Psalms 109:19
in Psalms 109May it be like a robe wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let it be unto him as the raiment wherewith he covereth himself, And for the girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
KJV
Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
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This verse in Psalms 109
Commentary
10 notes on this verseLet it be unto him as the garment which covereth him,.... Let him be surrounded on all sides with the wrath of God; and let it be visible to all, as a man's garment on him is: see Isa 66:
This site's exposition
The cursing that he loved
on Psalms 109:17-19
He asks that the cursing this man loved fall on him, and that the blessing he refused stay far off. The cursing was worn like a coat, and the request is that it soak into him like water and reach his bones like oil. It wraps him like a robe.
This site's exposition
like a belt tied forever around him
A belt was worn every day, tied close to the body. Isaiah 11:5 gives the Messiah a belt of righteousness and faithfulness, the reverse picture. The curse stays with him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"This is the work of them that slander me before the Lord" [Psalm 109:19]. He said not, "their reward," but, "their work:" for it is clear that by the clothing, covering, water, oil, and girdle, he was describing the very works by which eternal curses are procured. It is not then one Judas, but many, of whom it is said, "This is the work of them that slander me before the Lord." Although indeed the plural number might have been put for the singular; even as, when Herod died, it was said by the Angel, "They are dead which sought the young Child's life." But who slander Christ more before the Lord, than they who slander the very words of the Lord, by declaring that it is not He whom the Law of the Lord and His Prophets announced beforehand? "And of those that speak evil against my soul:" by denying that He, when He had willed, could have arisen: though He saith, "I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And let him have enough of it. 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.
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,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him - He has chosen to put it on, to wear it, to appear in it; so let him constantly feel its consequences. As he is always obliged to wear clothing, so let this be as constantly with him and upon him as his mantle and his sash. And for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually - The belt or girdle which he constantly wears. See the notes at Mat 5:38.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Let his loved sin, cursing, come upon him in punishment (Ps 35:8), thoroughly fill him as water and oil, permeating to every part of his system (compare Nu 5:22-27), and become a garment and a girdle for a perpetual dress.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
He was so openly in the habit of wishing ill to others that he seemed to wear robes of cursing, therefore let it be as his raiment girded and belted about him, yea, let it enter as water into his bowels, and search the very marrow of his bones like a penetrating oil. It is but common justice that he should receive a return for his malice, and receive it in kind, too.
And for a girdle - Let the curse cleave to him throughout life: as the girdle binds all the clothes to the body, let the curse of God bind all mischiefs and maladies to his body and soul. The Hindoos, Budhists, and others often wear a gold or silver chain about their waist. One of those chains, once the ornament of a Moudeliar in the island of Ceylon, lies now before me: it is silver, and curiously wrought.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תְּהִי־ | tehi- | may it be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֭וֹ | lo | for him | ||
| כְּבֶ֣גֶד | keveged | like a garment | H899 → | 217 times |
| יַעְטֶ֑ה | ya'teh | [which] he wraps himself | H5844 → | 17 times |
| וּ֝לְמֵ֗זַח | ulemezach | and to a waistband | H4206 → | |
| תָּמִ֥יד | tamid | [which] continually | H8548 → | 104 times |
| יַחְגְּרֶֽהָ׃ | yachgereha | he girds on it | H2296 → | 44 times |
תְּהִי־may it be
tehi-H1961 →3559 times
ל֭וֹfor him
lo
כְּבֶ֣גֶדlike a garment
kevegedH899 →217 times
יַעְטֶ֑ה[which] he wraps himself
ya'tehH5844 →17 times
וּ֝לְמֵ֗זַחand to a waistband
ulemezachH4206 →
תָּמִ֥יד[which] continually
tamidH8548 →104 times
יַחְגְּרֶֽהָ׃he girds on it
yachgerehaH2296 →44 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
Psalms 132:18I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown upon him will gleam.”
it leads to
- Job 8:22
Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 35:26
May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 1:32–33
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Psalms 21:8–9
Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
- Psalms 109:29
May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
- Job 8:22
Through
Psalms 109:29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
it leads to
- Psalms 132:18
I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown upon him will gleam.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 132:18
Through
Psalms 109:18The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.
it leads to
- Psalms 73:6
Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them.
- Psalms 73:6
Through
Psalms 35:26May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.
it leads to
- Psalms 38:16
For I said, “Let them not gloat over me— those who taunt me when my foot slips.”
- Psalms 38:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
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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 on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 109; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.