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Declare them guilty, O God; let them fall by their own devices. Drive them out for their many transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.
Psalms 5:10 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Hold them guilty, God. Let them fall by their own counsels; Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you.
  • KJV Destroy 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.
  • NKJV Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You.
  • NASB Make them pay, God; Have them fall by their own schemes! Scatter them in the multitude of their wrongdoings, For they are rebellious against You.
  • NLT O God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps. Drive them away because of their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

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 hold the wicked guilty and let their own schemes bring them down, since they have rebelled against God. Their offense is ultimately against the Lord Himself.

Overview

This imprecatory plea asks God to judge the wicked justly, letting their own counsels destroy them. Such prayers commit vengeance to God rather than taking it personally, trusting Him as the righteous Judge. They express zeal that God's name be vindicated and look ahead to the day when all rebellion against the Lord is finally judged.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • Isa 63:10But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
  • 2 Sam 17:14Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
  • Ps 140:9–10May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.
  • 1 Cor 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
  • Ps 31:18May lying lips be silenced—lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt.
  • 2 Sam 17:23When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
  • 2 Sam 15:31Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
  • Ps 71:13May the accusers of my soul be ashamed and consumed; may those who seek my harm be covered with scorn and disgrace.
  • Ps 109:6–20Set over him a wicked man; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
  • Ps 35:26May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.
  • Rom 3:19–20Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
  • Ps 144:6–7Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them; shoot Your arrows and rout them.
  • Ps 59:12–13By the sins of their mouths and the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride, in the curses and lies they utter.
  • Ps 35:1–8Of David. Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
  • Ps 55:15Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.
  • Ps 68:1–2For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song. God arises. His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee His presence.
  • Hos 9:7The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility.
  • Lam 1:5Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. For the LORD has brought her grief because of her many transgressions. Her children have gone away as captives before the enemy.
  • 2 Chr 25:16While he was still speaking, the king asked, “Have we made you the counselor to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”
  • Ps 9:15–16The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
  • Job 5:12–14He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
  • Ps 10:15Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found.
  • Deut 2:30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day.
  • Ps 79:12Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.
  • Esth 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.
  • Ps 64:6–8They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.
  • Ps 137:7–9Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”
  • 1 Sam 25:29And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.
  • Ps 107:11because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
  • Ps 66:7He rules forever by His power; His eyes watch the nations. Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
  • Isa 1:20But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
  • Ps 7:9–15Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.
  • Ps 69:22–25May their table become a snare; may it be a retribution and a trap.
  • 1 Sam 25:39On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking for her in marriage.
  • Isa 1:2Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
  • Dan 9:5we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances.
  • Ps 21:8–10Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
  • Ps 83:9–18Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
  • Ps 28:3–4Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
  • Ps 17:13Arise, O LORD, confront them! Bring them to their knees; deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 5:10YouTube · 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 5:10 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.