Crossroads Connect Group
Imprecatory Psalms – 5/22/2022
Link -- https://leanderchurch.org/ClassNotes/SmallGroups/index.html
Ice Breaker Options – Select ONE of these questions to answer.
1. Yes/No -- Do you have enemies on this planet?
2. Yes/No -- Have you ever prayed for the destruction of your enemies?
Psalm 35:1-8 (NIV)
1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and buckler;
arise and come to my aid.
3 Brandish spear and javelin
against those who pursue me. Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."
4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may
those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay.
5 May they be like chaff
before the wind, with the angel of the LORD
driving them away;
6 may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 Since they hid their net
for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me,
8 may ruin overtake them by surprise-- may the net they hid
entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to
their ruin.
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
7 Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!”
8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us—
9 he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
3. How is the book of Psalms different from every other book of the Bible?
a. In a general sense, it was written “to” God instead of “from” God. (Agree/Disagree?)
4. Agree/Disagree:
a. The Imprecatory Psalms are not God’s precepts but man’s defective prayers. They are cold-blooded expressions of malignant cruelty and must never be regarded as inspired of God.
5. Did Jesus ever pray an imprecatory prayer or make imprecatory statements?
a. Luke 10:10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 13 “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will be thrust down to [Hades NIV84, Hell 21KJV].
b. Mt 23.31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! 33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
6. Anyone else in NT?
a. Paul
i. Gal 1.8 -- But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.’ (NKJV)
ii. Gal 5.12 -- But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. 11 But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves! (NRSV)
b. Peter
i. Acts 1.20 -- "For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no man dwell in it'; and, 'His office let another man take'"
References Ps 69 and Ps 109 (imprecatory Psalms)
Psalm 69 -- 23 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. 24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. 25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one live in their tents.
Psalm 109 -- 7 Try him and find him guilty! Consider his prayers a lie. 8 Cut his life short and let someone else have his job.
9 Make orphans of his children and a widow of his wife;
10 make his children beg for food and live in the slums.
And then verse 20 -- Those are the cruel things my enemies wish for me.
Let it all happen to them!
7. REMEZ – 1500’s?
a. Quote a verse. Audience knows what comes before and after. Those are the verses that make the point.
i. RVL. Oxford prof retired. Jewish rabbi. After dinner lecture. Entire life teaching Bible is the word of God. Student in USA California, “Bible is not trustworthy.” Question: What do you think of the work of your student? Answer: in Hebrew. “I raised sons and daughters and I brought them up.” ??? (a quote from Isaiah 1.2) More than that. I asked a table partner. Don’t you know what it says next? “When they were grown they rebelled against Almighty God.”
ii. Matthew 26
1. NIV84 – 23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
iii. REMEZ? What happens next? What is Jesus quoting? One of the imprecatory Psalms!
1. Psalm 41
7 All my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 “A vile disease has beset him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me.
10 But you, O LORD, have mercy on me; raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.
8. David wrote the imprecatory Psalms.
a. Jesus, Paul, Peter quoted them and used similar language.
b. When is it appropriate for us to do the same?
9. Agree/Disagree -- What we read in these OT Psalms are not emotionally uncontrolled outbursts by otherwise sane and compassionate people. Imprecations such as those listed above are found in high poetry and are the product of reasoned meditation (not to mention divine inspiration!). They are calculated petitions, not spontaneous explosions of a bad temper. Certainly there are examples in OT history and prose narrative of actions and attitudes that are sinful and not to be emulated. But the psalms are expressions of public worship to be modeled.
10. What is a thing you see in the world right now that you believe is heart-breaking to God? What language do you use when you ask the Lord to resolve the situation?
10 Things You Should Know about the Imprecatory Psalms
Most Christians love the Psalms, for in them we find heartfelt prayer, emotional vulnerability, and passionate praise of God. But we also find troubling statements such as these:
“Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you” (Psalm 5:10).
“Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me! Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away! Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them! For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life. Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it- to his destruction!” (Psalm 35:4-8)
“Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt! Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, ‘Aha, Aha!’” (Psalm 40:14-15)
“For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!” (Psalm 56:7)
“Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!” (Psalm 79:6)
What are the Imprecatory Psalms and Should We Pray Them?
Honestly, that’s only a fraction of the Psalms in which prayers for the judgment of God’s enemies are found. Here is a more complete list, in case you’re interested in reading all of them: Pss. 5:10; 6:10; 7:6; 9:19-20; 10:2,15; 17:13; 28:4; 31:17-18; 35:1,4-8,19,24-26; 40:14-15; 41:10; 54:5; 55:9,15; 56:7; 58:6-10; 59:5,11-14; 63:9-10; 68:1-2; 69:22-28; 70:2-3; 71:13; 79:6,10-12; 83:9-18 (cf. Judges 4:15-21; 5:25-27); 94:1-4; 97:7; 104:35; 109:6-19,29; 119:84; 129:5-7; 137:7-9; 139:19-22; 140:8-11; 141:10; 143:12.
Many believe these imprecatory “prayers" (if it is even legitimate to call them "prayers") are beneath the dignity of the Christian and are not to be viewed as examples for us to follow. They are, rather, the expressions of man's sinful desire for vengeance on his enemies. These psalms, so some have said, are not God’s precepts but man’s “defective prayers”. They are “cold-blooded” expressions of “malignant cruelty” and must never be regarded as inspired of God.
We can’t dismiss the problem by insisting such prayers are found only in the Old Testament or that they reflect a sub-standard morality inappropriate to the New Testament Christian. Both testaments present the same perfect and exalted standard for life. God's moral law is immutable and is everywhere the same. We must be careful never to pit Scripture against Scripture, as if to suggest that the OT calls for a different, perhaps inferior, ethical response to one's enemies than does the NT.
Furthermore, one must address the fact that in the NT similar "imprecations" on the enemies of God are found (see especially Luke 10:10-16; Galatians 1:8; 5:12; 1 Corinthians 16:21-22; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2 Timothy 4:14; Revelation 6:10; 19:1-2). Consider the prayer request: “Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). This is to invoke divine judgment on all other kingdoms and all those who oppose the reign of God. Even Jesus used imprecatory language in Matthew 23:13,15,16,23,24,27,29, and especially 23:33. See also his use of Psalm 41:8-10 in Matthew 26:23-24 as a pronouncement of God's judgment on Judas.
Consider Peter's citation of the imprecatory section in Psalms 69 and 109 in reference to Judas Iscariot: "For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no man dwell in it'; and, 'His office let another man take'" (Acts 1:20). Peter is here citing an invocation of judgment and a curse against the one who betrayed God’s Messiah. With these things in mind, let’s take note:
10 Things Christians Should Know About the Imprecations in Psalms
1. What we read in these OT Psalms are not emotionally uncontrolled outbursts by otherwise sane and compassionate people. Imprecations such as those listed above are found in high poetry and are the product of reasoned meditation (not to mention divine inspiration!). They are calculated petitions, not spontaneous explosions of a bad temper. Certainly there are examples in OT history and prose narrative of actions and attitudes that are sinful and not to be emulated. But the psalms are expressions of public worship to be modeled.
2. We should remember that in Deuteronomy 27-28 the Levites pronounce imprecations against Israel if she proves unfaithful to the covenant. Israel, in accepting the law, brought herself under its sanctions. She in essence pronounced curses upon herself should she break the covenant, and God looked on their response with favor. In other words, God's people were commanded to pray for God's curses upon themselves if they forsook him! We must never think that God is any less severe on his own covenant people than he is on the unbelieving nations who are regularly given to idolatry.
3. These prayers are not expressions of personal vengeance. In fact, most imprecations are in psalms written by David, perhaps the least vengeful man in the OT (consider his dealings with Saul, Nabal, Absalom, Shimei, etc.; see especially 2 Sam. 24:12). David never asks that he be allowed to “get even” with or “pay back” his enemies. His prayer is that God would act justly in dealing with transgressors. There is a vast difference between vindication and vindictiveness. David’s passion was for the triumph of divine justice, not the satisfaction of personal malice. The OT was as much opposed to seeking personal vengeance against one's personal enemies as is the NT (see Exod. 23:4-5; Lev. 19:17-18).
4. We also must remember that imprecations are nothing more than human prayers based on divine promises. One is simply asking God to do what he has already said he will do (often repeatedly throughout the Psalms themselves). For example, in Matthew 7:23 Jesus declares that on the day of judgment he will say to hypocrites, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Is it wrong for us to pray that Jesus do precisely that? Is it wrong for us to build a prayer on a promise? “Oh, Lord, cause those to depart from you who do evil,” appears to be a perfectly legitimate petition. (In this regard, compare Pss. 35:5 with 1:4; 58:6 with 3:7; 35:8 with 9:15; and 35:26 with 6:10.)
5. Imprecations are expressions provoked by the horror of sin. David prayed this way because of his deep sensitivity to the ugliness of evil. Perhaps the chief reason why he wasn’t bothered by prayers of imprecation and we are is that he was bothered by sin and we aren’t! It is frightening to think that we can stand in the presence of evil and not be moved to pray as David did.
6. The motivation behind such prayers is zeal for God’s righteousness, God’s honor, God’s reputation, and the triumph of God’s kingdom. Is our willingness to ignore blasphemy and overlook evil due to a deficiency in our love for God and his name? Could our reaction to the imprecatory psalms be traced to the fact that we love men and their favor more than we love God and his?
7. Another factor to keep in mind is that David, being king, was God’s representative on earth. Thus, an attack on David was, in effect, an attack on God. David’s enemies were not his private opponents but adversaries of God. David’s ire is aroused because they “speak against you [God] with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain! Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?” (Psalm 139:20-21; cf. Psalm 5:10; emphasis mine).
8. The prayers of imprecation are rarely, if ever, for the destruction of a specific individual but almost always of a class or group, namely, “the wicked” or “those who oppose Thee”.
9. We must keep in mind that in most instances these prayers for divine judgment come only after extended efforts on the part of the psalmist to call the enemies of God to repentance. These are not cases of a momentary resistance to God but of unrepentant, recalcitrant, incessant, hardened and haughty defiance of him. In other words, the psalmist calls for divine judgment against them so long as they persist in their rebellion. We love our enemies by praying for their repentance. But if they callously and consistently refuse, our only recourse is to pray that God’s judgment be full and fair. It’s important to remember that there often comes a time in human sin when God withdraws his merciful hand and gives over the human heart to its chosen path. Paul described this in Romans 1. Jesus envisioned a pattern of sin so persistent and calloused that he declared it unforgivable (see Matthew 12:32; see also 1 Cor. 16:22).
10. David knows that he needs spiritual protection lest he “hate” God’s enemies for personal reasons. That is why he concludes Psalm 139 with the prayer that God purify his motives and protect his heart:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (vv. 23-24)
Therefore, when David speaks of “hatred” for those who oppose God’s kingdom he is neither malicious nor bitter nor vindictive, nor moved by self-centered resentment. But he most certainly is jealous for God’s name and firmly at odds with those who blaspheme.
Misc –
Jesus quoted some of the imprecatory psalms during His earthly ministry. In John 15:25, Jesus quotes Psalm 35:19 and 69:4. Paul also quoted an imprecatory prayer in Romans 11:9–10, which is a quote of Psalm 69:22–23. Since Jesus and Paul quoted verses from these imprecatory psalms, it proves those psalms were inspired by God and counters any allegation that they were sinful or selfish prayers of revenge.
Using imprecatory prayers from the Psalms today should only be done against our spiritual enemies (Ephesians 6:12). Praying imprecations on human foes is unjustifiable, as it would require taking these prayers out of context. In the New Testament, Jesus exhorts us to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44–48; Luke 6:27–38), but praying for their death or for bad things to happen to them isn’t what He meant.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1.
How have you thought about the Imprecatory Psalms in the past?
2.
When you come across an Imprecatory Psalm or prayer, are you more likely to
ignore
it, reject it, or walk through it?
3.
What do you think it actually looks like to sprint to the cross in moments of
anger
and
frustration?
4.
Have you thought about the Lord’s prayer as an imprecatory prayer before? How
does
this impact how you think about the Imprecatory Psalms and prayers?
5.
What do you think it means to be an ambassador of God’s Kingdom?
6.
What is a thing you see in the world right now that you believe is
heart-breaking to
God?
What would it look like for you to get involved in this area?
on July 13, 2014 with 262 comments by Dee Brestin
My dear friends Sylvia and Ann have come to my home each summer since Steve’s death — true and faithful friends who radiate the love of Christ. Each year we renew our friendship through tears and laughter and prayer. I am blessed by their seeking hearts, hungry for God, and by their unselfish husbands who give them up, knowing what this time means to us all. Again, this year, they helped me in both spiritual and practical ways. (Ann and Sylvia gave me the necklace I’m wearing from the Holy Land that says. “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.” Then they took me shopping because “my wardrobe looked a little tired.”) I love them so! What a gift from God friendship in the Lord can be.
In my deep woods, Ann’s cell phone didn’t have a signal, so my friend Linda took my house phone to Ann’s room and plunked it down on the bedside table for her to use. The next day, Ann picked it up to make a call. But she accidentally grabbed the Roku television remote that was sitting next to it. When Ann came down the hall carrying the remote, and telling us she couldn’t get the phone to work, Sylvia and I collapsed in laughter! (We actually have a history of being technically challenged and I could regale you with stories about any one of us or all three of us together!) But in this particular episode, I saw a great illustration for the cursing psalms.
We must use an instrument in the way the creator of that instrument intended it to be used. Otherwise it definitely will fail and frustrate us.
Tim Keller gives a wonderful message on Genesis 1 in which he explains that this chapter is misinterpreted because people are asking a question of it that the Creator never intended for it to answer. They ask “How was the world created” as if the genre of Genesis 1 was a scientific treatise. Instead, because the genre of Genesis 2 is poetry, the question is going to be philosophical. The question Genesis 1 asks is “Why was the world (and man) created?” And the answer is to glorify God — for everything He does is good, is good, is good.
So what are we to do with the “cursing or imprecatory psalms,” like Psalm 35, which has the psalmist asking the Lord to have the angel of the Lord chase his enemy down a slippery slope to his destruction? How did our Creator intend us to use these psalms? Are we, indeed, to curse our enemies? It would seem so, upon first reading. But we need to understand the Creator’s purpose for the imprecatory psalms of lament.
USING THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS AS OUR CREATOR MEANT THEM TO BE USED
C. S. Lewis points out in Reflections on the Psalms, we must “not for a moment see all this vindictive hatred as good and pious.” We know that Jesus commands us to love and pray for our enemies, but it isn’t just the New Testament — even the Old Testament tells us not to hate or bear a grudge against our enemies. (See Leviticus 17, 18, 19). So what are we to do with these psalms?
I want to bring you thoughts from some of the best minds and hearts I know, and then this forum is for us to discuss in love and to seek God. He does have a reason He created these psalms, and we must ask Him what it is. But we know, according to the heart of the gospel, it is not to pray curses upon our enemy. So how are we to pray them? I will share what I have learned that does walk in line with the gospel in hopes it will be helpful. I don’t have the complete answer, but I will share with you what I do know.
One of the most helpful illuminations came from Philip Yancey in The Bible Jesus Read. He tells how his friends would tell him to read the psalms when he felt sad or stressed — and he would come across one of the “winteriest” psalms and come away frostily depressed! But then he realize that the psalms are not like other books of the Bible, written from God to man, but instead, this is the prayer journal of the Bible, and it is as if we are looking over the psalmists journal as he laments his real emotions and feelings to God. He is writing what Sara Groves calls “processing songs,” trying to process the injustice and pain in the world and in his life. It is a lament in which he tells God how he feels, honestly, what he desires, honestly — but then, allows God to speak back to him.
I will tell you one way I have prayed using the cursing psalms — and I will tell you that some disagree with me, so you may as well. One of my daughters was in a relationship with a man who was hurting her, but she was putting up with it. Honestly, my genuine feelings were like those of the psalmist. I wanted this man’s way to be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord chasing him. I knew God wanted me to be honest with Him, as long as I was listening to Him in return. He did, indeed, convict me that it was wrong for me to be praying for the destruction of this man. The Lord began to give me compassion for this man and I prayed for his healing. However, I did not see change. So then I prayed (and I know this is the controversial part) that if God knew his heart was not going to soften, but rather harden, that God would take him out of my daughter’s life. And indeed, that is what happened. God gave my daughter enough discernment to draw a boundary and keep it, then brought compassionate believers in her life who sheltered and guided her, and took this man out of her life forever.
I have prayed the same for those who seemed bent on destroying others in our community — and I have seen a school superintendent removed, a hospital administrator removed and a doctor removed. However, I didn’t pray for anyone’s death, but sometimes wonder — for they lost their jobs in my community only to get jobs in other communities.
I have prayed for the deaths of evil leaders who are committing holocausts, if that would be God’s way of dealing with them. I know Bonhoeffer was part of the plot to kill Hitler, and wrote to his sister-in-law:
“If I see a madman driving a car into a group of innocent bystanders, then I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe and then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.”
Did Bonhoeffer pray for Hitler’s demise? I think he must have — though that doesn’t mean he did not forgive.
There is much to ponder, and I’ll be eager to hear your thoughts on how you think our Creator intended us to use the imprecatory psalms. But I do know we are not to, as Lewis said, see vindictive evil as good and pious.”
I also know that our real enemies are not flesh and blood, and I can pray these psalms quite verbatim for the devil and his angels. And I can find comfort in knowing God will always have the last word, and only give Satan enough rope to hang himself.
Yes. And you should. As difficult as that answer might be to swallow, it best accounts for the biblical record. Let me explain.
An imprecatory psalm is a type of lament. In Hebrew Wisdom Literature, lament psalms are the individual and corporate cries of God’s people. The imprecatory psalms in particular vocalize Israel’s tears in the face of injustice and suffering. By praying down the curse of God on His enemies, Israel sought to hold up the goodness of God’s law for His people.
At root, an imprecatory psalm is an invocation of divine cursing. Examples of these imprecations include Psalms 5, 6, 35, 69, and 109, all of which are cited in the New Testament. Curse pronouncements are interspersed throughout the biblical canon. For example, Jesus calls down woes of judgment on religious leaders in Matthew 23. Paul pronounces an anathema on anyone who preaches another gospel in Galatians 1:8–9. And the martyrs in heaven petition God to avenge their blood in Revelation 6:10.
The consistent witness of Scripture affirms the legitimacy of God’s people making use of imprecatory prayers in their individual, family, and corporate prayers. Underlying this assertion is a basic assumption that the prayers of God’s people should be rooted in all of Scripture. The Psalter is God’s divinely inspired prayer book and hymnal. It gives us the language of petition and praise. The imprecatory psalms help give shape to the hurt and outrage that the people of God at times experience in a world desecrated by sin.
Some react to the harsh language of the imprecatory psalms. While this is understandable, we mustn’t lose sight of what our sin deserves. Others underscore the teaching of Jesus to love our enemies. But loving our enemies in the New Testament never comes at the expense of forgoing appeals to divine justice. Praying for God to punish the wicked is neither unloving nor vindictive but is an expression of faith in Him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). Still others want to limit the imprecatory psalms to old covenant Israel. While the circumstances of God’s covenant people have changed with the advent of Christ, the same cruelties that plagued Israel as a believing people in a hostile world still haunt the church today. If we remove the vocabulary of the imprecatory psalms from our homes and churches, what else will Christians sing and pray when tragedy strikes?
To pray the imprecatory psalms is ultimately to pray as Jesus taught us to pray. As Christians, we long for God’s kingdom to come. We yearn for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Praying the imprecatory psalms is not a call to arms but a call to faith. We lift our voices, not our swords, as we pray for God either to convert or curse the enemies of Christ and His kingdom.
Psalms 5:10
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.
Psalms 6:10
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Psalms 7:6
6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
Psalms 9:19-20
19 Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
Psalms 10:2
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
Psalms 10:15
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.
Psalms 17:13
13 Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
Psalms 28:4
4 Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.
Psalms 31:17-18
17 O LORD, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt.
Psalms 35:1
1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!
Psalms 35:4-8
4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me!
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away!
6 Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them!
7 For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.
8 Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it--to his destruction!
Psalms 35:19
19 Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause.
Psalms 35:24-26
24 Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me!
25 Let them not say in their hearts, "Aha, our heart's desire!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up."
26 Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me!
Psalms 40:14-15
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, "Aha, Aha!"
Psalms 41:10
10 But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!
Psalms 54:5
5 He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them.
Psalms 55:9
9 Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.
Psalms 55:15
15 Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
Psalms 56:7
7 For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
Psalms 58:6-10
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
Psalms 59:5
5 You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
Psalms 59:11-14
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield!
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
Psalms 63:9-10
9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals.
Psalms 68:1-2
1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God!
Psalms 69:22-28
22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.
24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
Psalms 70:2-3
2 Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!
3 Let them turn back because of their shame who say, "Aha, Aha!"
Psalms 71:13
13 May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt.
Psalms 79:6
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!
Psalms 79:10-12
10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes!
11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!
12 Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
Psalms 83:9-18
9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, "Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God."
13 O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane!
16 Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace,
18 that they may know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.
Judges 4:15-21
15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword. And Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot.
16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.
17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid." So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug.
19 And he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.
20 And he said to her, "Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say, 'No.'"
21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.
Judges 5:25-27
25 He asked water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble's bowl.
26 She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen's mallet; she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell--dead.
Psalms 94:1-4
1 O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!
3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.
Psalms 97:7
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!
Psalms 104:35
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!
Psalms 109:6-19
6 Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 May his days be few; may another take his office!
9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
10 May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11 May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15 Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!
16 For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!
19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day!
Psalms 119:84
84 How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me?
Psalms 129:5-7
5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,
7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
Psalms 137:7-9
7 Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, "Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!"
8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
Psalms 139:19-22
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.
Psalms 140:8-11
8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah
9 As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
Psalms 141:10
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.
Psalms 143:12
12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.
New Testament References on next page…
10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,
11 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.'
12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
16 "The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.
22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!
6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
10 They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants."