Psalm 109 10

Psalm 109:10 kjv

Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

Psalm 109:10 nkjv

Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places.

Psalm 109:10 niv

May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.

Psalm 109:10 esv

May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

Psalm 109:10 nlt

May his children wander as beggars
and be driven from their ruined homes.

Psalm 109 verses

Psalm 109 10 Meaning

Psalm 109:10 is an imprecatory curse within a prayer of David, seeking divine judgment against his malevolent adversaries. The verse specifically petitions that the children of his enemies experience extreme and perpetual poverty, displacement, and a complete lack of sustenance. It vividly describes their future as wanderers, forced to beg for food from their own ruined, desolate environments, signifying a complete reversal of fortune and utter destitution.

Psalm 109 10 Context

Psalm 109 is a prayer of David, categorized as an individual lament psalm. David pours out his soul to God, pleading for vindication against enemies who have unjustly slandered and attacked him with deceit and hatred, repaying his love with malice (vv. 1-5). The core of the psalm (vv. 6-19) contains a series of intense imprecatory curses directed at his chief adversary. These curses cover various aspects of life: legal defeat, premature death, loss of family, destitution, and obliteration of memory. This specific verse (10) focuses on the generational aspect of the curse, emphasizing that the antagonist's children will inherit their father's downfall. Historically, such curses reflect a belief in corporate responsibility and the profound societal disgrace of begging and displacement in ancient Near Eastern cultures. The psalmist appeals to God's righteous judgment against those who operate outside the bounds of justice and compassion. The New Testament interprets parts of Psalm 109, particularly verse 8, as prophecy fulfilled in the betrayal of Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:20), indicating that the ultimate recipients of such profound curses are those who act as adversaries to God's chosen ones, even Christ himself. This spiritual application provides a framework for understanding the nature and boundaries of these severe imprecations.

Psalm 109 10 Word analysis

• Let his children (בָּנָיו banayv): Refers specifically to male descendants. In ancient Hebrew society, the male lineage was crucial for inheritance, family name, and social standing. A curse on male children signified the eradication of the family line, name, and legacy. It also implies that the severe punishment extends beyond the immediate perpetrator, reflecting a corporate view of family in judgment.

• be vagabonds (נוּעַ יִנְעוּ nu'a yin'u): From the root nu'a, meaning to wander, to totter, to shake, to reel. The repetition of the root emphasizes the restless, unstable, and involuntary nature of their movement. It signifies not merely travel but homelessness, exile, and a constant state of aimless roaming without settled abode or security. This evokes an image of perpetual insecurity and lack of roots.

• and beg (וְשִׁאֵלוּ ve’shaelu): From the root sha'al, meaning to ask, request, inquire, or beg. This term denotes utter poverty and destitution, where basic sustenance can only be acquired by pleading for charity from others. In ancient Israelite society, begging was a sign of the deepest societal shame and complete loss of self-sufficiency. It indicates dependence and humiliation.

• let them seek their bread (וּבִקְּשׁוּ לֶחֶם u'vikshu lechem): Lechem means "bread," symbolizing fundamental sustenance. Bikkshu implies an earnest search or strong desire, emphasizing the desperation and difficulty in acquiring even the most basic food. This reinforces the image of profound hunger and inability to meet their most basic needs independently.

• also out of their desolate places (מֵחׇרְבוֹתֵיהֶם mekharvoteihem): From the root ḥārab, meaning to be desolate, ruined, or waste. This phrase describes the environment from which they must seek sustenance. It's not just that they are vagabonds, but their former places of residence, inheritance, or prosperity are now ruins, literal wastes. They might be forced to scrounge for meager sustenance from places that are themselves devoid of life or resources, underscoring the severity of the curse. This implies a complete reversal from prosperity to a wasteland, or that the only resources they can extract are from already ruined lands.

• Words-group Analysis:

  • "Let his children be vagabonds, and beg": This powerful conjunction emphasizes both physical displacement and economic ruin. They are denied both a stable home and the means to sustain themselves, a double curse striking at the core of human security and dignity. This indicates total loss of social standing and well-being.
  • "let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places": This phrase encapsulates the complete and bitter irony of their fate. The places that once symbolized their heritage or livelihood have become uninhabitable ruins, from which they are paradoxically forced to extract sustenance. It's a vivid picture of a cursed inheritance—nothing left but a desolate homeland from which they can barely eke out a meager existence.

Psalm 109 10 Bonus section

The intensity of the curses in Psalm 109 and similar imprecatory psalms presents a theological challenge to many modern readers. However, scholarly analysis suggests that these psalms serve several purposes beyond simple personal anger:

• Vindication of God's Righteousness: They appeal to God's just character, asking Him to act in a world where the wicked often prosper while the righteous suffer. They affirm divine justice.
• Prophetic Declaration: They can be seen as prophetic declarations of God's judgment against specific, persistent wickedness, especially against those who defy God or His anointed servants. The fulfillment in Judas Iscariot is a key example of this.
• Psychological Release: They provide an outlet for the psalmist's profound distress and anger, enabling them to pour out their true feelings to God rather than taking revenge into their own hands.
• Educational: They teach that wickedness does not go unpunished and that there are indeed dire consequences for betraying and slandering the innocent, extending even to future generations, as understood in ancient covenantal contexts. The purpose is not to emulate such curses in our personal lives but to understand the profound evil that necessitates such divine retribution.

Psalm 109 10 Commentary

Psalm 109:10 reveals the depth of agony and the righteous indignation of the psalmist (David) against an enemy who repays good with evil. This specific verse is a prayer for comprehensive generational judgment, aiming for the complete reversal of fortune for the wicked. The severity of the curse, wishing homelessness, destitution, and constant begging upon the children, underscores the grievous nature of the adversary's actions. It reflects an appeal for God's ultimate justice, recognizing that God alone has the power to inflict such sweeping, generational consequences, as seen in biblical precedents like the curses in Deuteronomy 28 or the fate of figures like Gehazi (2 Kgs 5:27).

It is crucial to understand these imprecations within the broader biblical context. They are not to be taken as permission for personal vengeance but rather as fervent cries to the sovereign God to execute justice. The application of parts of this psalm to Judas Iscariot in Acts 1:20 signifies that such profound curses are reserved for those who commit the most egregious betrayal against God's anointed one, Christ, or act as an ultimate enemy of God’s plan. For a New Testament believer, the call is to love enemies and pray for persecutors, knowing that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Rom 12:19). The psalmist’s intense prayer serves as a prophetic denunciation of wickedness and an affirmation of God's unwavering commitment to righteousness and judgment, ensuring that ultimate betrayal and evil will not go unpunished.