Show me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see and be ashamed; for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, Yahweh, have helped me, and comforted me.
- KJV Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.
- NKJV Show me a sign for good, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, Because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
- NASB Show me a sign of good, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, Because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
- NLT Send me a sign of your favor. Then those who hate me will be put to shame, for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.
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 for a sign of God's goodness so his enemies may be shamed, since God has helped and comforted him. He desires God's vindication to be visible.
Overview
The psalm closes seeking evidence of God's favor that will silence opponents and confirm the LORD's help and comfort. David rests not on revenge but on God's public faithfulness. This vindication ultimately belongs to Christ, raised and exalted, whose deliverance shames every foe and comforts His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 41:10–11But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up, that I may repay them.
- Judg 6:17Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.
- Ps 71:20–21Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes, You will revive me once again. Even from the depths of the earth You will bring me back up.
- Ps 71:9–13Do not discard me in my old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.
- Mic 7:8–10Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
- Ps 40:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
- Ps 109:29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
- 1 Cor 5:5hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.
- Isa 38:22And Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?”
- Ps 74:9There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer any prophet. And none of us knows how long this will last.
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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 86:17 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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