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Psalm 109 Bible study: At the right hand of the needy
Psalm 109's hardest lines sit inside a prayer: "but I am in prayer" (109:4). It asks for an adversary to stand at a man's right hand (109:6), and ends with the LORD, who "will stand at the right hand of the needy" (109:31), in the same Hebrew words. And Peter quotes its "Let another take his office" (Acts 1:20).
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“Help me, LORD, my God. Save me according to your loving kindness;”
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“Psalm 109 ends with the LORD standing at the right hand of the needy.”
Is that in Psalm 109, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Love repaid, and a prayer
The psalm opens as a prayer: "God of my praise, don’t remain silent" (109:1). Then the psalmist says what was done to him: "They have spoken to me with a lying tongue" (109:2), "They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause" (109:3). And he says what he had given them: "In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer" (109:4) (tap love). "They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love" (109:5). In Hebrew In return for my love (109:4) and for my love (109:5) are the same two words, tachat ahavati, and these two verses are the only places the Psalms have this noun for love. Here is what almost everyone misses in 109:4: but I am in prayer is only two words in Hebrew, va'ani tefillah, and I and prayer, with no verb (tap prayer). Three verses later the same word is used of the man the psalm prays against: "Let his prayer be turned into sin" (109:7).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 109
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 109 is waiting in Favor
- Adversaries, and an adversary
- Who stands at the right hand
- Cursing worn like clothes
- "Let another take his office"
- Poor and needy
- Evil for good, and without a cause
- 9 questions as you read
- 12 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 109 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
שָׂטַןsatansay sa-TAN
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "be or act as adversary". Strong's: "to attack, (figuratively) accuse". The psalm has the verb three times, each time for those against the psalmist, and the WEB gives it as adversaries each time: "In return for my love, they are my adversaries" (109:4), "This is the reward of my adversaries from the LORD" (109:20), and "Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor" (109:29). The Hebrew Bible has the verb six times. The others are "They who give evil for good are also adversaries to me" (Psalm 38:20), "Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed" (Psalm 71:13), and Zechariah 3:1, where the WEB has "to be his adversary" (Zechariah 3:1). The noun spelled with the same letters, satan, is in 109:6 (tap adversary).
For your group
Psalm 109 Bible study questions
- 1"In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer" (109:4). When love is repaid with harm, what would it look like for you to be "in prayer"?
- 2The psalmist asks for help "that they may know that this is your hand; that you, LORD, have done it" (109:27). Why might it matter to him that his help is seen to come from the LORD?
- 3"For he will stand at the right hand of the needy" (109:31). Where do you most need to know this week that the LORD stands beside you?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 109 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Can I read Psalm 109 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Psalm 109 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home