Psalms 69:28
in Psalms 69May they be blotted out of the Book of Life and not listed with the righteous.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let them be blotted out of the book of life, And not be written with the righteous.
KJV
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
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This verse in Psalms 69
Commentary
10 notes on this verseLet them be blotted out of the book of life,.... Which some understand of this animal life, or of the catalogue of living saints; of their being not written among the living in Jerusalem, or in the writing of the house of Israel, Isa 4:3. The Targum is, "let them he blotted out of the book of the memory of the living.'' Let their names rot and perish, being buried in everlasting oblivion.
This site's exposition
they persecute the one You struck
on Psalms 69:26-28
They hunt a man God had already struck. Verse 27 asks that iniquity be added to their iniquity and that they get no share in God's righteousness. Verse 28 asks that they be erased from the Book of Life and left off the list of the righteous.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let us see if we cannot conclude in the same way that all the sacred books are one book, but that those outside are the "many books" of the preacher. The proof of this must be drawn from Holy Scripture...
"Lay iniquity upon their iniquity" [Psalm 69:28]. What is this? Who would not be afraid? To God is said, "Lay iniquity upon their iniquity." Whence shall God lay iniquity? For has He iniquity to lay? For we know that to be true which has been spoken through Paul the Apostle, "What then shall we say? Is there anywise iniquity with God? Far be it." [Romans 9:14] Whence then, "Lay iniquity upon iniquity"? How must we understand this? May the Lord be with us, that we may speak, and because of your weariness may be able to speak briefly. Their iniquity was that they killed a just Man: there was added another, that they crucified the Son of God. Their raging was as though against a man: but "if they had known, the Lord of Glory they had never crucified." [1 Corinthians 2:8] They with their own iniquity willed to kill as it were a man: there was laid iniquity upon their own iniquity, so that the Son of God they should crucify. Who laid this iniquity upon them? He that said, "Perchance they will reverence My Son," [Matthew 21:37] Him I will send. For they were wont to kill servants sent to them, to demand rent and profit. He sent the Son Himself, in order that Him also they might kill. He laid iniquity upon their own iniquity. And these things did God do in wrath, or rather in just requital? For, "May it be done to them," He says, "for a requital and for a stumbling-block." They had deserved to be so blinded as not to know the Son of God. And this God did, laying iniquity upon their iniquity; not in wounding, but in not making whole. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Let them not be written with the righteous; that is, let them not have a place in the congregation of the saints when they shall all be gathered in the general assembly of those whose names are written in heaven," Ps. i. What the sin is for which these dreadful judgments should be brought upon them (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Concludes with praise and thanksgiving, ver. 30-36. In all this David was a type of Christ, and several passages of this psalm are applied to him in the New Testament. So that, like the 22nd psalm, it begins with the humiliation, and ends with the exaltation of Christ.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living. Though in their conceit they wrote themselves among the people of God, and induced others to regard them under that character, they shall be unmasked and their names removed from the register. Enrolled with honour, they shall be erased with shame. Death shall obliterate all recollection of them; they shall be held no longer in esteem, even by those who paid them homage.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living. Though in their conceit they wrote themselves among the people of God, and induced others to regard them under that character, they shall be unmasked and their names removed from the register. Enrolled with honour, they shall be erased with shame. Death shall obliterate all recollection of them; they shall be held no longer in esteem, even by those who paid them homage. Judas first, and Pilate, and Herod, and Caiaphas, all in due time, were speedily wiped out of existence; their names only remain as bywords, but among the honoured men who live after their departure they are not recorded. And not be written with the righteous. This clause is parallel with the former, and shows that the inner meaning of being blotted out from the book of life is to have it made evident that the name was never written there at all. Man in his imperfect copy of God's book of life will have to make many emendations, both of insertion and erasure; but, as before the Lord, the record is for ever fixed and unalterable. Beware, O man, of despising Christ and his people, lest thy soul should never partake in the righteousness of God, without which men are condemned already. Imprecations, prophecies, and complaints are ended, and prayer of a milder sort begins, intermingled with bursts of thankful song, and encouraging foresight of coming good.
Let them be blotted out - They shall be blotted out from the land of the living. They shall be cut off from life, which they have forfeited by their cruelty and oppression. The psalmist is speaking of retributive justice; and in this sense all these passages are to be understood. And not be written with the righteous - They shall have no title to that long life which God has promised to his followers.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living - That is, Let them cease to live; let them not be numbered among living people; let them be cut off. This language is taken from the custom of registering the names of persons in a list, roll, or catalogue, Exo 32:32. See the notes at Php 4:3. Compare Rev 3:5. The language has no reference to the future world; it is “not” a prayer that they should not be saved. And not be written with the righteous - Let them not be registered or numbered with the righteous. As they “are” wicked, so let them be numbered; so regarded. Let them be reckoned and treated as they are. They deserve to be punished; so let them be. All that this “necessarily” means is, that they should not be treated as righteous, when they were in fact “not” righteous. It cannot be shown that the author of the psalm would not have desired that they should “become” righteous, and that they should “then” be regarded and treated as such. All that the language here implies is, a desire that they should be regarded and treated as they were; that is, as they deserved. The language is evidently derived from the idea so common in the Old Testament that length of days would be the reward of a righteous life (see Job 5:26; Pro 3:2; Pro 9:11; Pro 10:27), and that the wicked would be cut off in the midst of their days. See the notes at Psa 55:23.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִ֭מָּחֽוּ | yimachu | may they be wiped out | H4229 → | 36 times |
| מִסֵּ֣פֶר | misefer | from [the] scroll of | H5612 → | 186 times |
| חַיִּ֑ים | chaiyim | life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| וְעִ֥ם | veim | and with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| צַ֝דִּיקִ֗ים | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| יִכָּתֵֽבוּ׃ | yikatevu | they be written down | H3789 → | 224 times |
יִ֭מָּחֽוּmay they be wiped out
yimachuH4229 →36 times
מִסֵּ֣פֶרfrom [the] scroll of
miseferH5612 →186 times
חַיִּ֑יםlife
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
וְעִ֥םand with
veimH5973 →1050 times
צַ֝דִּיקִ֗יםrighteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →206 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
יִכָּתֵֽבוּ׃they be written down
yikatevuH3789 →224 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 13:8And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:19–20
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
- Ephesians 1:4
For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
- Revelation 3:5
Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 25:34
Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
- Revelation 17:8
The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose…
- 1 Peter 1:19–20
Through
Luke 10:20Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
it leads to
- Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 20:15
And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Matthew 7:22–23
Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
- Revelation 21:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this chapter
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 69; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 5:7.