Bible Strands
Psalms 79:12
Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the Lord directly, pleading for divine retribution against the nations that destroyed Jerusalem and defiled the temple. The request follows a recounting of national disaster and precedes a vow of perpetual thanksgiving.
The words — The Hebrew verb וְהָשֵׁב (ve.HaShev) literally means "and repay" or "and return," paired with שִׁבְעָתַיִם (Shiv'a.ta.yim), meaning "sevenfold." These terms frame the plea as a demand for measured, complete restitution rather than arbitrary vengeance.
The thread — The motif of sevenfold repayment appears in Genesis 4:15 regarding Cain’s protection, Leviticus 26:21 concerning multiplied plagues for disobedience, and Jeremiah 32:18 where God lays ancestral iniquity into the laps of descendants. Each instance ties the number seven to divine completeness or intensified judgment.
Why it lands — The verse demands that the reader acknowledge God’s exclusive right to judge and repay insults directed at His name. It requires a posture of surrender, asking for justice to be executed according to divine timing rather than human retaliation.
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 render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
Cross-references
- Genesis 4:15 “Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.
- Jeremiah 32:18 You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts,
- Leviticus 26:21 If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins.
- Leviticus 26:28 then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins.
- Psalms 74:18 Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
- Proverbs 6:31 Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.
- Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
- Psalms 44:16 at the voice of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy, bent on revenge.
- Isaiah 65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
- Psalms 74:10 How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?