Psalms 109:8-15

109:8 May his days be few! ¹ 

May another take his job! ² 

109:9 May his children ³  be fatherless,

and his wife a widow!

109:10 May his children ⁴  roam around begging,

asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home! ⁵ 

109:11 May the creditor seize ⁶  all he owns!

May strangers loot his property! ⁷ 

109:12 May no one show him kindness! ⁸ 

May no one have compassion ⁹  on his fatherless children!

109:13 May his descendants ¹⁰  be cut off! ¹¹ 

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! ¹² 

109:14 May his ancestors’ ¹³  sins be remembered by the Lord!

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten! ¹⁴ 

109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them, ¹⁵ 

and cut off the memory of his children ¹⁶  from the earth!

[109:8]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal forms (except those with vav [ו] consecutive) in vv. 8-20 are taken as jussives of prayer. Note the distinct jussive forms used in vv. 12-13, 15, 19.

[109:8]  ² tn The Hebrew noun פְּקֻדָּה (pÿquddah) can mean “charge” or “office,” though BDB 824 s.v. suggests that here it refers to his possessions.

[109:9]  ³ tn Or “sons.”

[109:10]  ⁴ tn Or “sons.”

[109:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (vÿdoreshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (yÿgoreshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shi’elu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.

[109:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).

[109:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “the product of his labor.”

[109:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”

[109:12]  ⁹ tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).

[109:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or “offspring.”

[109:13]  ¹¹ sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.

[109:13]  ¹² tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”

[109:14]  ¹³ tn Or “fathers’ sins.”

[109:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “not be wiped out.”

[109:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the Lord continually.”

[109:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13, and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.