Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB Pay back to our neighbors seven times into their bosom their reproach with which they have reproached you, Lord.
- KJV And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
- NKJV And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
- NASB And return to our neighbors seven times as much into their lap Their taunts with which they have taunted You, Lord.
- NLT O Lord, pay back our neighbors seven times for the scorn they have hurled at 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
The psalmist asks God to repay the neighbors sevenfold for their reproach. He seeks full divine justice for insults against the Lord.
Overview
The plea for 'seven times' repayment seeks complete justice, noting that the reproach was ultimately aimed at the Lord Himself. The wrong done to God's people was an affront to God. While the psalm leaves judgment in God's hands, the gospel also opens the way for enemies to repent and find mercy in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 32:18You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts,
- Gen 4:15“Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.
- Lev 26:21If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins.
- Lev 26:28then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins.
- Ps 74:18–22Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
- Luke 6:38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
- Prov 6:31Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.
- Ps 44:16at the voice of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy, bent on revenge.
- Isa 65:5–7They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
- Ps 74:10How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 79:12 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.