Psalms 109 · Verse 20

Psalms 109:20

Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
Psalms 109:20, King James Version

Psalms 109:20 in other translations

BSBMay this be the LORD’s reward to my accusers, to those who speak evil against me.
WEBThis is the reward of my adversaries from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my soul.
ASVThis is the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, And of them that speak evil against my soul.
YLTThis is the wage of mine accusers from Jehovah, And of those speaking evil against my soul.
DARBYLet this be the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
BBELet this be the reward given to my haters from the Lord, and to those who say evil of my soul.
WebsterLet this be the reward of my adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

What does Psalms 109:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
20. Let this ... reward--or, "wages," pay for labor, the fruit of the enemy's wickedness. from the Lord--as His judicial act.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil apainst my soul - Following the mode of interpretation already adopted, this may mean: All these maledictions shall be fulfilled on my enemies; they shall have them for their reward. So all the opposition made by the Jews against our Lord, and the obloquies and execrations wherewith they have loaded him and his religion, have fallen upon themselves; and they are awful examples of the wrath of God abiding on them that believe not. But is not this verse a key to all that preceded it? The original, fairly interpreted, will lead us to a somewhat different meaning: זאת פעלת שטני מאת יהוה והדברים רע על נפשי zoth peullath soteney meeth Yehovah, vehaddoberim ra al naphshi. "This is the work of my adversaries before the Lord, and of those who speak evil against my soul," or life. That is, all that is said from the sixth to the twentieth verse consists of the evil words and imprecations of my enemies against my soul, laboring to set the Lord, by imprecations, against me, that their curses may take effect. This, which is a reasonable interpretation, frees the whole Psalm from every difficulty. Surely, the curses contained in it are more like those which proceed from the mouth of the wicked, than from one inspired by tne Spirit of the living God. Taking the words in this sense, which I am persuaded is the best, and which the original will well bear and several of the Versions countenance, then our translation may stand just as it is, only let the reader remember that at the sixth verse David begins to tell how his enemies cursed Him, while he prayed for Them.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 109:6-20

The Lord Jesus may speak here as a Judge, denouncing sentence on some of his enemies, to warn others. When men reject the salvation of Christ, even their prayers are numbered among their sins. See what hurries some to shameful deaths, and brings the families and estates of others to ruin; makes them and theirs despicable and hateful, and brings poverty, shame, and misery upon their posterity: it is sin, that…

Read the full comment on Psalms 109:6-20 →

Psalms 109:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

זֹ֤אתzotthisH2063
פְּעֻלַּ֣תpe.'u.Lat[be] [the] wage[s] ofH6468
שֹׂ֭טְנַיSo.te.naiaccusers myH7853
מֵאֵ֣תme.'Etfrom withH854
יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וְהַדֹּבְרִ֥יםve.ha.doe.Rimand those [who] speakH1696
רָ֝֗עRa'evilH7451
עַל\־'al-onH5921
נַפְשִֽׁי\׃naf.Shiself myH5315

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 109:20

  • 2 Timothy 4:14

    Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:

  • Psalms 94:23

    And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.

  • 1 Kings 2:44

    The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;

  • Matthew 11:19

    The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

  • Psalms 110:5-6

    The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

  • 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16

    Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

  • Psalms 2:5-6

    Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

  • Psalms 21:8-12

    Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. …

  • Mark 9:39

    But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.

  • Matthew 12:24

    But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

  • Psalms 110:1

    A Psalm of David. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

  • 2 Samuel 18:32

    And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Let this.
2:5,6,12; 21:8-12; 40:14,15; 110:1,5,6; 2Sa 17:23; 18:32; 1Ki 2:44
Lu 19:27; 1Th 2:15,16
them.
Mt 11:19; 12:24; 26:66,67; Mr 9:39; 1Co 12:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Psalms 109:19

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

  • Psalms 109:20

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

  • Psalms 109:21

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

Read all of Psalms 109

Psalms 109:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Este sea el pago de parte de Jehová de los que me calumnian, y de los que hablan mal contra mi alma.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Telle soit, de par l’ Éternel, la récompense de mes adversaires et de ceux qui parlent en mal contre mon âme.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Das sei der Lohn meiner Widersacher von seiten Jehovas, und derer, die Böses reden wider meine Seele!