English Standard Version
Psalms 38:20
20Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.
Psalms 38:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
- New International Version (NIV)Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Those also who render evil for good, They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.
- New Living Translation (NLT)They repay me evil for good and oppose me for pursuing good.
Context of Psalms 38:20
18I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. 19But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good. 21Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! 22Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!
Read all of Psalms 38Psalms 38:20 word by word
וּמְשַׁלְּמֵ֣י רָ֭עָה תַּ֣חַת טוֹבָ֑ה יִ֝שְׂטְנ֗וּנִי תַּ֣חַת רָֽדְפִי טֽוֹב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 38:20
- Psalms 7:4if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause,
- Psalms 35:12They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft.
- Psalms 109:3They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
- 1 Samuel 19:4And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you.
- 1 Samuel 23:5And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
- 1 Samuel 25:16They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.
- Jeremiah 18:20Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.
- Matthew 5:10"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- John 10:32Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?"
- 1 Peter 3:13Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
- 1 Peter 4:14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
- 1 John 3:12We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.
Commentaries on Psalms 38:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Because I follow the thing that good is - The translation is as bad as the sentence is awkward. טוב רדפי תחת tachath rodpi tob, because I follow goodness. There is a remarkable addition to this verse in the Arabic: "They have rejected me, the beloved one, as an abominable dead carcass; they have pierced my body with nails." I suppose the Arabic translator meant to refer this to Christ. None of the other Versions have any thing like this addition; only the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20They also that render evil for good - They whose characteristic it is to return evil for good, are opposed to me. This implies that those who were now seeking his ruin had been formerly benefitted by him. They were persons who cherished no grateful recollection of favors bestowed on them, but who found a pleasure in persecuting and wronging their benefactor. Compare Psalm 35:12-16. “Are my adversaries.” Are now opposed to me; have become my enemies…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-22Verses 12-22 Wicked men hate goodness, even when they benefit by it. David, in the complaints he makes of his enemies, seems to refer to Christ. But our enemies do us real mischief only when they drive us from God and our duty. The true believer's trouble will be made useful; he will learn to wait for his God, and will not seek relief from the world or himself. The less we notice the unkindness and injuries that are done us, the more we consult the quiet…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-20The psalmist, unable to bear his suffering and close to collapse (compare Psalm 15:5), admits his sin (see Psalm 32:5).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2019-20. Still, while humbled before God, he is the victim of deadly enemies, full of malice and treachery. enemies are lively--literally, "of life," who would take my life, that is, deadly.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 38:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 38
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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