The big picture
Psalms 109 opens in verse 1 with “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;”, reaches its middle movement near verse 16 with “Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man…”, and closes in verse 31 with “For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn…” Repeated or prominent terms include LORD, mercy, adversaries, children, continually. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Psalms · King James Version · 31Psalms 109:1-8
1–8: Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
Psalms 109:1–8 opens with “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;” and reaches “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on the wording and movement of this passage, with particular weight carried by hatred, love, mouth.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;” Naming Hold keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.” The line’s distinctive content terms include cause, compassed, fought. Its relationship to verses 2 and 4 shows what work it does in this passage.
Psalms 109:1-8
King James Version1Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;
2For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
4For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
5And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
7When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.
8Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
Psalms 109:9-16
9–16: Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
Psalms 109:9–16 opens with “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.” and reaches “Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on the wording and movement of this passage, with particular weight carried by children, blotted, continually.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.” The line’s distinctive content terms include children, fatherless, widow. Its relationship to verses 10 shows what work it does in this passage.
“Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.” The line’s distinctive content terms include catch, extortioner, labour. Its relationship to verses 10 and 12 shows what work it does in this passage.
Psalms 109:9-16
King James Version9Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
11Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
12Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.
13Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD ; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
16Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
Psalms 109:17-24
17–24: As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in…
Psalms 109:17–24 opens with “As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far…” and reaches “My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on the wording and movement of this passage, with particular weight carried by cursing, garment, LORD.
Context that brings the passage to life
“As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.” The line’s distinctive content terms include blessing, cursing, delighted. Its relationship to verses 18 shows what work it does in this passage.
“Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.” The line’s distinctive content terms include continually, covereth, garment. Its relationship to verses 18 and 20 shows what work it does in this passage.
Psalms 109:17-24
King James Version17As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18As 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.
19Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD , and of them that speak evil against my soul.
21But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
22For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
23I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.
24My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
Psalms 109:25-31
25–31: I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked…
Psalms 109:25–31 opens with “I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.” and reaches “For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on the wording and movement of this passage, with particular weight carried by LORD, hand, praise.
Context that brings the passage to life
“I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.” The line’s distinctive content terms include became, heads, looked. Its relationship to verses 26 shows what work it does in this passage.
Psalms 109:25-31
King James Version25I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
26Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
27That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD , hast done it.
28Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.
29Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
30I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.
31For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Psalms 109:1 begins with “Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;”
Where the chapter turns
Psalms 109:21 forms a natural hinge: “But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name’s sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.”
The final note
Psalms 109:31 leaves the reader with “For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, mercy, adversaries, children, continually, hand help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.