Mazmur 109:7-16

109:7 When he is judged, he will be found ¹  guilty! ² 

Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.

109:8 May his days be few! ³ 

May another take his job! ⁴ 

109:9 May his children ⁵  be fatherless,

and his wife a widow!

109:10 May his children ⁶  roam around begging,

asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home! ⁷ 

109:11 May the creditor seize ⁸  all he owns!

May strangers loot his property! ⁹ 

109:12 May no one show him kindness! ¹⁰ 

May no one have compassion ¹¹  on his fatherless children!

109:13 May his descendants ¹²  be cut off! ¹³ 

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! ¹⁴ 

109:14 May his ancestors’ ¹⁵  sins be remembered by the Lord!

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten! ¹⁶ 

109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them, ¹⁷ 

and cut off the memory of his children ¹⁸  from the earth!

109:16 For he never bothered to show kindness; ¹⁹ 

he harassed the oppressed and needy,

and killed the disheartened. ²⁰ 

[109:7]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as a jussive, but the use of the imperfect form in the following line suggests that v. 7 anticipates the outcome of the accusation envisioned in v. 6.

[109:7]  ² tn Heb “he will go out [as] a criminal” (that is, guilty).

[109:8]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “sons.”

[109:10]  ⁶ tn Or “sons.”

[109:10]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).

[109:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “the product of his labor.”

[109:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”

[109:12]  ¹¹ tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).

[109:13]  ¹² tn Or “offspring.”

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

[109:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”

[109:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or “fathers’ sins.”

[109:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “not be wiped out.”

[109:14]  sn According to ancient Israelite theology and its doctrine of corporate solidarity and responsibility, children could be and often were punished for the sins of their parents. For a discussion of this issue see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). (Kaminsky, however, does not deal with Ps 109.)

[109:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the Lord continually.”

[109:15]  ¹⁸ 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.

[109:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he did not remember to do loyal love.”

[109:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he chased an oppressed and needy man, and one timid of heart to put [him] to death.”