Bible Strands
Psalms 38:20
Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks to God amid a crisis of unjust persecution, immediately following a declaration that his adversaries hate him without cause. He describes his current posture of actively pursuing righteousness while facing coordinated opposition.
The words — The Hebrew מְשַׁלְּמֵי (me.sha.le.Mei) translates literally as "those who repay," establishing the verse's core contrast with רָעָה (Ra.'ah) "evil" and טוֹבָה (to.Vah) "good." The verb יִשְׂטְנוּ (yis.te.Nu) means "they accuse" or "they oppose," specifying that the retaliation takes the form of legal or social condemnation.
The thread — The psalm explicitly mirrors the complaint in Psalms 35:12 and Jeremiah 18:20, where the faithful are met with malice for their righteous actions. The New Testament references this dynamic in 1 John 3:12 by contrasting the psalmist's pursuit of good with the lethal envy that opposes it.
Why it lands — The text asserts plainly that pursuing good provokes accusation from those who operate in malice. It requires the reader to acknowledge this pattern without seeking human validation, directing the burden of justice to God in the immediate context.
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
They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
Cross-references
- Psalms 35:12 They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.
- 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.
- 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.
- John 10:32 But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
- 1 Peter 4:14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
- 1 Samuel 25:21 Now David had just said, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good.
- Psalms 109:3 They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
- 1 Samuel 19:4 Then Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David; he has not sinned against you. In fact, his actions have been highly beneficial to you.
- 1 Samuel 23:5 Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, and carried off their livestock, striking them with a mighty blow. So David saved the people of Keilah.
- 1 Samuel 23:12 So David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” “They will,” said the LORD.