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In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
Psalms 109:4 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer.
  • KJV For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
  • ESV In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
  • NKJV In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer.
  • NASB In return for my love they act as my accusers; But I am in prayer.
  • NLT I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations even as I am praying for them!

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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

In return for David's love, his enemies accuse him, but he gives himself to prayer.

Overview

Though David has shown love, his enemies repay him with hostility and accusation, yet his response is to pray. He answers slander not with retaliation but by turning to God. This is a striking foreshadowing of Christ, who loved his enemies and prayed for those who crucified him, embodying the very heart of the gospel.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • Ps 38:20Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
  • Ps 69:12–13Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of drunkards.
  • Luke 23:34Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots.
  • Ps 35:7For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
  • Ps 55:16–17But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.
  • Luke 6:11–12But the scribes and Pharisees were filled with rage and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
  • Ps 35:12They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.
  • John 10:32But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
  • 2 Cor 12:15And for the sake of your souls, I will most gladly spend my money and myself. If I love you more, will you love me less?
  • Dan 6:10Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
  • 2 Sam 15:31–32Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
  • 2 Sam 13:39And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he had been consoled over Amnon’s death.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 109:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 109:4 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.