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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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, Yahweh, have mercy on me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.
- Judg 6:17He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.
- Ps 71:20–21You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
- Ps 71:9–13Don’t reject me in my old age. Don’t forsake me when my strength fails.
- Mic 7:8–10Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.
- Ps 40:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry.
- Ps 109:29Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
- 1 Cor 5:5are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
- Isa 38:22Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I will go up to Yahweh’s house?”
- Ps 74:9We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.
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 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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