Psalms 109:18

Psa 109:18 As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.

Ver. 18. As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment] Ut vestis commensurata corpori, as the inner garment that sticks closest to the body, and is not done off but with much ado, as he hath wrapped, and trussed up himself in cursing.

So let it come into his bowels like water] Let him have his belly full of it, and his bones full too.

And like oil] Which easily soaketh through. See Num 5:22.

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.

18. (Psa 109:18) And he has put on cursing as his garment, and it has come like water into his inside, and like oil into his bones. There is an obvious climax in this verse. That which is first described as the man's exterior covering, is then said to be within him, first as water, then as oil or fat, first in the vessels of his body, then in his very bones. The general idea is that the curse, which he denounced and endeavoured to inflict on others, has taken possession of himself, both within and without. Compare Num 5:22; Num 5:24; Num 5:27. The first clause admits of a different construction, which would make it descriptive of the crime and not the punishment. He put on cursing as his garment, and (now) it has come, etc. This construction introduces an antithesis, and thereby adds to the point of the sentence, and is also recommended by the analogy of Psa 109:17.

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

109:18 Cursing is the accused person’s whole way of life.

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

Verse 18. Let it come into his bowels like water] Houbigant thinks this is an allusion to the waters of jealousy; and he is probably right, - the bitter waters that produce the curse. See Nu 5:18.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Not a few interpreters translate the next two verses in the past form, he clothed himself with cursing, etc., which would be tantamount to saying that the enemy was as fond of cursing as of costly apparel, or that he clothed himself with it as with a garment, and that, like an inveterate disease, it was deeply seated in the marrow of his bones. The other interpretation is more simple, That cursing should cleave to the wicked, that it should envelop him like a cloak, gird him about as his girdle, and should even penetrate to his bones. And that no one may rashly take for an example what David here spoke by the special influence of the Holy Spirit, let him keep in mind that the Psalmist is not pleading here in reference to any personal interest, and that it is no ordinary character to whom he refers. Belonging to the number of the faithful, he would not omit the law of charity, in desiring the salvation of all men. But in this instance God elevated his spirit above all earthly considerations, stript him of all malice, and delivered him from the influence of turbulent passion, so that he might, with holy calmness and spiritual wisdom, doom the reprobate and castaway to destruction. Others, would have the phrase, he loved cursing, to mean that he purposely drew down the vengeance of God upon himself, as it were procuring destruction for himself by his open hostility to him; but this is an unnatural construction of the passage. The interpretation which I have given is preferable, That he was so addicted to mischief and wrong, that no act of justice or kindness was to be expected from him. In the meantime, let it be observed, that all the machinations of the wicked will eventually recoil upon their own heads, and that when they are raging more violently against others, then it is that the mischief, which they so eagerly desire may come upon them, falls upon themselves, even as the wind called Cecias by blowing attracts the clouds unto him.

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.

18. And he clad himself with cursing as with his robe,

And It came into his inward parts like water, and like oil into his bones:

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 it be unto him as the garment which covereth him,.... Let him be surrounded on all sides with the wrath of God; and let it be visible to all, as a man's garment on him is: see Isa 66:24.

And for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually; let him be in the utmost straits and distress, being encompassed about with the curse and wrath of God; and let that stick close unto him as a man's belt does; and let him not be able to get clear of it, or extricate himself out of it, as no man can on whom it is.

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

As he clothed himself with cursing like as with a garment - Moral qualities are often compared with raiment - as that in which we “appear” to our fellow-men. See 1Pe 5:5; Job 29:14.

So let it come into his bowels like water - Margin, “within him.” Hebrew, “In his midst.” Let it penetrate him through and through. Let no part of him be unaffected by it.

And like oil into his bones - As if oil flowed through all his bones, so let the effects of cursing pervade his whole frame. The prayer is, that his entire nature might feel the effects of cursing; that he might know to the full what he was endeavoring to bring on others.

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

A garment; which a man wears constantly, and that as

Like water; which when a man drinks, goes bowels, and searcheth all the inwards of his belly.

Like oil; which is more piercing than water, and being applied to outward parts, reacheth even to the bones and marrow

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

Ver. 18-19. He was so openly in the habit of wishing ill to others that he seemed to wear robes of cursing, therefore let it be as his raiment girded and belted about him, yea, let it enter as water into his bowels, and search the very marrow of his bones like a penetrating oil. It is but common justice that he should receive a return for his malice, and receive it in kind, too.

Ver. 18. The three figures in this verse are climatic: he has clothed himself in cursing, he has drunk it in like water (Job 15:16, 34:7), it has penetrated to the marrow of his bones, like the oily preparations which are rubbed in and penetrate to the bones. Franz Delitzsch.

Ver. 18. We must not pass this verse without remarking that there is an allusion in its tone to Nu 5:21-22, 24 the unfaithful wife. Her curse was to penetrate into her bowels; "the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her"; and such a curse comes on unfaithful Judas, who violates his engagement to the Lord, and upon Israel at large also, who have departed from him "as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband", and have committed adultery against the Bridegroom. Andrew A. Bonar.

Ver. 18-19. Peter, in Ac 1:20, applies this psalm to Christ when the Jews cried, "His blood be upon us and upon our children"; then did they put on the envenomed garment which has tormented them ever since. It is girded about their loins; the curse has penetrated like water, and entered the very bones like oil. How awful will be the state of those who crucify him afresh, and again put him to open shame. Samuel Horsley.

Psalms 109:19*

See Exposition for Verse 18.

See Sayings for Verse 18.

Psalms 109:20*

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

18. Into his bowels—Hebrew, his inward parts; penetrating like oil his whole being. It is an advance upon the figure of clothing—garment—as an outside covering, in the previous member. The allusion is to the waters of jealousy, (Num_5:22,) “And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels.”

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

As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment. (comp. Psa_10:7 Psa_59:12 Psa_62:4) Extreme malevolence vents itself in curses, which tend to become frequent, and, so to speak, habitual. So let it come; rather, so it cams, or so it will come. Into his bowels like water. Dr. Kay sees here an allusion to the "water of cursing" which was drunk by the woman whose husband taxed her with unfaithfulness; (Num_5:22) and so also Hengstenberg. But this is doubtful. Perhaps the mere penetrative power of water is alluded to. See the next clause. And like oil into his bones. The oil, wherewith it was usual to anoint the frame, was believed to penetrate, not only into the tissues, but into the very bones and marrow.

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

Garment - Which a man wears constantly. Like water - Water in the cavity of the belly, between the bowels, is almost certain death. And oil soaking into any of the bones, will soon utterly destroy it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And he donned a curse He brought himself into a curse and was satisfied with breaking off the yoke of the sacrifice and the priestly blessing and the curse of the heathens.

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.