Psalms 109:14

Psa 109:14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

Ver. 14. Let the iniquity of his fathers, &c.] In whose sinful steps he treadeth, be charged upon him.

And let not the sin of his mother] Who bred him no better, but cockered him in wicked courses, and gave him no good example, Partus fere sequitur ventrem.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. (Psa 109:14) Let the guilt of his fathers be remembered by Jehovah, and his mother's sin not blotted out. This is perhaps the most fearful imprecation in the psalm, as it extends the consequences of transgression, not merely to the children, who might naturally be expected to partake of them, but to the parents. It is not to be forgotten, however, that in all such cases, the personal guilt of the implicated parties is presupposed, and not inferred from their connection with the principals. Remembered by (literally to) Jehovah, which may possibly mean brought to his remembrance, recalled to mind by another, perhaps by the accuser before mentioned.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

109:14 Children inherit the sinful nature of their parents (51:5; Exod 20:5; Eph 2:3). The speaker wants the Lord to punish the perpetrator for the guilt of family members who went before him (cp. Matt 23:35-36).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thus punisheth the Lord to the third and fourth generation the wickedness of the parents in their wicked children.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

And as the destruction which he denounces against the houses and families of the wicked is so extensive, that God punishes them in the person of their posterity, so he desires that God may remember the iniquities of their fathers and mothers, in order that their condemnation may be complete; and this is a principle in perfect accordance with the commonly received doctrine of Scripture. God, out of regard to his covenant, which is in force to a thousand generations, extends and continues his mercy towards posterity; but he also punishes iniquity unto the third and fourth generation. In doing this he does not involve the guiltless with the wicked indiscriminately, but by withholding from the reprobate the grace and illumination of his Spirit, he prepares the vessels of wrath for destruction, even before they are born, Romans 9:21. To the common sense of mankind, the thought of such severity is horrifying: but then we must recollect, that if we attempt to measure the secret and inscrutable judgments of God by our finite minds, we do him wrong. Struck with horror at the severity of this threatening, let us improve it as the means of filling us with reverence and godly fear. In reference to the language of Ezekiel,

“The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, but the soul that sinneth, it shall die;” Ezekiel 18:20

we know that in these words he disproves the groundless complaints of the people, who, boasting that they were guiltless, imagined that they were punished wrongfully. When, however, God continues his vengeance from the father to the children, he leaves them no room for palliation or complaint, because they are all equally guilty. We have already said, that vengeance commences when God in withdrawing his Spirit, both from the children and the fathers, delivers them over to Satan. Some may inquire how it comes to pass, that the prophet, in desiring that their sin may be continually before God’s eyes, does not likewise add, let their name be blotted out from heaven, but merely wishes them to be cut off, and to perish in the world? My reply is, that he spoke agreeably to the custom of the age in which he lived, when the nature of spiritual punishments was not so well understood as in our times, because the period had not yet arrived, when the revelation of God’s will was to be full and complete. Besides, it is the design of David, that the vengeance of God may be so manifest, that the whole world may acquiesce in his equity as a judge.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(14) Fathers.—The sweet of vengeance lies in its completeness. The curse must strike backwards as well as forwards, and the root as well as the branch be destroyed. Undoubtedly the Mosaic Law, which proclaimed that the “iniquity of the fathers should be visited on the children,” suggested the form of the imprecation.

Sin of his mother.—Is the necessity of the parallel. ism sufficient to account for this mention of the mother, or is some definite circumstance in the poet’s thought? The theory which makes this portion of the psalm (Psa_109:6-20), a quotation of curses really uttered by Shimei against David, finds an allusion to the Moabitish descent on the mother’s side. (Comp. the Rabbinical explanation of Psa_51:5.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. be blotted out] From God’s book in which it is recorded as a debt. Cp. Psa_51:1.

14, 15. Let the full penalty for the sins of his ancestors be exacted from him, in accordance with the warning of the law, that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. See Exo_20:5; cp. Mat_23:32-36.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let them be before the Lord continually,.... And not cast behind his back, or into the depths of the sea, never to be seen more, as sins are when forgiven; but be always in sight, as loathsome and abominable, and causing those that committed them to be abhorred for them; and be before him, as a Judge, to examine them, the nature and kind of them, and to condemn and punish for them; see Exo 20:5. The Targum is,

"let them be before the Word of the Lord always;''

see Heb 4:13.

That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth; so that they may not be remembered with any applause, or their name spoken of with any commendation; see Job 18:17.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Let the iniquity of his fathers - Of his ancestors.

Be remembered with the Lord - Or, by the Lord. The doctrine of the Bible is, that God “visits the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate” him Exo 20:5; the matter of fact is that children and children’s children often suffer from the errors, the crimes, and the follies of their parents, as in the case of intemperance, murder, and treason (compare the notes at Rom 5:12 ff); and the prayer here is, that this regular effect of sin might follow in this instance; that these consequences might not be arrested by divine interposition.

And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out - This is probably added to complete the parallelism; the sin of his father and his mother. There may, however, if this is a composition of David, be a similar allusion to that which occurs in Psa 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” The prayer is, that whatever effects might properly follow from the fact that his mother was a sinner - either in some special sense, or in the general sense that all are sinhers - might come upon him.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Be remembered against him, or punished in him, as God hath threatened to deal with great delinquents, Exo 20:5.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 14. This verse is, perhaps, the most terrible of all, but yet as a matter of fact children do procure punishment upon their parents' sins, and are often themselves the means of such punishment. A bad son brings to mind his father's bad points of character; people say, "Ah, he is like the old man. He takes after his father." A mother's sins also will be sure to be called to mind if her daughter becomes grossly wicked. "Ah", they will say, "there is little wonder, when you consider what her mother was." These are matters of everyday occurrence. We cannot, however, pretend to explain the righteousness of this malediction, though we fully believe in it. We leave it till our heavenly Father is pleased to give us further instruction. Yet, as a man's faults are often learned from his parents, it is not unjust that his consequent crimes should recoil upon him.

Psalms 109:15*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Iniquity of his fathers… the sin of his mother—So called because they were of like character before him. The law forbade the transfer of punishment due to personal sins, (Deu_24:16; Eze_18:20;) but where the wickedness of the parents repeated itself in the children, the punishment followed down also. See Exo_20:5

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord. Let the threatening of Exo_20:5 take effect in his case, and the sins of his forefathers be remembered by God, and visited upon him. And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out; i.e. erased from God"s remembrance. Let it also be visited on him, as Jezebel"s was on her children.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

May his ancestors' sins be mentioned to Yahweh

This can be stated in active form. AT: "May you remember the sins of his ancestors, Yahweh" (See: Active or Passive)

may the sin of his mother not be forgotten

This can be stated in active form. AT: "May you not forget the sins that his mother committed" (See: Active or Passive)

May their guilt always be before Yahweh

Here David speaks about Yahweh thinking about their guilt as if their guilt is something physically present before him. AT: "May Yahweh continually think about their sins" (See: Metaphor)

may Yahweh cut off their memory from the earth

David uses the word "earth" to refer to all the people that live on the earth. Also, the phrase "their memory" refers to people remembering them after they have died. AT: "may Yahweh make it so that no one on earth remembers them" (See: Metonymy)

this man never bothered to show any covenant faithfulness

This refers to him showing covenant faithfulness to people. The abstract noun "faithfulness" can be translated with an adjective. AT: "this man never bothered to show any covenant faithfulness to people" or "this man never did anything to show that he was faithful to his covenant" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Abstract Nouns)

the oppressed, the needy

This refers to oppressed and needy people. AT: "oppressed people, needy people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

the disheartened

This refers to people who are disheartened. AT: "disheartened people" or "people who have lost hope" (See: Nominal Adjectives)

to death

"until they died." This means that he harassed them until they died.

translationWords

sin

Yahweh

guilt

cut off

earth

oppress

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

the iniquity against his forefathers The iniquity that he sinned against his forebears, to Abraham, whose life he shortened by five years, and to his father he caused blindness.

and the sin against his mother that he destroyed her womb, and that he caused the day of her burial to be concealed from the people, lest they curse her for Esau emerged from her womb, as it is said (Gen. 35:8): “Deborah, Rebecca’s nurse, died...the Plain of Weeping.” In Greek, another is called “allon,” for Jacob had another mourning along with that of Deborah, for his mother died and they concealed her death.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.