Psalms 109:20

World English Bible

This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh, Of those who speak evil against my soul.

Parallel Translations

New Living Translation
May those curses become the Lord 's punishment for my accusers who speak evil of me.

English Revised Version
This is the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

Update Bible Version
This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh, And of those that speak evil against my soul.

New Century Version
May the Lord do these things to those who accuse me, to those who speak evil against me.

New English Translation
May the Lord repay my accusers in this way, those who say evil things about me!

Webster's Bible Translation
[Let] this [be] the reward of my adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

Amplified Bible
Let this be the reward of my attackers from the LORD, And of those who speak evil against my life.

English Standard Version
May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord , of those who speak evil against my life!

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
This is the werk of hem that bacbiten me anentis the Lord; and that speke yuels ayens my lijf.

Berean Standard Bible
May this be the LORD's reward to my accusers, to those who speak evil against me.

Contemporary English Version
Those are the cruel things my enemies wish for me. Let it all happen to them!

American Standard Version
This is the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, And of them that speak evil against my soul.

Bible in Basic English
Let this be the reward given to my haters from the Lord, and to those who say evil of my soul.

Complete Jewish Bible
This is what my adversaries want Adonai to do, those who speak evil against me.

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

Easy-to-Read Version
My enemies said these evil things against me. But may those curses be the way the Lord punishes them.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
This would mine adversaries effect from the LORD, and they that speak evil against my soul.

King James Version (1611)
Let this be the reward of mine aduersaries from the Lord: and of them that speake euill against my soule.

New Life Bible
Let this be what the Lord pays to those who speak against me and wish bad things would happen to me.

New Revised Standard
May that be the reward of my accusers from the Lord , of those who speak evil against my life.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Let this be the rewarde of mine aduersarie from the Lord, and of them, that speake euill against my soule.

George Lamsa Translation
These are the deeds of those who reproach the LORD, and of those who speak evil against me.

Good News Translation
Lord , punish my enemies in that way— those who say such evil things against me!

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
This, be the reward of mine accusers, from Yahweh, even of them who are speaking wrongfully against my life.

Douay-Rheims Bible
(108-20) This is the work of them who detract me before the Lord; and who speak evils against my soul.

Revised Standard Version
May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my life!

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Let this rewarde be from God vnto myne aduersaries: and vnto those that speake euill against my soule.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
This is the dealing of the Lord with those who falsely accuse me, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

Christian Standard Bible®
Let this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,to those who speak evil against me.

Hebrew Names Version
This is the reward of my adversaries from the LORD, Of those who speak evil against my soul.

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

Lexham English Bible
Let this be the punishment for my accusers from Yahweh, even those who speak evil against my life.

Literal Translation
This is the reward of my foes from Jehovah, and of those who speak evil against my soul.

Young's Literal Translation
This [is] the wage of mine accusers from Jehovah, And of those speaking evil against my soul.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But deale thou with me (o LORDE God) acordinge vnto thy name, for swete is thy mercy.

New American Standard Bible
May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, And of those who speak evil against my soul.

New King James Version
Let this be the LORD's reward to my accusers, And to those who speak evil against my person.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Let this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord , And of those who speak evil against my soul.

Legacy Standard Bible
This is the reward of my accusers from Yahweh,And of those who speak evil against my soul.

Contextual Overview

⁶ Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand. ⁷ When he is judged, let him come forth guilty. Let his prayer be turned into sin. ⁸ Let his days be few. Let another take his office. ⁹ Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow. ¹⁰ Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins. ¹¹ Let the creditor seize all that he has. Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor. ¹² Let there be none to extend kindness to him, Neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children. ¹³ Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out. ¹⁴ Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh. Don't let the sin of his mother be blotted out. ¹⁵ Let them be before Yahweh continually, That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Let this: Psalms 2:5, Psalms 2:6, Psalms 2:12, Psalms 21:8-12, Psalms 40:14, Psalms 40:15, Psalms 110:1, Psalms 110:5, Psalms 110:6, 2 Samuel 17:23, 2 Samuel 18:32, 1 Kings 2:44, Luke 19:27, 1 Thessalonians 2:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:16

them: Matthew 11:19, Matthew 12:24, Matthew 26:66, Matthew 26:67, Mark 9:39, 1 Corinthians 12:3

Reciprocal: Psalms 109:6 - Set thou

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord,.... Who were so many Satans, as the word used signifies; and Judas particularly is called a devil; and of the same malevolent and diabolical disposition were the Jews in general, John 6:70 and what is before imprecated upon them is the just recompence of reward for their hatred to Christ and ill usage of him.

And of them that speak evil against my soul; or "life" f; in order to take it away, as did the false witnesses that rose up against him, and the Jews who charged him with sedition and blasphemy.

f על נפשי "contra vitam meam", Gejerus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord,... - The word rendered “reward” means usually work, labor, occupation, business; then, what one earns by his work - reward, recompence, Leviticus 19:13. The meaning here is, Let them constantly receive these things which I have prayed for Psalms 109:6-19; let them be constantly treated in this manner. This is a summing up of his entire wish - his whole desire. It cannot be proved that they did “not deserve” all this; it cannot be shown that if all this came upon them at the hand of God, it would be unjust; it cannot be denied that such things as these, either singly, in groups, or in succession, do actually come upon wicked people; and the prayer in the case “may” have been merely that justice might be done. Still, as before remarked, it is not easy wholly to vindicate the expressed feelings of the psalmist. See the notes at Psalms 109:10.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 109:20. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against 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 the 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.