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Psalm 109:4-6
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 109:4-6
New Catholic Bible
4 In return for my love they denounce me
even as I offer up prayers for them.[a]
5 They give me back evil in exchange for good
and hatred in place of my love.[b]
6 [c]They say:[d]
“Choose a wicked man to oppose him,
an accuser to stand on his right.
Footnotes
- Psalm 109:4 I offer up prayers for them: the psalmist is not a man of evil and slander; he even prays for his foes, as in Ps 35:13f.
- Psalm 109:5 The psalmist has done nothing but good to his enemies whereas they have repaid him with evil in exchange for goodness and hatred in exchange for friendliness. The psalmist puts this fact before the Lord. Will God the Judge overlook such wicked behavior? This verse recalls Pss 35:12, 22; 38:20-21; 69:5; Jer 18:20.
- Psalm 109:6 Pitiless are the words of those who curse the innocent psalmist; he has taken them to heart and remembered every one. See note on Ps 5:11 concerning redress for wrongs.
- Psalm 109:6 They say: these words are lacking in the Hebrew, but they are called for by the context. Wicked man: or “the evil one.” Accuser: i.e., a “satan” (see Job 1:6), a name later given to the devil (see 1 Chr 21:1). He stood as an advocate (Ps 109:31) at the right of the accused (see Zec 3:1).
