May they be blotted out of the Book of Life and not listed with the righteous.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous.
- KJV Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
- NKJV Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous.
- NASB May they be wiped out of the book of life, And may they not be recorded with the righteous.
- NLT Erase their names from the Book of Life; don’t let them be counted among the righteous.
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 prays that his enemies be blotted out of the book of life and not counted among the righteous. It appeals to God's final judgment between the wicked and the just.
Overview
David asks that the persecutors be removed from the register of the living and not enrolled with the righteous. The book of life imagery reappears in Revelation, where those written in it belong to the Lamb. While the language is severe, it underscores the eternal seriousness of opposing God, and points to Christ, in whom alone one's name is securely written in the book of life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Exod 32:32–33Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”
- Luke 10:20Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
- Phil 4:3Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
- Ezek 13:9My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of My people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.
- Rev 13:8And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.
- Rev 20:12–15And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.
- Heb 12:23in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
- Rev 22:19And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.
- Rev 3:5Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.
- Isa 65:16Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My sight.
- Hos 1:9And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God.
- Isa 4:3Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy—all in Jerusalem who are recorded among the living—
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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 69:28 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
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