What is the meaning of Psalm 109:13? May his descendants be cut off • The psalmist petitions God to end the wicked man’s family line, a request for total removal of influence and legacy. Compare the divine judgment on Eli’s house in 1 Samuel 2:31–33, where God declares, “No one in your house will reach old age,” showing that cutting off descendants is a recognized form of covenant justice. • Psalm 37:28 affirms, “He will not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off,” echoing the promise that unrighteousness ultimately collapses. • The petition is not personal vengeance but an appeal that persistent evil stop reproducing itself; Proverbs 10:30 says, “the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.” May their name be blotted out • “Name” in Scripture stands for reputation, memory, and legal standing (Genesis 11:4; Proverbs 10:7). The plea asks God to erase the wicked man’s memory from communal life so that his example does not entice others. • Deuteronomy 29:20 warns that the unrepentant idolater’s name will be “blotted out from under heaven,” illustrating covenant curses for persistent rebellion. • Revelation 3:5 promises believers their names will never be blotted from the Book of Life, highlighting the contrast between the righteous preserved and the wicked erased. From the next generation • The psalmist’s time-frame extends the judgment beyond the present, asking that the erasure be immediate and irreversible. Exodus 20:5 notes that the consequences of hatred toward God may reach “to the third and fourth generation,” but here the psalmist says, in effect, “let it stop at one.” • The early church applied Psalm 109 to Judas (Acts 1:20; cf. Psalm 109:8). Judas died childless, and his infamy serves as a sobering display of this verse in history—his “name” is associated only with betrayal. • Isaiah 14:20 speaks of Babylon’s king: “May the seed of evildoers never be mentioned again.” Biblical precedent shows that ending a tyrant’s legacy protects future generations from repeating his sins. summary Psalm 109:13 calls on God to end the wicked man’s lineage and reputation so evil ceases to multiply. Scripture consistently presents this as righteous retribution: the godless lose their posterity (Psalm 37:28), their memory (Proverbs 10:7), and any foothold in future generations (Exodus 20:5). Ultimately, God’s justice safeguards the innocent and vindicates those who trust Him, while the unrepentant face the certain end of both their line and their legacy. |
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