Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 109:6
Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
6. Set thou ] appoint. He is himself in office ( Psa 109:8, a cognate word, ‘appointment’), but let him be called to account before superior authority.
Satan ] Rather an adversary, or, an accuser, for evidently it is a human tribunal before which he is to be summoned, not, as in Zec 3:1, the bar of heaven. The word comes from the same root as adversary in Psa 109:4 ; Psa 109:20 ; Psa 109:29. We may infer from Zec 3:1 that it was customary for the accuser to stand on the right hand of the accused in the court.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
6, 7. Let this heartless persecutor of the innocent be put upon his trial, and that before a judge as heartless, and with a malicious accuser as unscrupulous, as himself: let him be found guilty, and let his cry for mercy find no hearing.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
6 20. The thought of the enormity of this ingratitude overmasters the Psalmist. He breaks out suddenly into a passionate prayer that due retribution may fall upon the chief offender. May the ruin he was planning for another overtake himself!
The singular (‘over him ’ &c.), which now takes the place of the plural, may be collective, the Psalmist’s enemies being regarded as a whole; or distributive, each one of the mass being singled out: but more probably it fastens upon the leader of the gang ( Psa 109:2) upon whom rests the real guilt. Cp. for the sudden transition Psa 55:12 ff., Psa 55:20 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Set thou a wicked man over him – This commences the imprecatory part of the psalm, extending to Psa 109:20. The first thing that the psalmist asks is, that his foe might be subjected to the evil of having a man placed over him like himself: a man regardless of justice, truth, and right; a man who would respect character and propriety no more than he had himself done. It is, in fact, a prayer that he might be punished in the line of his offences. It cannot be wrong that a man should be treated as he treats others; and it cannot be in itself wrong to desire that a man should be treated according to his character and deserts, for this is the object of all law, and this is what all magistrates and legislators are endeavoring to secure.
And let Satan stand at his right hand – As his counselor and adviser. The language would be properly applicable to one who had been a counselor or adviser to a king in the administration of the government; and the prayer is, that he might know what it was to have such a one as his counselor and adviser. The language used would seem to make it not improbable that David here refers particularly to someone who had occupied this position in reference to himself, and who had betrayed his trust; who had given him crafty and malignant counsel; who had led him into bad measures; who had used his position to promote his own interests at the expense of his masters. David had such counselors, as anyone in authority may have. The prayer, then, would be, that such a man might be punished in his own line; that he might know what it was to have a bad and wicked adviser. The word rendered Satan – satan – is in the margin rendered adversary. In the Septuagint it is diabolos; in the Vulgate, diabolus. See the notes at Job 1:6, for its meaning. The prayer here seems not to be that the devil or Satan might stand near him as his counselor; but that a man – a real adversary – an accuser – one with a malignant heart – one who would make use of his position to accomplish his own purposes, and to betray the interests of his master, might give him counsel, as seems to have been done in the case of David.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Let Satan stand at his right hand.] As the word satan means an adversary simply, though sometimes it is used to express the evil spirit Satan, I think it best to preserve here its grammatical meaning: “Let an adversary stand at his right hand:” i.e., Let him be opposed and thwarted in all his purposes.
All the Versions have devil, or some equivocal word. The ARABIC has [Arabic] eblees, the chief of the apostate spirits; but the name is probably corrupted from the GREEK diabolos; from which the LATIN diabolus. the ITALIAN diavolo, the SPANISH diablo, the FRENCH diable, the IRISH or CELTIC diabal, the DUTCH duivel, the GERMAN teufel, the ANGLO-SAXON deofal, and the ENGLISH devil, are all derived. The original, , comes from to shoot or pierce through.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A wicked man, Heb. the wicked; which may be understood either,
1. Of some wicked tyrant, which may rule him with rigour and cruelty. Or,
2. Of Satan, who is mentioned in the next clause. Let him be delivered over to Satan, to be acted and ruled by him at his pleasure. Over him; either,
1. All mine enemies; for the singular number is sometimes used in like manner. Or rather,
2. One particular enemy, who was worse than any of the rest, more implacable and inexcusable, whom he thought not fit to express by name, nor was it in the least necessary to do so, because he was. speaking to God, who knew his thoughts, and whom he meant.
Stand at his right hand; either,
1. To molest and vex him, and hinder him in all his affairs; for the right hand is the great instrument of action. Or rather,
2. To accuse him; for this was the place and posture of accusers in the Jewish courts. And as for his condemnation, which is the consequence of this accusation, that follows in the next verse.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. over himone of his enemiesprominent in malignity (Ps 55:12).
let Satan standas anaccuser, whose place was the right hand of the accused (Zec 3:1;Zec 3:2).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Set thou a wicked man over him,…. Or “them”, as the Syriac version; over everyone of his adversaries, and all of them: and which may be interpreted, as it is by Cocceius, of tyrannical princes and governors, set over the Jews, as Tiberius, Caius, Claudius, Nero, c. and their deputies, Pilate, Felix, Festus, Florus all wicked men, and which were a judgment on them for their usage of Christ. Though here some single person is designed, even Judas, notorious for his enmity and ingratitude to Christ; and by the wicked one set over him may be meant Satan, as in the next clause, as he is sometimes called,
Mt 13:38, into whose hands and power Judas was put, under whose influence he was; who entered into him, took possession of him, and put it into his heart to betray his Master, Joh 13:2.
And let Satan stand at his right hand; to direct and influence him, to solicit and tempt him to do the evil he did, and to accuse him for it when done; see Zec 3:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
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 ( ) , Jer 15:3; Lev 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 Psa 109:6, Psa 109:7 shows that this is what is intended in Psa 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 , which is not to be understood here after 1Sa 29:4; 2Sa 19:22, but after Zec 3:1; 1Ch 21:1, if not directly of Satan, still of a superhuman (cf. Num 22:22) being which opposes him, by appearing before God as his ; for according to Psa 109:7 the is to be thought of as accuser, and according to Psa 109:7 God as Judge. has the sense of reus, and refers to the publication of the sentence. Psa 109:7 wishes that his prayer, viz., that by which he would wish to avert the divine sentence of condemnation, may become , 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 Psa 109:8 the incorrigible one is wished an untimely death ( as in one other instance, only, Ecc 5:1) and the loss of his office. The lxx renders: . 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 ( as e.g., in Jdg 5:11; Job 28:4) and beg ( , like , Sir. 40:28 = , Psa 37:25). Instead of the reading 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 , , , or even represents the Piel which, as in the case of , 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 , to slander, in Psa 101:5, , to sketch, mark out in outline, Isa 44:13, cf. also Job 20:26 ( ) and Isa 62:9 (according to the reading ). To read the Kametz in these instances as a , 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 (cf. Psa 69:19), which Baer has adopted.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Prophetic Imprecations. | |
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 show 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.
David here fastens upon some one particular person that was worse than the rest of his enemies, and the ringleader of them, and in a devout and pious manner, not from a principle of malice and revenge, but in a holy zeal for God and against sin and with an eye to the enemies of Christ, particularly Judas who betrayed him, whose sin was greater than Pilate’s that condemned him (John xix. 11), he imprecates and predicts his destruction, foresees and pronounces him completely miserable, and such a one as our Saviour calls him, A son of perdition. Calvin speaks of it as a detestable piece of sacrilege, common in his time among Franciscan friars and other monks, that if any one had malice against a neighbour he might hire some of them to curse him every day, which he would do in the words of these verses; and particularly he tells of a lady in France who, being at variance with her own and only son, hired a parcel of friars to curse him in these words. Greater impiety can scarcely be imagined than to vent a devilish passion in the language of sacred writ, to kindle strife with coals snatched from God’s altar, and to call for fire from heaven with a tongue set on fire of hell.
I. The imprecations here are very terrible–woe, and a thousand woes, to that man against whom God says Amen to them; and they are all in full force against the implacable enemies and persecutors of God’s church and people, that will not repent, to give him glory. It is here foretold concerning this bad man,
1. That he should be cast and sentenced as a criminal, with all the dreadful pomp of a trial, conviction, and condemnation (Psa 109:6; Psa 109:7): Set thou a wicked man over him, to be as cruel and oppressive to him as he has been to others; for God often makes one wicked man a scourge to another, to spoil the spoilers and to deal treacherously with those that have dealt treacherously. Set the wicked one over him (so some), that is, Satan, as it follows; and then it was fulfilled in Judas, into whom Satan entered, to hurry him into sin first and then into despair. Set his own wicked heart over him, set his own conscience against him; let that fly in his face. Let Satan stand on his right hand, and be let loose against him to deceive him, as he did Ahab to his destruction, and then to accuse him and resist him, and then he is certainly cast, having no interest in that advocate who alone can say, The Lord rebuke thee, Satan (Zec 3:1; Zec 3:2); when he shall be judged at men’s bar let not his usual arts to evade justice do him any service, but let his sin find him out and let him be condemned; nor shall he escape before God’s tribunal, but be condemned there when the day of inquisition and recompence shall come. Let his prayer become sin, as the clamours of a condemned malefactor not only find no acceptance, but are looked upon as an affront to the court. The prayers of the wicked now become sin, because soured with the leaven of hypocrisy and malice; and so they will in the great day, because then it will be too late to cry, Lord, Lord, open to us. Let every thing be turned against him and improved to his disadvantage, even his prayers.
2. That, being condemned, he should be executed as a most notorious malefactor. (1.) That he should lose his life, and the number of his months be cut off in the midst, by the sword of justice: Let his days be few, or shortened, as a condemned criminal has but a few days to live (v. 8); such bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. (2.) That consequently all his places should be disposed of to others, and they should enjoy his preferments and employments: Let another take his office. This Peter applies to the filling up of Judas’s place in the truly sacred college of the apostles, by the choice of Matthias, Acts i. 20. Those that mismanage their trusts will justly have their office taken from them and given to those that will approve themselves faithful. (3.) That his family should be beheaded and beggared, that his wife should be made a widow and his children fatherless, by his untimely death, v. 9. Wicked men, by their wicked courses, bring ruin upon their wives and children, whom they ought to take care of and provide for. Yet his children, if, when they lost their father, they had a competency to live upon, might still subsist in comfort; but they shall be vagabonds and shall beg; they shall not have a house of their own to live in, nor any certain dwelling-place, nor know where to have a meal’s-meat, but shall creep out of their desolate places with fear and trembling, like beasts out of their dens, to seek their bread (v. 10), because they are conscious to themselves that all mankind have reason to hate them for their father’s sake. (4.) That his estate should be ruined, as the estates of malefactors are confiscated (v. 11): Let the extortioner, the officer, seize all that he has and let the stranger, who was nothing akin to his estate, spoil his labour, either for his crimes or for his debts, Job 5:4; Job 5:5. (5.) That his posterity should be miserable. Fatherless children, though they have nothing of their own, yet sometimes are well provided for by the kindness of those whom God inclines to pity them; but this wicked man having never shown mercy there shall be none to extend mercy to him, by favouring his fatherless children when he is gone, v. 12. The children of wicked parents often fare the worse for their parents’ wickedness in this way that the bowels of men’s compassion are shut up from them, which yet ought not to be, for why should children suffer for that which was not their fault, but their infelicity? (6.) That his memory should be infamous, and buried in oblivion and disgrace (v. 13): Let his posterity be cut off; let his end be to destruction (so Dr. Hammond); and in the next generation let their name be blotted out, or remembered with contempt and indignation, and (v. 15) let an indelible mark of disgrace be left upon it. See here what hurries some to shameful deaths, and brings the families and estates of others to ruin, makes them and their despicable and odious, and entails poverty, and shame, and misery, upon their posterity; it is sin, that mischievous destructive thing. The learned Dr. Hammond applies this to the final dispersion and desolation of the Jewish nation for their crucifying Christ; their princes and people were cut off, their country was laid waste, and their posterity were made fugitives and vagabonds.
II. The ground of these imprecations bespeaks them very just, though they sound very severe. 1. To justify the imprecations of vengeance upon the sinner’s posterity, the sin of his ancestors is here brought into the account (Psa 109:14; Psa 109:15), the iniquity of his fathers and the sin of his mother. These God often visits even upon the children’s children, and is not unrighteous therein: when wickedness has long run in the blood justly does the curse run along with it. Thus all the innocent blood that had been shed upon the earth, from that of righteous Abel, was required from that persecuting generation, who, by putting Christ to death, filled up the measure of their fathers, and left as long a train of vengeance to follow them as the train of guilt was that went before them, which they themselves agreed to by saying, His blood be upon us and on our children. 2. To justify the imprecations of vengeance upon the sinner himself, his own sin is here charged upon him, which called aloud for it. (1.) He had loved cruelty, and therefore give him blood to drink (v. 16): He remembered not to show mercy, remembered not those considerations which should have induced him to show mercy, remembered not the objects of compassion that had been presented to him, but persecuted the poor, whom he should have protected and relieved, and slew the broken in heart, whom he should have comforted and healed. Here is a barbarous man indeed, not it to live. (2.) He had loved cursing, and therefore let the curse come upon his head, v. 17-19. Those that were out of the reach of his cruelty he let fly at with his curses, which were impotent and ridiculous; but they shall return upon him. He delighted not in blessing; he took no pleasure in wishing well to others, nor in seeing others do well; he would give nobody a good word or a good wish, much less would he do any body a good turn; and so let all good be far from him. He clothed himself with cursing; he was proud of it as an ornament that he could frighten all about him with the curses he was liberal of; he confided in it as armour, which would secure him from the insults of those he feared. And let him have enough of it. Was he fond of cursing? Let God’s curse come into his bowels like water and swell him as with a dropsy, and let it soak like oil into his bones. The word of the curse is quick and powerful, and divides between the joints and the marrow; it works powerfully and effectually; it fastens on the soul; it is a piercing thing, and there is no antidote against it. Let is compass him on every side as a garment, v. 19. Let God’s cursing him be his shame, as his cursing his neighbour was his pride; let it cleave to him as a girdle, and let him never be able to get clear of it. Let it be to him like the waters of jealousy, which caused the belly to swell and the thigh to rot. This points at the utter ruin of Judas, and the spiritual judgments which fell on the Jews for crucifying Christ. The psalmist concludes his imprecations with a terrible Amen, which signifies not only, “I wish it may be so,” but “I know it shall be so.” Let this be the reward of my adversaries from the Lord, v. 20. And this will be the reward of all the adversaries of the Lord Jesus; his enemies that will not have him to reign over them shall be brought forth and slain before him. And he will one day recompense tribulation to those that trouble his people.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
6 Set thou over him a wicked person. (305) Hitherto he poured out his complaint against a vast number of persons; now he seems to direct it against a single individual. Probably he speaks of each of them individually. It is, however, equally probable that he refers in very marked terms to some one in particular among these wicked persons, the most notorious transgressor of any of them. Some conjecture, and not without reason, that Doeg is the person here aimed at, who, by his treason and revolt, sought to bring ruin, not only upon David, but also upon all the holy priests; and we know that this psalm is applied by Peter to Judas, (Act 1:20) But with equal propriety, and certainly not less forcibly, may this complaint be considered as applicable to some most intimate and particular friend of the Psalmist. Respecting the imprecations contained in this psalm, it will be proper to keep in mind what I have said elsewhere, that when David forms such maledictions, or expresses his desires for them, he is not instigated by any immoderate carnal propensity, nor is he actuated by zeal without knowledge, nor is he influenced by any private personal considerations. These three matters must be carefully weighed, for in proportion to the amount of self-esteem which a man possesses, is he so enamoured with his own interests as to rush headlong upon revenge. Hence it comes to pass, that the more a person is devoted to selfishness, he will be the more immoderately addicted to the advancement of his own individual interests. This desire for the promotion of personal interest gives birth to another species of vice. For no one wishes to be avenged upon his enemies because that such a thing would be right and equitable, but because it is the means of gratifying his own spiteful propensity. Some, indeed, make a pretext of righteousness and equity in the matter, but the spirit of malignity, by which they are inflamed, effaces every trace of justice, and blinds their minds.
When these two vices, selfishness and carnality, are corrected, there is still another thing demanding correction, the repressing the ardor of foolish zeal, in order that we may follow the Spirit of God as our guide. Should any one, under the influence of perverse zeal, produce David as an example of it, that would not be an example in point; for to such a person may be very aptly applied the answer which Christ returned to his disciples, “Ye know not what spirit ye are of,” Luk 9:55. How detestable a piece of sacrilege is it on the part of the monks, and especially the Franciscan friars, to pervert this psalm by employing it to countenance the most nefarious purposes! If a man harbour malice against a neighbor, it is quite a common thing for him to engage one of these wicked wretches to curse him, which he would do by daily repeating this psalm. I know a lady in France who hired a parcel of these friars to curse her own and only son in these words.
But I return to David, who, free from all inordinate passion, breathed forth his prayers under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Then, as to the ungodly, who live as the contemners of God, and who are constantly plotting the overthrow of the unsuspecting and the good, casting off all restraint, so that neither modesty nor honesty proves a check to them, surely they are deserving of the punishment of having a wicked person set over them And since, by means of intrigue and perfidy, they are constantly aiming at the extermination of the good, they are most justly punished by God, who raises up against them an adversary that should never depart from their side. Only let believers be on their guard, lest they should betray too much haste in their prayers, and let them rather leave room for the grace of God to manifest itself in their behalf; because it may turn out that the man, who to-day bears towards us a deadly enmity, may by to-morrow through that grace become our friend.
(305) Dr Geddes translates the 6 verse thus: —
“
May he be tried by a wicked judge; And at his right had be placed the accuser.”
On which he has the following note: — “ May he be tried by a wicked judge. He alludes to courts of judicature: and wishes that his enemy may have a severe, nay, wicked judge, — certainly one of the greatest curses that can befall one. — And at his right hand be placed the accuser. Instead of a friend or advocate to stand by him, let his only attendant be an accuser. What imagery this! But the height of the metaphor is in the next verse: —
‘
When he is judged, may he be found guilty: And may his deprecation only aggravate his crime.’”
With this corresponds the interpretation of Phillips. With Hammond, he understands to set over as denoting to set over as a judge or inspector. “This notion of setting over,” he observes, “corresponds with the next member; for there it says, and an enemy shall stand at his right hand, which shows that the wicked man was to be appointed to act as a judge. The man at his right hand denotes an accuser, agreeably to the custom which prevailed in a Jewish court of justice, of placing the accuser at the right hand of the accused, (see Zec 3:1😉 and hence we understand in this verse רשע to be mentioned as acting in the capacity of a judge, and רטן in that of an accuser.” Cresswell gives a similar explanation of the passage. Green, who follows Dr Sykes in thinking that the imprecations from this verse to verse 17 were pronounced not by David upon his enemies, but by David’s enemies upon him, reads the verse thus: — “Set a wicked man over him, say they, to hear his cause, and let a false accuser stand at his right hand.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) Set thou a wicked man over him.This rendering is abundantly confirmed by Lev. 26:16; Num. 4:27; Num. 27:16; Jer. 15:3; Jer. 51:27, against Hitzigs proposed Pronounce against himguilty, which also would only anticipate Psa. 109:7. (Comp., too, the noun office in Psa. 109:8, from the same verb.) The wish expressed is that the persons indicated may fall into the hands of an unscrupulous judge. If, however, we are to think of the divine judgment, then this clause must be taken as exactly parallel to the next: Appoint a wicked man against him. Here the imprecatory part of the psalm begins, and it has been ingeniously argued that the whole of it (Psa. 109:6-20) is a quotation, giving, not the psalmists curse on his foes, but theirs on him. Such quotations, without any introductory words, are common, and the theory is tenable, but improbable.
Satan.By no means here a proper name, though the LXX. and Vulg. have diabolus. The use of the same word in Psa. 109:4; Psa. 109:20; Psa. 109:29 is decisive on giving it the general meaning, adversary (as in margin) here; even though without the article. Satan is used for the tempting angel in 1Ch. 21:1, and in Zec. 3:1 we find the same post, at the right hand, assigned to the accuser. An unscrupulous judge and an adversary as accuser, these are the substance of this imprecation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Set thou a wicked man over him Cause a wicked man to be appointed over him; that is, as a judge, as the next member and Psa 109:7 show. The verb is in Hiphil imperative, grammatically the proper form of prayer. All other verbs in the psalm, which are rendered optatively (“let”) in our English version, (according to the rule that in a connected discourse the first verb in the series fixes the character of those which follow,) are in the future the predictive or declarative tense and should be so translated, as in the following notes. Whatever sense the verbs should take, the translation should conform to the original. The special sense belongs to the province of commentary, not to that of translation.
The Hebrew imperative is used variously to express a command, a prayer or entreaty, a warning, a prophecy, or promise. When used in the first or the third person it takes the form of the future tense of some one of the conjugations, the Hebrew having no other mode, in such cases, of expressing the imperative. This future form is marked by a slight grammatical peculiarity. In each particular instance the connexion and the known facts in the case must determine which of the several senses of which it is susceptible is to be adopted. But in each and every case the imperative discovers itself by the tone of absoluteness, of certainty and authority, which gives assurance that the thing denoted will come to pass according to the moral conditions expressed or implied. The great error of many, in the interpretation of this psalm, is in limiting the so-called imprecatory verbs too rigidly to the sense of request, or wish, as if they proceeded from a vindictive feeling. There is no rule in Hebrew, however, to justify or allow this as a necessary grammatical construction; and the ethics of Holy Scripture, and the facts of David’s history, absolutely forbid it. The verbs in question, therefore, must have a future predictive sense, to be construed as warnings, like beacon fires lighted up along the way of the wicked to deter them from their course; and the imperative tone evinces the sanction of law and the certainty of judgment under the divine moral government. This sense is not infrequent. Indeed, it is common for imperatives in the first and third persons future to drop the precatory and take the declarative sense. Thus, in Isa 23:1, “Howl, ye ships of Tarshish,” etc., the form is imperative, but the sense is that of predictive warning: “Ye shall howl,” etc., that is, unless repentance avert the judgment. So in Num 16:26, “Depart from the tents,” etc.; the verbis in the imperative, but the sense is that of entreative warning, and hence the particle of entreaty, ( ,) is added, “Depart, I pray you,” etc. In Psa 128:5, “Thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem,” the original is imperative, “see thou the good,” etc., but the sense is that of predictive promise, as in the English version. In Psa 22:27, “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn,” etc., the form is Kal (indicative) future, and is a predictive promise, but the verb is imperative. When the imperative form is intended as an optative, expressing a wish, the particle just alluded to is commonly employed, as in Psa 7:9, “Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but,” etc. But though this is the common use of the particle, (to excite and express desire,) it is not once used in Psalm cix, a strong indication that not a wish of vengeance is intended, but, as we have said, a solemn warning predictively uttered. The verbs in question, therefore, should be translated as in the original, in the future tense, carrying the force of the imperative, that is, an authoritative warning under sanction of divine law.
Let Satan stand at his right hand An adversary, or accuser, shall stand, etc. The Hebrew “satan,” here, is without the article, and is an appellative, not a proper name. It is noticeable that it occurs four times in this psalm; once, in its verb form. Psa 109:4; Psa 109:20; Psa 109:29. As a proper name for the chief of the evil spirits, ( , the chief of the devils, Mat 9:34,) it occurs Job 1:6; Zec 3:1-2, et al., whose children David’s enemies might well be called. Joh 8:44. The language of the text is forensic. In the Hebrew courts the judge sat, and the parties stood up. The accuser, or adversary, (plaintiff,) is here placed at the right hand of the accused, the proper place of the advocate. See Psa 109:31. The allusion is more fully carried out in Zec 3:1-2, where the phrase “to resist him” is literally to prosecute him, to accuse him, to be his adversary.
Psa 109:6. Set thou a wicked man over him Set a wicked one over him, and let an adversary stand at his right hand. I choose to translate it, says Mudge, by the general word adversary, because it better suits the idea of a judgment or trial. Instead of an advocate’s standing at his right hand, as he in the last verse of the psalm intimates God would do for him, he wishes an adversary to stand there, to push the affair against him to the utmost, with a wicked unmerciful man to judge him. Mr. Green, following Dr. Sykes, understands it in a different way, as if these were the words and wishes of David’s enemies against him, not of David against his enemies. “Set a wicked man over him, say they, to hear his cause, and let a false accuser, &c.” And indeed there seems great probability in this interpretation; as David in the 21st verse, and so on to the end of the psalm, appeals to God from these imprecations of his enemies, and intreats him to bless, although they curse him. In this view it is remarkably striking, that the curses vainly uttered by David’s enemies against him should reverberate upon their own heads, and be so singularly verified in the type. See Sykes’s Introduction to his Paraphrase on the Hebrews, page 32.
We cannot be at a loss to discover to whom Christ here refers; when Jesus had dipped the sop at the table, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon; and after the sop, Satan entered into him. Here we see the prediction fulfilled; Joh 13:26-27 . The expression of Satan standing at his right hand, is perhaps in conformity to a proverbial method of speaking: meaning as an Adversary to accuse, after having acted as a Tempter to lead into sin. Zec 3:1-2 . Reader! do not fail to observe the awfulness of the great doctrine contained in this passage. Satan is the accuser of all the brethren. And he who entered the heart of Judas, when Christ had given him the sop, would enter every heart, if Jesus did not restrain him. Recollect the remarkable case of Peter. The Lord Jesus told the apostle, that Satan desired to have him, that he might sift him as wheat. And what prevented? The powers of Christ’s intercession: I have prayed for thee, saith Jesus. Precious, precious Lord! Do I not see: am I not fully convinced, that to the everlasting efficacy of thy blood and righteousness, must be ascribed the salvation of thy whole church, in every individual member of it, and that Satan’s power is restrained? Pause, Reader! and behold the decided marks, in those instances, of distinguishing sovereign grace. Behold Peter, kept by the power of our God through faith unto salvation. See Satan entering into Judas the son of perdition! and connect with both, that view which the Holy Ghost hath given the church by his servant John and begin now to sing that song, which ere long will be sung in one loud and universal chorus, of all the redeemed in glory, of the accuser of the brethren being cast down, whom they have overcome by the blood of the Lamb. Luk 22:31-32 ; 1Pe 1:5 ; Joh 17:12 ; Rev 12:9-11 .
Psa 109:6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
Ver. 6. Set thou a wicked man over him ] Whose tender mercies may be cruelties; let the devil be his taskmaster. Thus he prayed against Doeg, or Ahithophel, but certainly Judas, Act 1:20 . And so the primitive Christians prayed against Julian the apostate, and afterwards against Arius the heretic, whose death was precationis opus non morbi, the effect of prayer, rather than of his disease, saith Socrates, lib. i. cap. 15. We are bound to pray daily, “Thy kingdom come,” but must be advised how we pray, as David here doth, against particular persons; his curses here and elsewhere are indefinite, or conditional; either he nameth not the man, or intendeth it if God intend it so; or they are non tam vota quam vaticinia, not so much prayers as prophecies.
And let Satan (or an adversary) stand at his right hand] To withstand him and get the better of him, as Zec 3:1 . Or, to aggravate his fault before an unjust judge.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 109:6-13
6Appoint a wicked man over him,
And let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7When he is judged, let him come forth guilty,
And let his prayer become sin.
8Let his days be few;
Let another take his office.
9Let his children be fatherless
And his wife a widow.
10Let his children wander about and beg;
And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.
11Let the creditor seize all that he has,
And let strangers plunder the product of his labor.
12Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him,
Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children.
13Let his posterity be cut off;
In a following generation let their name be blotted out.
Psa 109:6-20 These two strophes sound so harsh to modern people. The psalmist is simply asking for the covenant curses (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27-30) on faithless Israelites to become a reality to his enemies. He feels he is on YHWH’s side; to attack him is to attack YHWH.
The Jewish Study Bible (p. 1407) says this is the longest cursing section in the Psalter. It is so vivid and graphic that some commentators think it reflects what the enemies were saying against the psalmist (i.e., Jerome Bible commentary, NJB, and NIV footnote). However, this cannot be proven from the MT. The only evidence would be the singular form used in Psa 109:6-19, which is probably a collective singular.
Psa 109:6 an accuser This is the Hebrew term (BDB 966, cf. Psa 109:20; Psa 109:29) that came to be a title for personified evil, Satan. See SPECIAL TOPIC: SATAN .
Psa 109:8 office It is uncertain from the context what this word (BDB 824) means. It can refer to stored provisions, cf. Isa 15:7. The attacker had a place of prominence and power. This phrase (along with Psa 69:25 from the LXX) is used in Act 1:20 as referring to Judas Iscariot. Acts used the word office as relating to an election for Judas’ replacement as an Apostle.
Set Thou = “[saying] Set Thou”, &c. See note above. Note the Parenthesis (App-6), verses: Psa 109:6-15.
And let Satan = And then Satan will.
Satan = an adversary.
PSa 109:6-9
Psa 109:6-9
HIS PRAYER FOR GOD TO REWARD THEM WITH EVIL
“Set thou a wicked man over him;
And let an adversary stand on his right hand.
When he is judged, let him come forth guilty;
And let his prayer be turned into sin.
Let his days be few;
And let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.”
“Set thou a wicked man over him” (Psa 109:6). It is a court scene which appears here. David is praying that his adversary will be brought before a wicked judge who shall declare him guilty.
“Let an adversary stand on his right hand” (Psa 109:6). “This was the customary position of the prosecutor in an ancient trial. The word for “adversary” here is also a title of Satan.
“Let his prayer be turned into sin … his children fatherless … his wife a widow” (Psa 109:7-9). These are truly horrible imprecations. In fact the list of “curses” as they are called in this long passage is the most extreme and violent to be found anywhere in the Bible. “Calvin tells us that medieval monks hired themselves out to recite this passage against private enemies.
“Let his days be few … his office let another take” (Psa 109:8). This passage, along with Psa 69:25, is quoted by the apostle Peter, stating that it was written through David (Act 1:16) by the Holy Spirit “concerning Judas Iscariot.” For this reason, “The early Fathers of Christianity called this psalm, `Psalmus Iscarioticus.’
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 109:6. Satan is spelled with a capital but the lexicon does not Justify it. We are sure that David would not wish even the wickedest of men to be presided over by the archenemy of souls. Strong’s definition of the original word is, “an opponent.” The Psalmist meant that some human adversary should be on hands to oppose those who had rewarded evil for good.
Psa 109:7. This verse means to wish for the conviction of the enemy whenever he was brought to trial. Let his prayer become sin has a clear explanation in Pro 28:9, which I request the reader to see. David meant that the prayer of such people as he had been describing should be regarded as an abomination.
Psa 109:8. We should not be confused by the similarity of language in different passages. This verse sounds somewhat like that which Peter cited in Act 1:20, but that case is the one in Psa 69:25. The present verse merely means to condemn a character such as the writer has been describing. Such a person is not worthy to retain his office, which means any charge or responsibility he may have been exercising.
Psa 109:9. The gist of this short verse is to wish for the death of the man.
Set thou: Dr. Sykes, Michaelis, and others, contend that these imprecations are those of David’s enemies against himself; and they would render, “Set, say they, a wicked,” etc, but this is rendered highly improbable by the Psa 109:8, being applied by St. Peter to the traitor Judas, of whom David was certainly not a type. – See Psa 109:20. Bp. Horsley and others, however, render the verbs in the future tense, the first verb alone being in the imperative; justly considering the Psalmist as merely uttering prophetic denunciations of God’s displeasure against sinners. Mat 27:4
and let: Zec 3:1, Joh 13:2, Joh 13:27
Satan: or, an adversary, Mat 5:25
Reciprocal: Lev 26:16 – appoint 1Ki 2:33 – return upon Psa 5:10 – let Psa 40:15 – desolate Psa 41:10 – that Psa 55:15 – Let death Jer 20:12 – let me Mat 4:10 – Satan Mat 26:24 – but Mar 14:21 – but Luk 22:22 – but Joh 6:71 – for Joh 17:12 – that 1Co 5:5 – deliver 1Pe 5:8 – your Rev 12:9 – and Satan
Psa 109:6-7. Set thou a wicked man over him Either over all his enemies, speaking of them collectively, or over some one particular enemy, who was worse than any of the rest, more implacable and inexcusable, whom he did not think proper to name. Set a wicked man over him to be as cruel and oppressive to him as he hath been to others; for God often makes one wicked man a scourge to another. Hebrew, , the wicked, or the wicked one; namely, Satan, who is mentioned in the next clause. Let him be, or he shall be, delivered into the power of Satan, to be influenced and ruled by him at his pleasure. Let Satan stand Hebrew, , and Satan, or the adversary, as the word means, shall stand at his right hand To molest and vex him, and hinder him in all his affairs; or rather to accuse him, for this was the place and posture of accusers in the Jewish courts. When he shall be judged When he shall be called to an account, and his cause be examined before thy tribunal; let his prayer become sin That is, be turned into sin, or be as unavailable with thee for his relief as his sins. When he makes supplication to his judge, as Job speaks, Job 9:16, for pity and pardon, let his judge be the more provoked and enraged by it. If David spoke thus in reference to Doeg or Ahithophel, (see the contents,) it was only as they were types of Judas: at least the Holy Ghost intended it of Judas, and the persecutors of our Lord, as we learn Act 1:20, of whom this whole paragraph, to the end of Psa 109:19, is a prophecy. Thus Dr. Horne on Psa 109:6 : A transition is here made to the adversaries of Messiah; primarily to Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus, Act 1:16; secondarily to the synagogue, of whom Judas may be considered as an epitome and representative. It is foretold, that by betraying and murdering the best of masters, they should subject themselves to the tyranny of the worst; that they should become slaves to the wicked one, who should justly be set over them, when they had delivered themselves into his hands; that Satan, who had stood by them to tempt them, should stand at their right hand, to accuse them at the tribunal of God; that, when tried, they would be convicted and condemned, and even their prayer would be an abomination in the sight of the Lord, as being offered without true contrition and repentance, without faith, hope, or charity. Such is the wretched state of the Jews, estranged from God, and in bondage to the devil; such the prayers which, from hardened and malignant hearts, they continually utter for the excision of all Christians, and for the extirpation of that blessed name on which Christians call.
109:6 {c} Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
(c) Whether it was Doeg or Saul, or some familiar friend that had betrayed him, he prays not for private affection, but moved by God’s Spirit, that God would take vengeance on him.
2. Imprecations on foes 109:6-20
The psalmist prayed that God would do several specific things to avenge him. He asked God to return what his enemy was doing to him back on himself. He wanted a wicked man to oppose and accuse him. He wanted God to judge his enemy guilty and put him to death. He also asked that God punish his wife and children for his wickedness. In the future he hoped no one would remember him and that he would have no descendants. Having one’s family name terminated was considered to be a great tragedy in the ancient Near East. [Note: See Childs, p. 71.]
It seems inappropriate for David to ask God to punish children for the sins of their fathers, since God specifically forbade this in the Mosaic Law (cf. Deu 26:12-14). Perhaps David prayed contrary to God’s will, allowing his hatred to get the better of him. Even though the Bible records many things that it does not condone, there is nothing in this text that would suggest that David was not praying in the will of God. Another explanation is that he was praying in hyperbole. In other words, he did not really mean what he was saying but used extreme language to communicate his strong feelings. However, he did not just make one statement about his enemy’s wife and children but developed this desire in considerable detail. This seems to indicate that he meant what he said. I think the best explanation is that David’s concern in these requests was his enemy rather than his enemy’s wife and children. He said what he did as a punishment on his enemy, not because his hatred of his enemy extended to his wife and children. David seems to have been anticipating various consequences that his enemy would experience because of God’s judgment. [Note: See my comments on the strong language in the imprecatory psalms at the beginning of these notes.]
"One might think the punishment should be confined to the individual and that his family should not have to suffer for his crimes. However, in ancient Semitic thought a man and his offspring were inseparably bound together so that the actions of the former could influence the destiny of the latter. Of course, one sees this principle at work in the world every day and, not surprisingly, it permeates the Bible as well." [Note: Chisholm, "A Theology . . .," p. 280, n. 35.]
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)