Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
Parallel translations
- WEB They who also render evil for good are adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
- KJV They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
- NKJV Those also who render evil for good, They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.
- NASB And those who repay evil for good, They become my enemies, because I follow what is good.
- NLT They repay me evil for good and oppose me for pursuing good.
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
His adversaries return evil for good and oppose him precisely because he pursues righteousness. Goodness itself provokes their enmity.
Overview
David's pursuit of what is right earns him hatred rather than gratitude. This is the perennial conflict between the godly and the wicked. The righteous Christ supremely repaid the world's evil with good and was hated for it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 35:12They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.
- 1 Jn 3:12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Jer 18:20Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
- 1 Pet 4:14–16If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
- John 10:32But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
- Ps 109:3–5They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
- 1 Sam 25:21Now David had just finished saying, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good.
- Ps 7:4if I have rewarded my ally with evil, if I have plundered my foe without cause,
- 1 Pet 3:17–18For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
- 1 Sam 19:4–6Then Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David; he has not sinned against you. In fact, his actions have been highly beneficial to you.
- 1 Sam 23:12So David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” “They will,” said the LORD.
- Matt 5:10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- 1 Pet 3:13Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
- 1 Sam 23:5Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, and carried off their livestock, striking them with a mighty blow. So David saved the people of Keilah.
- 1 Sam 25:16They were a wall around us, both day and night, the whole time we were herding our sheep near them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 38:20 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.