Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction and repay me with good for the cursing I receive today.”
Parallel translations
- WEB It may be that Yahweh will look on the wrong done to me, and that Yahweh will repay me good for the cursing of me today.”
- KJV It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.
- NKJV It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing this day.”
- NASB Perhaps the Lord will look on my misery and return good to me instead of his cursing this day.”
- NLT And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David hopes the Lord will see his affliction and repay him with good for the cursing. He looks to God for future vindication rather than present revenge.
Overview
David expresses faith that God will note his wrongful suffering and bless him in return. Rather than avenging himself, he commits his cause to the Lord's justice. This hope that God repays good for evil endured reflects the gospel pattern, where the path of suffering leads through humiliation to exaltation (Philippians 2:8-9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Heb 12:10Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
- Deut 23:5Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
- Matt 5:11–12Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
- Rom 8:28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Exod 2:24–25So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- Ps 25:18Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins.
- Gen 29:32–33And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- 2 Th 1:7and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- 1 Sam 1:11And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come over his head.”
- 2 Cor 4:17For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
- Exod 3:7–8The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- Isa 27:7Has the LORD struck Israel as He struck her oppressors? Was she killed like those who slayed her?
- 1 Pet 4:12–19Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 16:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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