Pay them back, Lord, for all the evil they have done.
Parallel translations
- WEB You will render to them a recompense, Yahweh, according to the work of their hands.
- KJV Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
- BSB You will pay them back what they deserve, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
- NKJV Repay them, O Lord, According to the work of their hands.
- NASB You will repay them, Lord, In accordance with the work of their hands.
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
He prays that the Lord will repay his enemies according to their deeds.
Overview
The poet calls on God to render just recompense for the evil his enemies have done. This is an imprecatory plea, committing judgment to God rather than seizing it himself. Such prayers long for God's righteous justice, which the gospel both upholds and tempers with the call to love enemies and leave vengeance to God (Rom. 12:19; Rev. 19:2).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 28:4Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve.
- Jer 11:20But, Yahweh of Armies, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, I shall see your vengeance on them; for to you I have revealed my cause.
- 2 Tim 4:14Alexander, the coppersmith, did much evil to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds,
- Rev 6:10They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
- Rev 18:6Return to her just as she returned, and repay her double as she did, and according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her double.
- Jer 50:29“Call together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp against her all around. Let none of it escape. Recompense her according to her work. According to all that she has done, do to her; for she has been proud against Yahweh, against the Holy One of Israel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The weeping over a ruined city and the steadfast mercies that are new every morning point to the man of sorrows who wept over Jerusalem and whose mercy rises new from the grave.
How Lamentations 3:64 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.