Bible Strands
Psalms 109:5
They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God, describing a moment of sudden betrayal where former allies have turned against him while he remains committed to prayer.
The words — The Hebrew תַּחַת (Ta.chat) appears twice, literally meaning "in place of," structuring the psalmist’s complaint around substitutionary exchange. The verb וַ/יָּ֘שִׂ֤ימוּ (va/i.Ya.Si.mu) means "they have put," emphasizing the deliberate action of the adversaries.
The thread — This pattern of reciprocal malice appears in Psalms 38:20 and Proverbs 17:13, where returning evil for good is treated as a severe breach of covenant relationship.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that unjust retaliation is a factual reality rather than a moral equation, requiring the reader to acknowledge betrayal without rationalizing it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
Cross-references
- Psalms 38:20 Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
- Proverbs 17:13 If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
- Genesis 44:4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph told his steward, “Pursue the men at once, and when you overtake them, ask, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?
- 2 Samuel 15:31 Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
- Psalms 35:7 For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
- Psalms 55:12 For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide.
- 2 Samuel 15:12 While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept increasing.
- Mark 14:44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him and lead Him away securely.”
- Luke 6:16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
- Luke 22:47 While He was still speaking, a crowd arrived, led by the man called Judas, one of the Twelve. He approached Jesus to kiss Him.