1 Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
2 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.
3 They compassed me about 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.
5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
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.
17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
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.
19 Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD, and of them that 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.
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
26 Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it.
28 Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
30 I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
1 [[To the chief Musician, H5329 A Psalm H4210 of David.]] H1732 Hold not thy peace, H2790 O God H430 of my praise; H8416
2 For the mouth H6310 of the wicked H7563 and the mouth H6310 of the deceitful H4820 are opened H6605 against me: they have spoken H1696 against me with a lying H8267 tongue. H3956
3 They compassed H5437 me about also with words H1697 of hatred; H8135 and fought H3898 against me without a cause. H2600
4 For my love H160 they are my adversaries: H7853 but I give myself unto prayer. H8605
5 And they have rewarded H7760 me evil H7451 for good, H2896 and hatred H8135 for my love. H160
6 Set H6485 thou a wicked man H7563 over him: and let Satan H7854 stand H5975 at his right hand. H3225
7 When he shall be judged, H8199 let him be H3318 condemned: H7563 and let his prayer H8605 become sin. H2401
8 Let his days H3117 be few; H4592 and let another H312 take H3947 his office. H6486
9 Let his children H1121 be fatherless, H3490 and his wife H802 a widow. H490
10 Let his children H1121 be continually H5128 vagabonds, H5128 and beg: H7592 let them seek H1875 their bread also out of their desolate places. H2723
11 Let the extortioner H5383 catch H5367 all that he hath; and let the strangers H2114 spoil H962 his labour. H3018
12 Let there be none to extend H4900 mercy H2617 unto him: neither let there be any to favour H2603 his fatherless children. H3490
13 Let his posterity H319 be cut off; H3772 and in the generation H1755 following H312 let their name H8034 be blotted out. H4229
14 Let the iniquity H5771 of his fathers H1 be remembered H2142 with the LORD; H3068 and let not the sin H2403 of his mother H517 be blotted out. H4229
15 Let them be before the LORD H3068 continually, H8548 that he may cut off H3772 the memory H2143 of them from the earth. H776
16 Because that he remembered H2142 not to shew H6213 mercy, H2617 but persecuted H7291 the poor H6041 and needy H34 man, H376 that he might even slay H4191 the broken H3512 in heart. H3824
17 As he loved H157 cursing, H7045 so let it come H935 unto him: as he delighted H2654 not in blessing, H1293 so let it be far H7368 from him.
18 As he clothed H3847 himself with cursing H7045 like as with his garment, H4055 so let it come H935 into his bowels H7130 like water, H4325 and like oil H8081 into his bones. H6106
19 Let it be unto him as the garment H899 which covereth H5844 him, and for a girdle H4206 wherewith he is girded H2296 continually. H8548
20 Let this be the reward H6468 of mine adversaries H7853 from the LORD, H3068 and of them that speak H1696 evil H7451 against my soul. H5315
21 But do H6213 thou for me, O GOD H3069 the Lord, H136 for thy name's H8034 sake: because thy mercy H2617 is good, H2896 deliver H5337 thou me.
22 For I am poor H6041 and needy, H34 and my heart H3820 is wounded H2490 within H7130 me.
23 I am gone H1980 like the shadow H6738 when it declineth: H5186 I am tossed up and down H5287 as the locust. H697
24 My knees H1290 are weak H3782 through fasting; H6685 and my flesh H1320 faileth H3584 of fatness. H8081
25 I became also a reproach H2781 unto them: when they looked H7200 upon me they shaked H5128 their heads. H7218
26 Help H5826 me, O LORD H3068 my God: H430 O save H3467 me according to thy mercy: H2617
27 That they may know H3045 that this is thy hand; H3027 that thou, LORD, H3068 hast done H6213 it.
28 Let them curse, H7043 but bless H1288 thou: when they arise, H6965 let them be ashamed; H954 but let thy servant H5650 rejoice. H8055
29 Let mine adversaries H7853 be clothed H3847 with shame, H3639 and let them cover H5844 themselves with their own confusion, H1322 as with a mantle. H4598
30 I will greatly H3966 praise H3034 the LORD H3068 with my mouth; H6310 yea, I will praise H1984 him among H8432 the multitude. H7227
31 For he shall stand H5975 at the right hand H3225 of the poor, H34 to save H3467 him from those that condemn H8199 his soul. H5315
1 Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have they opened against me: They have spoken unto me with a lying tongue.
3 They have compassed me about 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.
5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
6 Set thou a wicked man over him; And let an adversary stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him come forth guilty; And let his prayer be turned into sin.
8 Let his days be few; `And' let another take his office.
9 Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.
10 Let his children be vagabonds, and beg; And let them seek `their bread' out of their desolate places.
11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; And let strangers make spoil of his labor.
12 Let there be none to extend kindness unto 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 with Jehovah; And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before Jehovah continually, That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
16 Because he remembered not to show kindness, But persecuted the poor and needy man, And the broken in heart, to slay `them'.
17 Yea, he loved cursing, and it came unto him; And he delighted not in blessing, and it was far from him.
18 He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment, And it came into his inward parts like water, And like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be unto him as the raiment wherewith he covereth himself, And for the girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20 This is the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, And of them that speak evil against my soul.
21 But deal thou with me, O Jehovah the Lord, for thy name's sake: Because thy lovingkindness is good, deliver thou me;
22 For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting; And my flesh faileth of fatness.
25 I am become also a reproach unto them: When they see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, O Jehovah my God; Oh save me according to thy lovingkindness:
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; `That' thou, Jehovah, hast done it.
28 Let them curse, but bless thou: When they arise, they shall be put to shame, But thy servant shall rejoice.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with dishonor, And let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 I will give great thanks unto Jehovah with my mouth; Yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from them that judge his soul. Psalm 110 A Psalm of David.
1 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, be not silent,
2 For the mouth of wickedness, and the mouth of deceit, Against me they have opened, They have spoken with me -- A tongue of falsehood, and words of hatred!
3 They have compassed me about, And they fight me without cause.
4 For my love they oppose me, and I -- prayer!
5 And they set against me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
6 Appoint Thou over him the wicked, And an adversary standeth at his right hand.
7 In his being judged, he goeth forth wicked, And his prayer is for sin.
8 His days are few, his oversight another taketh,
9 His sons are fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10 And wander continually do his sons, Yea, they have begged, And have sought out of their dry places.
11 An exactor layeth a snare for all that he hath, And strangers spoil his labour.
12 He hath none to extend kindness, Nor is there one showing favour to his orphans.
13 His posterity is for cutting off, In another generation is their name blotted out.
14 The iniquity of his fathers Is remembered unto Jehovah, And the sin of his mother is not blotted out.
15 They are before Jehovah continually, And He cutteth off from earth their memorial.
16 Because that he hath not remembered to do kindness, And pursueth the poor man and needy, And the smitten of heart -- to slay,
17 And he loveth reviling, and it meeteth him, And he hath not delighted in blessing, And it is far from him.
18 And he putteth on reviling as his robe, And it cometh in as water into his midst, And as oil into his bones.
19 It is to him as apparel -- he covereth himself, And for a continual girdle he girdeth it on.
20 This `is' the wage of mine accusers from Jehovah, And of those speaking evil against my soul.
21 And Thou, O Jehovah Lord, Deal with me for Thy name's sake, Because Thy kindness `is' good, deliver me.
22 For I `am' poor and needy, And my heart hath been pierced in my midst.
23 As a shadow when it is stretched out I have gone, I have been driven away as a locust.
24 My knees have been feeble from fasting, And my flesh hath failed of fatness.
25 And I -- I have been a reproach to them, They see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, O Jehovah my God, Save me, according to Thy kindness.
27 And they know that this `is' Thy hand, Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast done it.
28 They revile, and Thou dost bless, They have risen, and are ashamed, And Thy servant doth rejoice.
29 Mine accusers put on blushing, and are covered, As an upper robe `is' their shame.
30 I thank Jehovah greatly with my mouth, And in the midst of many I praise Him,
31 For He standeth at the right hand of the needy, To save from those judging his soul.
1 {To the chief Musician. Of David. A Psalm.} O God of my praise, be not silent:
2 For the mouth of the wicked [man] and the mouth of deceit are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue,
3 And with words of hatred have they encompassed me; and they fight against me without a cause.
4 For my love they are mine adversaries; but I [give myself unto] prayer.
5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Set a wicked [man] over him, and let [the] adversary stand at his right hand;
7 When he shall be judged, let him go out guilty, and let his prayer become sin;
8 Let his days be few, let another take his office;
9 Let his sons be fatherless, and his wife a widow;
10 Let his sons be vagabonds and beg, and let them seek [their bread] far from their desolate places;
11 Let the usurer cast the net over all that he hath, and let strangers despoil his labour;
12 Let there be none to extend kindness unto him, neither let there be any to favour 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 with Jehovah, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out;
15 Let them be before Jehovah continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth:
16 Because he remembered not to shew kindness, but persecuted the afflicted and needy man, and the broken in heart, to slay him.
17 And he loved cursing; so let it come unto him. And he delighted not in blessing; and let it be far from him.
18 And he clothed himself with cursing like his vestment; so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones;
19 Let it be unto him as a garment with which he covereth himself, and for a girdle wherewith he is constantly girded.
20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from Jehovah, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
21 But do *thou* for me, Jehovah, Lord, for thy name's sake; because thy loving-kindness is good, deliver me:
22 For I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I am gone like a shadow when it lengtheneth; I am tossed about like the locust;
24 My knees are failing through fasting, and my flesh hath lost its fatness;
25 And I am become a reproach unto them; [when] they look upon me they shake their heads.
26 Help me, Jehovah my God; save me according to thy loving-kindness:
27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that *thou*, Jehovah, hast done it.
28 Let *them* curse, but bless *thou*; when they rise up, let them be ashamed, and let thy servant rejoice.
29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with confusion, and let them cover themselves with their shame as with a mantle.
30 I will greatly celebrate Jehovah with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he standeth at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those that judge his soul.
1 > God of my praise, don't remain silent,
2 For they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.
4 In return for my love, they are my adversaries; But I am in prayer.
5 They have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.
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;
16 Because he didn't remember to show kindness, But persecuted the poor and needy man, The broken in heart, to kill them.
17 Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn't delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
18 He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, Like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself, For the belt that is always around him.
20 This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh, Of those who speak evil against my soul.
21 But deal with me, Yahweh the Lord, for your name's sake, Because your loving kindness is good, deliver me;
22 For I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat.
25 I have also become a reproach to them. When they see me, they shake their head.
26 Help me, Yahweh, my God. Save me according to your loving kindness;
27 That they may know that this is your hand; That you, Yahweh, have done it.
28 They may curse, but you bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, But your servant shall rejoice.
29 Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 I will give great thanks to Yahweh with my mouth. Yes, I will praise him among the multitude.
31 For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from those who judge his soul.
1 <To the chief music-maker. Of David. A Psalm.> God of my praise, let my prayer be answered;
2 For the mouth of the sinner is open against me in deceit: his tongue has said false things against me.
3 Words of hate are round about me; they have made war against me without cause.
4 For my love they give me back hate; but I have given myself to prayer.
5 They have put on me evil for good; hate in exchange for my love.
6 Put an evil man over him; and let one be placed at his right hand to say evil of him.
7 When he is judged, let the decision go against him; and may his prayer become sin.
8 Let his life be short; let another take his position of authority.
9 Let his children have no father, and his wife be made a widow.
10 Let his children be wanderers, looking to others for their food; let them be sent away from the company of their friends.
11 Let his creditor take all his goods; and let others have the profit of his work.
12 Let no man have pity on him, or give help to his children when he is dead.
13 Let his seed be cut off; in the coming generation let their name go out of memory.
14 Let the Lord keep in mind the wrongdoing of his fathers; and may the sin of his mother have no forgiveness.
15 Let them be ever before the eyes of the Lord, so that the memory of them may be cut off from the earth.
16 Because he had no mercy, but was cruel to the low and the poor, designing the death of the broken-hearted.
17 As he took pleasure in cursing, so let it come on him; and as he had no delight in blessing, let it be far from him.
18 He put on cursing like a robe, and it has come into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.
19 Let it be to him as a robe which he puts on, let it be like a band which is round him at all times.
20 Let this be the reward given to my haters from the Lord, and to those who say evil of my soul.
21 But, O Lord God, give me your help, because of your name; take me out of danger, because your mercy is good.
22 For I am poor and in need, and my heart is wounded in me.
23 I am gone like the shade when it is stretched out: I am forced out of my place like a locust.
24 My knees are feeble for need of food; there is no fat on my bones.
25 As for me, they make sport of me; shaking their heads when they see me.
26 Give me help, O Lord my God; in your mercy be my saviour;
27 So that they may see that it is the work of your hand; that you, Lord, have done it.
28 They may give curses but you give blessing; when they come up against me, put them to shame; but let your servant be glad.
29 Let my haters be clothed with shame, covering themselves with shame as with a robe.
30 I will give the Lord great praise with my mouth; yes, I will give praise to him among all the people.
31 For he is ever at the right hand of the poor, to take him out of the hands of those who go after his soul.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 109
Commentary on Psalms 109 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Imprecation upon the Curser Who Prefers the Curse to the Blessing
The אודה , corresponding like an echo to the הודו of Ps 107, is also found here in Psalms 109:30. But Psalms 109 is most closely related to Ps 69. Anger concerning the ungodly who requite love with ingratitude, who persecute innocence and desire the curse instead of the blessing, has here reached its utmost bound. The imprecations are not, however, directed against a multitude as in Ps 69, but their whole current is turned against one person. Is this Doeg the Edomite, or Cush the Benjamite? We do not know. The marks of Jeremiah's hand, which raised a doubt about the לדוד of Ps 69, are wanting here; and if the development of the thoughts appears too diffuse and overloaded to be suited to David, and also many expressions (as the inflected מעט in Psalms 109:8, the נכאה , which is explained by the Syriac, in Psalms 109:16, and the half-passive חלל in Psalms 109:22) look as though they belong to the later period of the language, yet we feel on the other hand the absence of any certain echoes of older models. For in the parallels Psalms 109:6, cf. Zechariah 3:1, and Psalms 109:18, Psalms 109:29 , cf. Isaiah 59:17, it is surely not the mutual relationship but the priority that is doubtful; Psalms 109:22, however, in relation to Psalms 55:5 (cf. Psalms 109:4 with Psalms 55:5) is a variation such as is also allowable in one and the same poet (e.g., in the refrains). The anathemas that are here poured forth more extensively than anywhere else speak in favour of David, or at least of his situation. They are explained by the depth of David's consciousness that he is the anointed of Jahve, and by his contemplation of himself in Christ. The persecution of David was a sin not only against David himself, but also against the Christ in him; and because Christ is in David, the outbursts of the Old Testament wrathful spirit take the prophetic form, so that this Psalm also, like Ps 22 and Ps 69, is a typically prophetic Psalm, inasmuch as the utterance of the type concerning himself is carried by the Spirit of prophecy beyond himself, and thus the ara' is raised to the προφητεία ἐν εἴδει ἀρᾶς (Chrysostom). These imprecations are not, however, appropriate in the mouth of the suffering Saviour. It is not the spirit of Zion but of Sinai which here speaks out of the mouth of David; the spirit of Elias, which, according to Luke 9:55, is not the spirit of the New Testament. This wrathful spirit is overpowered in the New Testament by the spirit of love. But these anathemas are still not on this account so many beatings of the air. There is in them a divine energy, as in the blessing and cursing of every man who is united to God, and more especially of a man whose temper of mind is such as David's. They possess the same power as the prophetical threatenings, and in this sense they are regarded in the New Testament as fulfilled in the son of perdition (John 17:12). To the generation of the time of Jesus they were a deterrent warning not to offend against the Holy One of God, and this Psalmus Ischarioticus (Acts 1:20) will ever be such a mirror of warning to the enemies and persecutors of Christ and His Church.
A sign for help and complaints of ungrateful persecutors form the beginning of the Psalm. “God of my praise” is equivalent to God, who art my praise, Jeremiah 17:14, cf. Deuteronomy 10:21. The God whom the Psalmist has hitherto had reason to praise will also now show Himself to him as worthy to be praised. Upon this faith he bases the prayer: be not silent (Psalms 28:1; Psalms 35:22)! A mouth such as belongs to the “wicked,” a mouth out of which comes “deceit,” have they opened against him; they have spoken with him a tongue (accusative, vid., on Psalms 64:6), i.e., a language, of falsehood. דּברי of things and utterances as in Psalms 35:20. It would be capricious to take the suffix of אהבתי in Psalms 109:4 as genit. object. (love which they owe me), and in Psalms 109:5 as genit. subject .; from Psalms 38:21 it may be seen that the love which he has shown to them is also meant in Psalms 109:4. The assertion that he is “prayer” is intended to say that he, repudiating all revenges of himself, takes refuge in God in prayer and commits his cause into His hands. They have loaded him with evil for good, and hatred for the love he has shown to them. Twice he lays emphasis on the fact that it is love which they have requited to him with its opposite. Perfects alternate with aorists: it is no enmity of yesterday; the imprecations that follow presuppose an inflexible obduracy on the side of the enemies.
The writer now turns to one among the many, and in the angry zealous fervour of despised love calls down God's judgment upon him. To call down a higher power, more particularly for punishment, upon any one is expressed by על ( הפקיד ) פּקד , Jeremiah 15:3; Leviticus 26:16. The tormentor of innocence shall find a superior executor who will bring him before the tribunal (which is expressed in Latin by legis actio per manus injectionem ). The judgment scene in Psalms 109:6 , Psalms 109:7 shows that this is what is intended in Psalms 109:6 : At the right hand is the place of the accuser, who in this instance will not rest before the damnatus es has been pronounced. He is called שׂטן , which is not to be understood here after 1 Samuel 29:4; 2 Samuel 19:22, but after Zechariah 3:1; 1 Chronicles 21:1, if not directly of Satan, still of a superhuman (cf. Numbers 22:22) being which opposes him, by appearing before God as his κατήγωρ ; for according to Psalms 109:7 the שׂטן is to be thought of as accuser, and according to Psalms 109:7 God as Judge. רשׁע has the sense of reus , and יצא refers to the publication of the sentence. Psalms 109:7 wishes that his prayer, viz., that by which he would wish to avert the divine sentence of condemnation, may become לחטאה , not: a missing of the mark, i.e., ineffectual (Thenius), but, according to the usual signification of the word: a sin, viz., because it proceeds from despair, not from true penitence. In Psalms 109:8 the incorrigible one is wished an untimely death ( מעטּים as in one other instance, only, Ecclesiastes 5:1) and the loss of his office. The lxx renders: τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ λάβοι ἕτερος . פּקדּה really signifies the office of overseer, oversight, office, and the one individual must have held a prominent position among the enemies of the psalmist. Having died off from this position before his time, he shall leave behind him a family deeply reduced in circumstances, whose former dwelling - place-he was therefore wealthy - becomes “ruins.” His children wander up and down far from these ruins ( מן as e.g., in Judges 5:11; Job 28:4) and beg ( דּרשׁ , like προσαιτεῖν ἐπαιτεῖν , Sir. 40:28 = לחם בּקּשׁ , Psalms 37:25). Instead of ודרשׁוּ the reading ודרשׁוּ is also found. A Poel is now and then formed from the strong verbs also,
(Note: In connection with the strong verb it frequently represents the Piel which does not occur, as with דּרשׁ , לשׁן , שׁפט , or even represents the Piel which, as in the case of שׁרשׁ , is already made use of in another signification ( Piel , to root out; Poel , to take root).)
in the inflexion of which the Cholem is sometimes shortened to Kametz chatuph ; vid., the forms of לשׁן , to slander, in Psalms 101:5, תּאר , to sketch, mark out in outline, Isaiah 44:13, cf. also Job 20:26 ( תּאכלהוּ ) and Isaiah 62:9 (according to the reading מאספיו ). To read the Kametz in these instances as ā , and to regard these forms as resolved Piels , is, in connection with the absence of the Metheg , contrary to the meaning of the pointing; on purpose to guard against this way of reading it, correct codices have ודרשׁוּ (cf. Psalms 69:19), which Baer has adopted.
The Piel נקּשׁ properly signifies to catch in snares; here, like the Arabic Arab. nqš , II, IV, corresponding to the Latin obligare (as referring to the creditor's right of claim); nosheh is the name of the creditor as he who gives time for payment, gives credit (vid., Isaiah 24:2). In Psalms 109:12 משׁך חסד , to draw out mercy, is equivalent to causing it to continue and last, Psalms 36:11, cf. Jeremiah 31:3. אחריתו , Psalms 109:13 , does not signify his future, but as Psalms 109:13 (cf. Psalms 37:38) shows: his posterity. יהי להכרית is not merely exscindatur , but exscindenda sit (Ezekiel 30:16, cf. Joshua 2:6), just as in other instances חיה ל corresponds to the active fut. periphrasticum , e.g., Genesis 15:12; Isaiah 37:26. With reference to ימּח instead of ימּח (contracted from ימּחה ), vid., Ges. §75, rem. 8. A Jewish acrostic interpretation of the name ישׁוּ runs: ימּח שׁמו וזכרו . This curse shall overtake the family of the υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας . All the sins of his parents and ancestors shall remain indelible above before God the Judge, and here below the race, equally guilty, shall be rooted out even to its memory, i.e., to the last trace of it.
He whom he persecuted with a thirst for blood, was, apart from this, a great sufferer, bowed down and poor and נכאה לבב , of terrified, confounded heart. lxx κατανενυγμένον (Jerome, compunctum ); but the stem-word is not נכא ( נכה ), root נך , but כּאה , Syriac bā'ā' , cogn. כּהה , to cause to come near, to meet. The verb, and more especially in Niph ., is proved to be Hebrew by Daniel 11:30. Such an one who without anything else is of a terrified heart, inasmuch as he has been made to feel the wrath of God most keenly, this man has persecuted with a deadly hatred. He had experienced kindness ( חסד ) in a high degree, but he blotted out of his memory that which he had experienced, not for an instant imagining that he too on his part had to exercise חסד . The Poel מותת instead of המית points to the agonizing death (Isaiah 53:9, cf. Ezekiel 28:10 מותי ) to which he exposes God's anointed. The fate of the shedder of blood is not expressed after the manner of a wish in Psalms 109:16-18, but in the historical form, as being the result that followed of inward necessity from the matter of fact of the course which he had himself determined upon. The verb בּוא seq. acc . signifies to surprise, suddenly attack any one, as in Isaiah 41:25. The three figures in Psalms 109:18 are climactic: he has clothed himself in cursing, he has drunk it in like water (Job 15:16; Job 34:7), it has penetrated even to the marrow of his bones, like the oily preparations which are rubbed in and penetrate to the bones.n In Psalms 109:19 the emphasis rests upon יעטּה and upon תּמיד . The summarizing Psalms 109:20 is the close of a strophe. פּעלּה , an earned reward, here punishment incurred, is especially frequent in Isaiah 40:1, e.g., Psalms 49:4; Psalms 40:10; it also occurs once even in the Tôra, Leviticus 19:13. Those who answer the loving acts of the righteous with such malevolence in word and in deed commit a satanic sin for which there is no forgiveness. The curse is the fruit of their own choice and deed. Arnobius: Nota ex arbitrio evenisse ut nollet, propter haeresim, quae dicit Deum alios praedestinasse ad benedictionem, alios ad maledictionem .
The thunder and lightning are now as it were followed by a shower of tears of deep sorrowful complaint. Ps 109 here just as strikingly accords with Ps 69, as Ps 69 does with Ps 22 in the last strophe but one. The twofold name Jahve Adonaj (vid., Symbolae , p. 16) corresponds to the deep-breathed complaint. עשׂה אתּי , deal with me, i.e., succouring me, does not greatly differ from לי in 1 Samuel 14:6. The confirmation, Psalms 109:21 , runs like Psalms 69:17 : Thy loving-kindness is טּוב , absolutely good, the ground of everything that is good and the end of all evil. Hitzig conjectures, as in Psalms 69:17, חסדך כּטוב , “according to the goodness of Thy loving-kindness;” but this formula is without example: “for Thy loving-kindness is good” is a statement of the motive placed first and corresponding to the “for thy Name's sake.” In Psalms 109:22 (a variation of Psalms 55:5) חלל , not חלל , is traditional; this חלל , as being verb. denom. from חלל , signifies to be pierced, and is therefore equivalent to חולל (cf. Luke 2:35). The metaphor of the shadow in Psalms 109:23 is as in Psalms 102:12. When the day declines, the shadow lengthens, it becomes longer and longer (Virgil, majoresque cadunt altis de montibus umbrae ), till it vanishes in the universal darkness. Thus does the life of the sufferer pass away. The poet intentionally uses the Niph . נהלכתּי (another reading is נהלכתּי ); it is a power rushing upon him from without that drives him away thus after the manner of a shadow into the night. The locust or grasshopper (apart from the plague of the locusts) is proverbial as being a defenceless, inoffensive little creature that is soon driven away, Job 39:20. ננער , to be shaken out or off (cf. Arabic na‛ûra , a water-wheel that fills its clay-vessels in the river and empties them out above, and הנּער , Zechariah 11:16, where Hitzig wishes to read הנּער , dispulsio = dispulsi ). The fasting in Psalms 109:24 is the result of the loathing of all food which sets in with deep grief. כּחשׁ משּׁמן signifies to waste away so that there is no more fat left.
(Note: The verbal group כחשׁ , כחד , Arab. ḥajda , kaḥuṭa , etc. has the primary signification of withdrawal and taking away or decrease; to deny is the same as to withdraw from agreement, and he becomes thin from whom the fat withdraws, goes away. Saadia compares on this passage ( פרה ) בהמה כחושׁה , a lean cow, Berachoth 32 a . In like manner Targum II renders Genesis 41:27 תּורתא כהישׁתא , the lean kine.)
In Psalms 109:25 אני is designedly rendered prominent: in this the form of his affliction he is the butt of their reproaching, and they shake their heads doubtfully, looking upon him as one who is punished of God beyond all hope, and giving him up for lost. It is to be interpreted thus after Psalms 69:11.
The cry for help is renewed in the closing strophe, and the Psalm draws to a close very similarly to Ps 69 and Ps 22, with a joyful prospect of the end of the affliction. In Psalms 109:27 the hand of God stands in contrast to accident, the work of men, and his own efforts. All and each one will undeniably perceive, when God at length interposes, that it is His hand which here does that which was impossible in the eyes of men, and that it is His work which has been accomplished in this affliction and in the issue of it. He blesses him whom men curse: they arise without attaining their object, whereas His servant can rejoice in the end of his affliction. The futures in Psalms 109:29 are not now again imprecations, but an expression of believingly confident hope. In correct texts כּמעיל has Mem raphatum . The “many” are the “congregation” (vid., Psalms 22:23). In the case of the marvellous deliverance of this sufferer the congregation or church has the pledge of its own deliverance, and a bright mirror of the loving-kindness of its God. The sum of the praise and thanksgiving follows in Psalms 109:31, where כּי signifies quod , and is therefore allied to the ὅτι recitativum (cf. Psalms 22:25). The three Good Friday Psalms all sum up the comfort that springs from David's affliction for all suffering ones in just such a pithy sentence (Psalms 22:25; Psalms 69:34). Jahve comes forward at the right hand of the poor, contending for him (cf. Psalms 110:5), to save (him) from those who judge (Psalms 37:33), i.e., condemn, his soul. The contrast between this closing thought and Psalms 109:6. is unmistakeable. At the right hand of the tormentor stands Satan as an accuser, at the right hand of the tormented one stands God as his vindicator; he who delivered him over to human judges is condemned, and he who was delivered up is “taken away out of distress and from judgment” (Isaiah 53:8) by the Judge of the judges, in order that, as we now hear in the following Psalm, he may sit at the right hand of the heavenly King. Ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι ... ἀνελήμφθη ἐν δόξῃ ! (1 Timothy 3:16).