Psalms 38:20 BSB — MannaFest

Psalms 38:20

Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

They also that render evil for good Are adversaries unto me, because I follow the thing that is good.

KJV

They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

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Commentary

2 voices

Ambrose of Milan

Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms (397)

(Verses 19, 20.) My enemies, he says, are alive and they have become strong against me; and they have multiplied, those who hate me unjustly. They repay evil for good, they spoke ill of me; because I pursued justice. But how much more illustrious was he, who died daily, so that he might give life to his people: and he offered his body to the wounds of death; as he himself says: In deaths often (2 Corinthians 11:23)!

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The Treasury of David, Vol. 2 (1870)

They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries. Such would a wise man wish his enemies to be. Why should we seek to be beloved of such graceless souls? It is a fine plea against our enemies when we can without injustice declare them to be like the devil, whose nature it is to render evil for good. Because I follow the thing that good is. If men hate us for this reason we may rejoice to bear it: their wrath is the unconscious homage which vice renders to virtue.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

8 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וּמְשַׁלְּמֵ֣י	u.me.sha.le.Mei	and [those who] repay	H7999 →
רָ֭עָה	Ra.'ah	<of> evil	H7451 →
תַּ֣חַת	Ta.chat	in place of	H8478 →
טוֹבָ֑ה	to.Vah	good	H2896 →
יִ֝שְׂטְנ֗וּנִי	yis.te.Nu.ni	they accuse me	H7853 →
תַּ֣חַת	Ta.chat	in place of	H8478 →
רָֽדְפִי	ra.de.fi	pursuing my	H7291 →
טֽוֹב׃	Tov	good	H2896 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
1 John 3:12
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
leads to
- Hebrews 11:4
  By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he…
- Genesis 4:4–15
  while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
- Proverbs 29:27
  An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.
- Jude 1:11
  Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Genesis 4:25
  And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
Through
Jeremiah 18:20
Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
leads to
- Psalms 35:12
  They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Psalms 35:12
They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.
leads to
- John 10:32
  But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
- Jeremiah 18:20
  Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.

About Psalms

Saul attempts to kill David (the harpist of Israel) — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Psalms: the study guide →Read chapter 38 →The featured study →

Continue: Psalms 38 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Psalms

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Psalms