Psalm 139:20

For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(20) For they speak.—Better, Who rebel against thee. This is actually the reading of the fifth of the Greek translations preserved by Origen, and entails only a change of the vowel pointing.

And thine enemies.—The state of the text is unsatisfactory. The subject to the verb must be that of the last clause, and the rendering “enemies” of a word properly meaning cities is very doubtful, in spite of 1Samuel 28:16 (but Aquila has “rivals,” and Symmachus” adversaries”), where there is also a textual correction required.

Of the various proposed emendations, the simplest produces

“And rise up against them in vain.”

Benson Commentary

Psalm 139:20. For they speak against thee wickedly — It is not so much me that they persecute, in opposing, misrepresenting, and speaking against me, as virtue and piety, in persecuting which they oppose and speak against thee; contemning thy omniscience and omnipresence, and thy superintending providence. And thine enemies take thy name in vain — Or, according to the order of the Hebrew words, They take thy name in vain, and are thine enemies. Or, are haters of thee, as it follows, Psalm 139:21. They abuse thy blessed name with oaths, blasphemies, and perjuries, calling thee to witness the truth of their lies and calumnies. Or, as some render the clause, Thine enemies take thee to falsehood, (the words; thy name, being not in the Hebrew,) “they take thee, only to swear falsely by thee.”

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

139:17-24 God's counsels concerning us and our welfare are deep, such as cannot be known. We cannot think how many mercies we have received from him. It would help to keep us in the fear of the Lord all the day long, if, when we wake in the morning, our first thoughts were of him: and how shall we admire and bless our God for his precious salvation, when we awake in the world of glory! Surely we ought not to use our members and senses, which are so curiously fashioned, as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. But our immortal and rational souls are a still more noble work and gift of God. Yet if it were not for his precious thoughts of love to us, our reason and our living for ever would, through our sins, prove the occasion of our eternal misery. How should we then delight to meditate on God's love to sinners in Jesus Christ, the sum of which exceeds all reckoning! Sin is hated, and sinners lamented, by all who fear the Lord. Yet while we shun them we should pray for them; with God their conversion and salvation are possible. As the Lord knows us thoroughly, and we are strangers to ourselves, we should earnestly desire and pray to be searched and proved by his word and Spirit. if there be any wicked way in me, let me see it; and do thou root it out of me. The way of godliness is pleasing to God, and profitable to us; and will end in everlasting life. It is the good old way. All the saints desire to be kept and led in this way, that they may not miss it, turn out of it, or tire in it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For they speak against thee wickedly - This is one form or manifestation of their character as wicked people, that they speak maliciously against God. The psalmist, therefore, desired to have nothing to do with them. It is always a sufficient reason for avoiding the society, the friendship, and the fellowship of others, when they profane, blaspheme, or calumniate the name of God. From such men we should at once withdraw. Piety shrinks from the society of such men, whatever may be their rank, or their social qualities, and turns away in pain, in sorrow, in abhorrence. See the notes at Psalm 26:9.

And thine enemies take thy name in vain - It is proof that they are thine enemies that they take thy name in vain, or that they are profane men; it is a sufficient reason for desiring to be separated from them.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

PSALM 139

Ps 139:1-24. After presenting the sublime doctrines of God's omnipresence and omniscience, the Psalmist appeals to Him, avowing his innocence, his abhorrence of the wicked, and his ready submission to the closest scrutiny. Admonition to the wicked and comfort to the pious are alike implied inferences from these doctrines.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

They speak against thee wickedly, by profane scoffs, and a professed denial or contempt of thine omniscience and providence. Or,

they speak of thee in or unto wickedness; they make use of religion to cover or further their wicked designs. But our translation is more favoured by the context, which speaks of God’s open and professed enemies.

And thine enemies take thy name in vain; or, according to the order of the Hebrew words, and take thy name in vain, and are thine enemies, or haters of thee, as it follows Psalm 139:21. These words,

thy name, are understood here, as also Isaiah 3:7, out of Exodus 20:7, where they are expressed. They abuse thy blessed name with hellish oaths, and perjuries, and blasphemies.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For they speak against thee wickedly,.... Against his being, his perfections, his purposes, his providences, his doctrines, ordinances, ministers, and people; or "they speak of thee for wickedness" (b), they made mention of the name of God to cover their wickedness, pretending to fear God and love him, to have a reverence of him and serve him, putting on a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof;

and thine enemies take thy name in vain: either by profane swearing, or by false swearing. The Targum interprets both clauses of swearing deceitfully and vainly; or "he", that is, everyone that is "lifted up to vanity are thine enemies" (c), whose hearts are lifted up to vanity, idols, riches, self-righteousness, sensual lusts and pleasures; these are the enemies of God, are estranged from him, hold friendship with the world, harbour his enemies, love what he hates, hate what he loves, and commit acts of hostility against him. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, read, "they take thy cities in vain".

(b) Or "to a mischievous purpose"; so Ainsworth. (c) "qui elatus est ad vanitatem, hostes tui sunt", De Dieu.

Geneva Study Bible

For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

20. For they speak against thee] This rendering involves a questionable construction. That of R.V. marg. utter thy name, lit. thee, i.e. swear falsely by thy name, suits the parallelism, but is also doubtful. Most probably the word should be read with different vowels, rebel against thee (יַמְרוּךָ for יֹמְרוּךָ); cp. Psalm 78:40.

thine enemies take thy name in vain] The text is difficult and perhaps corrupt. The word rendered thine enemies has this meaning in Aramaic, but not in Hebrew: thy name is not expressed: the verb is spelt anomalously. But slight alterations of the text would give the sense, and take thy name in vain.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 20. - For they speak against thee wickedly; literally, who speak of thee for wickedness; i.e. use thy Name for the accomplishment of wicked ends. And thine enemies take thy Name in vain. The text must be altered to produce this meaning. As it stands, it can only be rendered, "Thine enemies lift up [their scull to vanity" (comp. Psalm 24:4). Psalm 139:20

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

And this God is by many not only not believed in and loved, but even hated and blasphemed! The poet now turns towards these enemies of God in profound vexation of spirit. The אם, which is conditional in Psalm 139:8, here is an optative o si, as in Psalm 81:9; Psalm 95:7. The expression תּקטל אלוהּ reminds one of the Book of Job, for, with the exception of our Psalm, this is the only book that uses the verb קטל, which is more Aramaic than Hebrew, and the divine name Eloah occurs more frequently in it than anywhere else. The transition from the optative to the imperative סוּרוּ is difficult; it would have been less so if the Waw copul. had been left out: cf. the easier expression in Psalm 6:9; Psalm 119:115. But we may not on this account seek to read יסוּרוּ, as Olshausen does. Everything here is remarkable; the whole Psalm has a characteristic form in respect to the language. מנּי is the ground-form of the overloaded ממּנּי, and is also like the Book of Job, Job 21:16, cf. מנהוּ Job 4:12, Psalm 68:24. The mode of writing ימרוּך (instead of which, however, the Babylonian texts had יאמרוּך) is the same as in 2 Samuel 19:15, cf. in 2 Samuel 20:9 the same melting away of the Aleph into the preceding vowel in connection with אחז, in 2 Samuel 22:40 in connection with אזּר, and in Isaiah 13:20 with אהל. Construed with the accusative of the person, אמר here signifies to declare any one, profiteri, a meaning which, we confess, does not occur elsewhere. But למזמּה (cf. למרמה, Psalm 24:4; the Targum: who swear by Thy name for wantonness) and the parallel member of the verse, which as it runs is moulded after Exodus 20:7, show that it has not to be read ימרוּך (Quinta: παρεπικρανάν σε). The form נשׁוּא, with Aleph otians, is also remarkable; it ought at least to have been written נשׂאוּ (cf. נרפּוּא, Ezekiel 47:8) instead of the customary נשׂאוּ; yet the same mode of writing is found in the Niphal in Jeremiah 10:5, ינשׁוּא, it assumes a ground-form נשׂה (Psalm 32:1) equals נשׂא, and is to be judged of according to אבוּא in Isaiah 28:12 [Ges. 23, 3, rem. 3]. Also one feels the absence of the object to נשׁוּא לשּׁוא. It is meant to be supplied according to the decalogue, Exodus 20:7, which certainly makes the alteration שׁמך (Bttcher, Olsh.) or זכרך (Hitzig on Isaiah 26:13), instead of עריך, natural. But the text as we now have it is also intelligible: the object to נשׂוא is derived from ימרוך, and the following עריך is an explanation of the subject intended in נשׂוא that is introduced subsequently. Psalm 89:52 proves the possibility of this structure of a clause. It is correctly rendered by Aquila ἀντίζηλοί σου, and Symmachus οἱ ἐναντίοι σου. ער, an enemy, prop. one who is zealous, a zealot (from עוּר, or rather עיר, equals Arab. gâr, med. Je, ζηλοῦν, whence עיר, Arab. gayrat equals קנאה), is a word that is guaranteed by 1 Samuel 28:16; Daniel 4:16, and as being an Aramaism is appropriate to this Psalm. The form תּקומם for מתּקומם has cast away the preformative Mem (cf. שׁפתּים and משׁפּתים, מקּרה in Deuteronomy 23:11 for ממּקּרה); the suffix is to be understood according to Psalm 17:7. Pasek stands between יהוה and אשׂנה in order that the two words may not be read together (cf. Job 27:13, and above Psalm 10:3). התקוטט as in the recent Psalm 119:158. The emphasis in Psalm 139:22 lies on לי; the poet regards the adversaries of God as enemies of his own. תּכלית takes the place of the adjective: extremo (odio) odi eos. Such is the relation of the poet to the enemies of God, but without indulging any self-glorying.