Psalms 38 · Verse 20

Psalms 38:20

They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
Psalms 38:20, King James Version

Psalms 38:20 in other translations

BSBThose who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
WEBThey who give evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
ASVThey also that render evil for good Are adversaries unto me, because I follow the thing that is good.
YLTAnd those paying evil for good accuse me, Because of my pursuing good.
DARBYAnd they that render evil for good are adversaries unto me; because I pursue what is good.
BBEThey give me back evil for good; they are my haters because I go after the thing which is right.
WebsterThey also that render evil for good are my adversaries; because I follow the thing that is good.

What does Psalms 38:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 38:19-20

19-20. Still, while humbled before God, he is the victim of deadly enemies, full of malice and treachery. enemies are lively--literally, "of life," who would take my life, that is, deadly.

Read the full comment on Psalms 38:19-20 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 Because I follow the thing that good is - The translation is as bad as the sentence is awkward. תחת רדפי טוב tachath rodpi tob, because I follow goodness. There is a remarkable addition to this verse in the Arabic: "They have rejected me, the beloved one, as an abominable dead carcass; they have pierced my body with nails." I suppose the Arabic translator meant to refer this to Christ. None of the other Versions have any thing like this addition; only the Ethiopic adds, "They rejected their brethren as an unclean carcass." St. Ambrose says this reading was found in some Greek and Latin copies in his time; and Theodoret has nearly the same reading with the Arabic: Και απερῥιψαν με τον αγαπητον, ῳς νεκρον εβδελυγμενον· "And they cast me, the beloved, out, as an abominable dead carcass." Whence this reading came I cannot conjecture.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 38:12-22

Wicked men hate goodness, even when they benefit by it. David, in the complaints he makes of his enemies, seems to refer to Christ. But our enemies do us real mischief only when they drive us from God and our duty. The true believer's trouble will be made useful; he will learn to wait for his God, and will not seek relief from the world or himself. The less we notice the unkindness and injuries that are done us, the…

Read the full comment on Psalms 38:12-22 →

Psalms 38:20 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.

וּמְשַׁלְּמֵ֣יu.me.sha.le.Meiand [those who] repayH7999
רָ֭עָהRa.'ah<of> evilH7451
תַּ֣חַתTa.chatin place ofH8478
טוֹבָ֑הto.VahgoodH2896
יִ֝שְׂטְנ֗וּנִיyis.te.Nu.nithey accuse meH7853
תַּ֣חַתTa.chatin place ofH8478
רָֽדְפִיra.de.fipursuing myH7291
טֽוֹב\׃TovgoodH2896

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

Cross references for Psalms 38:20

  • Psalms 35:12

    They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.

  • Jeremiah 18:20

    Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

  • 1 John 3:12

    Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

  • John 10:32

    Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

  • 1 Peter 4:14-16

    If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

  • 1 Samuel 25:21

    Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.

  • Psalms 109:3-5

    They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

  • 1 Samuel 23:12

    Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee up.

  • 1 Samuel 19:4-6

    And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain.

  • 1 Peter 3:13

    And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

  • 1 Peter 3:17-18

    For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

  • Psalms 7:4

    If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
render.
7:4; 35:12; 109:3-5; 1Sa 19:4-6; 23:5,12; 25:16,21; Jer 18:20
because.
Mt 5:10; Joh 10:32; 1Pe 3:13,17,18; 4:14-16; 1Jo 3:12

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

Context

  • Psalms 38:19

    But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

  • Psalms 38:20

    They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

  • Psalms 38:21

    Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me.

Read all of Psalms 38

Psalms 38:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y pagando mal por bien me son contrarios, por seguir yo lo bueno.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et mes ennemis sont vivants, ils sont forts, et ceux qui me haïssent sans motif sont nombreux;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Böses für Gutes vergeltend, feinden sie mich an, weil ich dem Guten nachjage.