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In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer.
Psalms 109:4 · New King James Version
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.
  • BSB In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
  • ESV In return for my love they accuse me, 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!

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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 38:20They who also render evil for good are adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
  • Ps 69:12–13Those who sit in the gate talk about me. I am the song of the drunkards.
  • Luke 23:34Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots.
  • Ps 35:7For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.
  • Ps 55:16–17As for me, I will call on God. Yahweh will save me.
  • Luke 6:11–12But they were filled with rage, and talked with one another about what they might do to Jesus.
  • Ps 35:12They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.
  • John 10:32Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
  • 2 Cor 12:15I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved the less?
  • Dan 6:10When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before.
  • 2 Sam 15:31–32Someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” David said, “Yahweh, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”
  • 2 Sam 13:39King David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, since he was dead.

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.