Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
Parallel translations
- WEB Give 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.
- BSB Repay them according to their deeds and for their works of evil. Repay them for what their hands have done; bring back on them what they deserve.
- NKJV Give them according to their deeds, And according to the wickedness of their endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve.
- NASB Give back to them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices; Give back to them according to the work of their hands; Repay them what is due them.
- NLT Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness. Pay them back for all their evil deeds! Give them a taste of what they have done to others.
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 asks God to repay the wicked according to their evil deeds. It is an appeal for divine justice, not personal vengeance.
Overview
This imprecation entrusts judgment to God rather than David's own hand, asking that evildoers receive what their works deserve. Such prayers express zeal for God's righteousness and confidence that He judges justly. They are tempered in light of Christ, who teaches love of enemies while still upholding final divine justice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 2 Tim 4:14Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
- Rev 22:12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
- Rev 18:6Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
- Ps 109:17–21As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
- Ps 59:12–13For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.
- Ezra 9:13And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;
- Ps 103:10He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
- Rom 11:22Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
- Ps 5:10Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
- Ps 2:1–5Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
- Ps 69:22–24Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
- Ezek 38:10Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
- Ps 62:12Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.
- Jer 18:21–23Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.
- Ps 103:3–4Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
- Ps 21:10Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
- Rom 2:6–8Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
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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 28:4 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.