalm 109 is the hardest psalm for modern readers to absorb. The curses are specific, personal, and generational — they target not just the enemy but his wife, his children, his memory. The psalm makes no attempt to soften this. Yet the structure reveals something crucial: the curses are not initiated by David but are David's prayer that his enemies' own methods be turned back upon them. Verse 17 is the key: 'He loved cursing — let it come upon him.' The imprecations are a request for divine retribution in kind. The psalm assumes a universe where moral actions generate consequences, and it asks God to let those consequences land. Acts 1:20 quotes verse 8 ('Let another take his office') and applies it to Judas Iscariot, making this psalm a prophetic text in early Christian interpretation.

Translation Friction

The central interpretive question is whether verses 6-20 are David's own words or a quotation of what his enemies said against him. Some scholars argue David is quoting his accusers' curses and then asking God to return those curses to their source. The Hebrew text does not clearly mark quotation, and either reading is grammatically possible. We follow the traditional reading that David is imprecating against his enemy, but the alternative reading has strong defenders. Either way, the theological challenge remains: can such curses be prayer? The psalm's answer is that bringing rage to God is better than taking vengeance personally. The imprecatory psalms channel violence into worship.

Connections

Acts 1:20 quotes verse 8 in reference to Judas: 'Let his habitation become desolate, and let another take his office.' This christological reading made Psalm 109 significant in the early church. The psalm's language of the poor and needy (vv. 22, 31) connects to the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). The phrase satan (accuser) in verse 6 connects to the heavenly adversary of Job 1-2 and Zechariah 3:1. The theme of returning evil for good (v. 5) echoes Psalm 35:12-14.

Psalms 109:1

לַ֭מְנַצֵּחַ לְדָוִ֣ד מִזְמ֑וֹר אֱלֹהֵ֥י תְ֝הִלָּתִ֗י אַֽל־תֶּחֱרַֽשׁ׃

For the music director. Of David. A psalm. O God of my praise, do not be silent.

KJV Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The superscription la-menatseach ('for the music director') indicates liturgical use. The address Elohei tehillati ('God of my praise') is significant — even in the psalm that will contain the harshest curses in Scripture, the opening word is praise. God is identified as the one David praises. The plea al techerash ('do not be silent') requests that God break His silence and act.

Psalms 109:2

כִּ֤י פִ֪י רָשָׁ֡ע וּֽפִי־מִ֭רְמָה עָלַ֣י פָּתָ֑חוּ דִּבְּר֥וּ אִ֝תִּ֗י לְשׁ֣וֹן שָֽׁקֶר׃

For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit are opened against me; they speak against me with a lying tongue.

KJV For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Two mouths attack: pi rasha ('the mouth of the wicked') and pi mirmah ('the mouth of deceit'). They have opened (patachu) against David — mouths as weapons, words as assault. The leshon shaqer ('tongue of falsehood') specifies the weapon: lies. The psalmist is under verbal attack from people who fabricate accusations.

Psalms 109:3

וְדִבְרֵ֣י שִׂנְאָ֣ה סְבָב֑וּנִי וַיִּלָּחֲמ֥וּנִי חִנָּֽם׃

Words of hatred surround me; they attack me without cause.

KJV They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The divrei sin'ah ('words of hatred') have surrounded (sevavuni) the psalmist — he is encircled by hostile speech. The phrase vayyillachamuni chinnam ('they fight against me for nothing, without cause') establishes the injustice: the attack is unprovoked. The word chinnam ('for nothing, freely, without reason') is the same word used in Job 1:9, where the Adversary asks whether Job fears God 'for nothing.' Here the enemies hate David for nothing.

Psalms 109:4

תַּ֣חַת אַ֭הֲבָתִי יִשְׂטְנ֥וּנִי וַאֲנִ֥י תְפִלָּֽה׃

In return for my love they accuse me, but I am all prayer.

KJV For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The phrase va-ani tefillah ('but I — prayer') is one of the most compressed statements in the Psalter. No verb, no object — just the pronoun and the noun. David does not have prayers; he is prayer. His identity in the crisis has been reduced to the single act of addressing God.

Psalms 109:5

וַיָּשִׂ֣ימוּ עָ֭לַי רָעָ֣ה תַּ֣חַת טוֹבָ֑ה וְ֝שִׂנְאָ֗ה תַּ֣חַת אַהֲבָתִֽי׃

They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

KJV And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The exchange is explicit: ra'ah tachat tovah ('evil in exchange for good') and sin'ah tachat ahavati ('hatred in exchange for my love'). The word tachat ('in exchange for, instead of') appears twice, emphasizing the substitution. This is the moral ground on which the imprecations stand: the enemies have reversed the moral order. David will now ask God to reverse it back.

Psalms 109:6

הַפְקֵ֣ד עָלָ֣יו רָשָׁ֑ע וְ֝שָׂטָ֗ן יַעֲמֹ֥ד עַל־יְמִינֽוֹ׃

Appoint a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand.

KJV Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The curse section begins. The verb hafqed ('appoint, set over') asks God to place a rasha ('wicked person') in authority over the enemy. The satan ya'amod al yemino ('let an accuser stand at his right hand') places a prosecuting figure at the enemy's right side — the position of the legal accuser in a courtroom. The word satan here is not the cosmic Satan but a human or angelic accuser.

Psalms 109:7

בְּ֭הִשָּׁפְטוֹ יֵצֵ֣א רָשָׁ֑ע וּ֝תְפִלָּת֗וֹ תִּהְיֶ֥ה לַחֲטָאָֽה׃

When he is judged, let him come out guilty, and let his prayer be counted as sin.

KJV When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The phrase be-hishshafto yetse rasha ('when he is judged, let him go out guilty') asks that every legal proceeding end in conviction. The phrase u-tefillato tihyeh lachata'ah ('and let his prayer become sin') is devastating — even the enemy's attempt to pray for mercy should itself be counted as an offense. When a person has exhausted all moral credit, even repentance is hollow.

Psalms 109:8

יִהְיוּ־יָמָ֥יו מְעַטִּ֑ים פְּ֝קֻדָּת֗וֹ יִקַּ֥ח אַחֵֽר׃

Let his days be few; let another take his position.

KJV Let his days be few; and let another take his office.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The curse of shortened life: yihyu yamav me'attim ('let his days be few'). Then the political curse: pequddato yiqqach acher ('let another take his office/position'). The word pequddah means 'oversight, office, charge, position.' Acts 1:20 quotes the Septuagint of this verse and applies it to Judas Iscariot's vacant apostleship, which was then given to Matthias. This verse became the scriptural warrant for replacing Judas.

Psalms 109:9

יִהְיוּ־בָנָ֥יו יְתוֹמִ֑ים וְ֝אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ אַלְמָנָֽה׃

Let his children be orphaned and his wife a widow.

KJV Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The curse extends to family: banav yetomim ('his children orphans') and ishto almanah ('his wife a widow'). The imprecation asks that the enemy's death (implied by v. 8) leave his family destitute. In the ancient Near East, orphans and widows were the most vulnerable members of society — they had no legal protector and no economic support.

Psalms 109:10

וְנ֤וֹעַ יָנ֣וּעוּ בָנָ֣יו וְשִׁאֵ֑לוּ וְ֝דָרְשׁ֗וּ מֵחׇרְבוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃

Let his children wander as beggars; let them seek bread far from their ruined homes.

KJV Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The children's fate: noa yanu'u ('let them wander aimlessly, let them stagger') and ve-shi'elu ('let them beg'). The phrase me-chorvoteihem ('from their ruins') means their homes have been destroyed — they beg from the rubble of what was once a household. The progressive desolation is deliberate: death, then orphanhood, then homelessness, then begging.

Psalms 109:11

יְנַקֵּ֣שׁ נ֭וֹשֶׁה לְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ וְיָבֹ֖זּוּ זָרִ֣ים יְגִיעֽוֹ׃

Let the creditor seize all he has; let strangers plunder his labor.

KJV Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Economic destruction: the nosheh ('creditor, money-lender') traps (yenaqqesh, from naqash, 'to ensnare') everything he owns. The zarim ('strangers, foreigners') plunder his yegi'o ('his labor, the product of his toil'). The enemy loses not only his life and family but his accumulated wealth. Everything he worked for goes to people who have no connection to him.

Psalms 109:12

אַל־יְהִי־ל֖וֹ מֹשֵׁ֣ךְ חָ֑סֶד וְאַל־יְהִ֥י ח֝וֹנֵ֗ן לִיתוֹמָֽיו׃

Let no one extend faithful love to him, and let no one show compassion to his orphans.

KJV Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The curse now attacks social solidarity: al yehi lo moshekh chesed ('let there be no one to extend chesed to him'). The word moshekh ('one who draws out, who extends') means no one will reach out with covenant loyalty. Even his orphaned children (yetomav) will find no chonen ('one who shows grace'). The isolation is total — not only God but other humans will withdraw support.

Psalms 109:13

יְהִֽי־אַחֲרִית֥וֹ לְהַכְרִ֑ית בְּד֥וֹר אַ֝חֵ֗ר יִמַּ֥ח שְׁמָֽם׃

Let his descendants be cut off; in the next generation let their name be blotted out.

KJV Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The generational curse: acharito lehakhrit ('his posterity — for cutting off'). The enemy's line will end. The phrase be-dor acher yimmach shemam ('in the next generation let their name be blotted out') asks for total erasure — the name (shem) will be wiped from memory (machah, the same verb used for God blotting out sin). To lose one's name is to cease existing in any meaningful sense in the ancient world.

Psalms 109:14

יִזָּכֵ֤ר ׀ עֲוֺ֣ן אֲ֭בֹתָיו אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה וְחַטַּ֥את אִ֝מּ֗וֹ אַל־תִּמָּֽח׃

Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out.

KJV Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The curse reaches backward: the avon avotav ('iniquity of his fathers') should be remembered (yizzakher) by God, and the chattat immo ('sin of his mother') should not be blotted out. Where Psalm 103 celebrated God not dealing with us according to our sins, this psalm asks God to deal with the enemy exactly according to his ancestors' sins. The contrast is theologically intentional — chesed is for those who fear God; strict justice is for those who mock Him.

Psalms 109:15

יִהְי֣וּ נֶגֶד־יְהוָ֣ה תָּמִ֑יד וְיַכְרֵ֖ת מֵאֶ֣רֶץ זִכְרָֽם׃

Let their sins remain before the LORD continually, that He may cut off their memory from the earth.

KJV Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The ancestral sins should remain neged YHVH tamid ('before the LORD continually') — not filed away but permanently on display before the divine judge. The purpose: ve-yakhret me-erets zikhram ('that He may cut off their memory from the earth'). Complete erasure — no descendants, no name, no memory.

Psalms 109:16

יַ֗עַן אֲשֶׁ֤ר ׀ לֹ֥א זָכַר֮ עֲשׂ֢וֹת חָ֫סֶ֥ד וַיִּרְדֹּ֡ף אִישׁ־עָנִ֣י וְ֭אֶבְיוֹן וְנִכְאֵ֨ה לֵבָ֗ב לְמוֹתֵֽת׃

Because he did not remember to show faithful love but pursued the poor and needy, the brokenhearted — to put them to death.

KJV Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The phrase lo zakhar asot chesed ('he did not remember to do chesed') is the inverse of verse 45 in Psalm 106, where God 'remembered His covenant.' The enemy is the anti-God: where God remembers chesed, the enemy forgets it. Where God rescues the needy, the enemy hunts them. The curses ask God to treat the enemy as the enemy treated the poor.

Psalms 109:17

וַיֶּאֱהַ֣ב קְ֭לָלָה וַתְּבוֹאֵ֑הוּ וְלֹא־חָפֵ֥ץ בִּ֝בְרָכָ֗ה וַתִּרְחַ֥ק מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃

He loved cursing — let it come upon him. He did not delight in blessing — let it be far from him.

KJV As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The principle of retribution in kind: va-ye'ehav qelalah vattevo'ehu ('he loved cursing, and it came upon him'). The verb ahav ('to love') means the enemy chose cursing as his way of life — he embraced it. The request is simply that what he loved should arrive: let cursing find its lover. The parallel: lo chafets bivrakah ('he did not desire blessing'). Since he rejected blessing, let blessing withdraw (vattirchaq mimmennu, 'let it be far from him'). The logic is: you get what you chose.

Psalms 109:18

וַיִּלְבַּ֣שׁ קְלָלָ֣ה כְּמַדּ֑וֹ וַתָּבֹ֣א כַ֭מַּיִם בְּקִרְבּ֗וֹ וְכַשֶּׁ֥מֶן בְּעַצְמוֹתָֽיו׃

He wore cursing as his garment — let it enter his body like water and his bones like oil.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The clothing metaphor: vayyilbash qelalah kemaddo ('he put on cursing like his robe'). Cursing was his wardrobe — he dressed in it daily. The penetration deepens: vatavo khammayim be-qirbo ('it entered like water into his innards') and kashshemen be-atsmotav ('like oil into his bones'). Water soaks; oil penetrates. Cursing has saturated the enemy to the skeletal level. He is cursing all the way through.

Psalms 109:19

תְּהִי־ל֖וֹ כְּבֶ֣גֶד יַעְטֶ֑ה וּ֝לְמֵ֗זַח תָּמִ֥יד יַחְגְּרֶֽהָ׃

Let it be like a garment he wraps around himself, like a belt he always wears.

KJV Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The garment metaphor continues: the cursing should be ke-beged ya'teh ('like a robe he wraps himself in') and u-le-mezach tamid yachgerehah ('like a sash he constantly girds on'). The mezach ('belt, sash, girdle') is the foundational garment — the first thing put on and the last thing removed. Cursing has become the enemy's permanent wardrobe, his identity.

Psalms 109:20

זֹ֤את פְּעֻלַּ֣ת שֹׂ֭טְנַי מֵאֵ֣ת יְהוָ֑ה וְהַדֹּבְרִ֥ים רָ֝֗ע עַל־נַפְשִֽׁי׃

Let this be the payment from the LORD to my accusers, to those who speak evil against my soul.

KJV Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The curse section closes with a summary: zot pe'ullat sotenai me-et YHVH ('this is the wage of my accusers from the LORD'). The word pe'ullah ('wage, payment, reward') frames the curses as divine compensation — what the accusers have earned. The sotenai ('my accusers') uses the same root as satan in verse 6. The entire imprecatory section is a petition for God to pay the accusers what their accusations have earned.

Psalms 109:21

וְאַתָּ֤ה ׀ יְהוִ֣ה אֲדֹנָי֮ עֲשֵׂ֢ה אִ֫תִּ֥י לְמַ֥עַן שְׁמֶ֑ךָ כִּי־ט֥וֹב חַ֝סְדְּךָ֗ הַצִּילֵֽנִי׃

But you, O LORD my Lord, act on my behalf for your name's sake. Because your faithful love is good, rescue me.

KJV But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חֶסֶד chesed

"faithful love" — loyal love, steadfast love, covenant faithfulness, kindness, mercy, devotion

chesed appears here as the ground of David's petition. The enemy failed to practice chesed (v. 16); David appeals to God's chesed for rescue. The psalm's moral framework is built on chesed: those who extend it receive it; those who withhold it lose it.

Translator Notes

The tone shifts dramatically: ve-attah YHVH Adonai ('but you, LORD, my Lord'). After twenty verses of cursing enemies, David turns to personal petition. The basis is not his own merit but le-ma'an shemekha ('for your name's sake') and ki tov chasdekha ('because your faithful love is good'). The same chesed that the enemy refused (v. 16) is now David's only hope.

Psalms 109:22

כִּֽי־עָנִ֣י וְאֶבְי֣וֹן אָנֹ֑כִי וְ֝לִבִּ֗י חָלַ֥ל בְּקִרְבִּֽי׃

For I am poor and needy, and my heart is pierced within me.

KJV For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

David identifies himself with the very category his enemy attacked: ani ve-evyon anokhi ('poor and needy am I'). The same words from verse 16. The enemy persecuted the poor; David is the poor one. The phrase libbi chalal be-qirbi ('my heart is pierced within me') uses chalal ('pierced, wounded, slain'). His heart has been stabbed — not physically but by the betrayal described in verses 4-5.

Psalms 109:23

כְּצֵל־כִּ֭נְטוֹתוֹ נֶהֱלָ֑כְתִּי נִ֝נְעַ֗רְתִּי כָּאַרְבֶּֽה׃

I fade like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.

KJV I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Two images of insubstantiality: ke-tsel kinttoto nehelakhti ('like a shadow when it stretches, I am gone') echoes Psalm 102:12. The shadow dissolves into darkness. The second image — nin'arti ka-arbeh ('I am shaken off like a locust') — pictures a locust brushed off a garment. David feels disposable, insignificant, easily discarded.

Psalms 109:24

בִּ֭רְכַּי כָּשְׁל֣וּ מִצּ֑וֹם וּ֝בְשָׂרִ֗י כָּחַ֥שׁ מִשָּֽׁמֶן׃

My knees buckle from fasting, and my body has grown thin, stripped of fat.

KJV My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

Physical deterioration from fasting (tsom): birkai kashlu ('my knees stumble, they buckle'). The fasting may be penitential prayer or the involuntary starvation of persecution. The phrase u-vesari kachash mishshamen ('and my flesh has become lean, stripped of fat') describes emaciation — the body consuming itself.

Psalms 109:25

וַאֲנִ֗י הָיִ֣יתִי חֶ֭רְפָּה לָהֶ֑ם יִ֝רְא֗וּנִי יְנִיע֥וּן רֹאשָֽׁם׃

I have become a disgrace to them; when they see me, they shake their heads.

KJV I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

David has become cherpah ('a reproach, an object of scorn'). The headshaking (yeniu'un rosham) is the gesture of mockery and contempt — they look at him and wag their heads in derision. The same gesture appears at the crucifixion (Matthew 27:39), and the early church read this verse as prophetic of Christ's suffering.

Psalms 109:26

עׇזְרֵ֥נִי יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָ֑י ה֝וֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי כְחַסְדֶּֽךָ׃

Help me, O LORD my God; save me according to your faithful love.

KJV Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The petition is direct: ozreini YHVH Elohai ('help me, LORD my God'). The basis remains chesed: hoshi'eni ke-chasdekha ('save me according to your faithful love'). Not according to David's merit, not according to the severity of the situation, but according to the measure of God's chesed.

Psalms 109:27

וְֽיֵדְע֗וּ כִּי־יָ֥דְךָ זֹּ֑את אַתָּ֖ה יְהוָ֣ה עֲשִׂיתָֽהּ׃

Let them know that this is your hand — that you, O LORD, have done it.

KJV That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The purpose of the rescue: ve-yed'u ki yadekha zot ('let them know that this is your hand'). The salvation should be visibly divine — not ambiguous, not attributable to chance. The phrase attah YHVH asitah ('you, LORD, did it') makes the attribution explicit. David wants his enemies to see God's hand unmistakably.

Psalms 109:28

יְקַֽלְלוּ־הֵ֭מָּה וְאַתָּ֣ה תְבָרֵ֑ךְ קָ֗מוּ וַ֭יֵּבֹשׁוּ וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ יִשְׂמָֽח׃

Let them curse, but you will bless; when they rise up, let them be put to shame, but let your servant rejoice.

KJV Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The contrast between human cursing and divine blessing: yeqalelu hemmah ve-attah tevarekh ('they curse, but you bless'). The enemies' curses are impotent when set against God's blessing. The outcome: qamu vayyevoshu ('they rise up and are shamed'). The servant (avdekha) — David — will rejoice (yismach). The psalm moves from despair toward anticipated joy.

Psalms 109:29

יִלְבְּשׁ֣וּ שׂוֹטְנַ֣י כְּלִמָּ֑ה וְיַעֲט֖וּ כַמְעִ֣יל בׇּשְׁתָּֽם׃

Let my accusers be clothed in disgrace; let them wrap themselves in their own shame as in a robe.

KJV Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The clothing metaphor returns: the enemy wore cursing (v. 18-19); now let the accusers wear kelimmah ('disgrace, humiliation') and boshet ('shame'). The verb ya'atu ('let them wrap themselves') uses atah, the same verb from verse 19. The wardrobe has changed: cursing has been replaced by shame.

Psalms 109:30

א֘וֹדֶ֤ה יְהוָ֣ה מְאֹ֣ד בְּפִ֑י וּבְת֖וֹךְ רַבִּ֣ים אֲהַלְלֶֽנּוּ׃

I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth; in the midst of the throng I will praise Him.

KJV I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The vow of praise: odeh YHVH me'od be-fi ('I will thank the LORD greatly with my mouth'). The word me'od ('very much, exceedingly') intensifies the thanksgiving. The setting is public: u-vetokh rabbim ahalellennu ('in the midst of many I will praise Him'). The psalm that began with a plea for God to speak ('do not be silent,' v. 1) ends with David speaking — loudly, publicly, in praise.

Psalms 109:31

כִּֽי־יַ֭עֲמֹד לִימִ֣ין אֶבְי֑וֹן לְ֝הוֹשִׁ֗יעַ מִשֹּׁפְטֵ֥י נַפְשֽׁוֹ׃

For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who condemn his soul.

KJV For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

The reversal between verse 6 and verse 31 is the psalm's structural and theological key. The accuser stands at the enemy's right hand; God stands at the needy's right hand. Condemnation for the oppressor; salvation for the oppressed. The psalm's moral universe is governed by this symmetry.

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