Psalm 79:12

Translations

Modern

Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.

Traditional

And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.

Literal

And may You return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord!

Latin

…et redde vicinis nostris septuplum in sinu eorum; improperium ipsorum quod exprobraverunt tibi, Domine.

Original

Hebrew

English

Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.

Notes

Psalms 79:12

The exile resulted in national suffering and in individual searching for the Lord.
Pay back: See Psalm 1:6; 94:2; Jeremiah 32:18.
The phrase sevenfold means something is complete.
Israel's neighbors included Edom, Moab, and Ammon (see Psalm 137:7; 2 Kings 24:2; Obadiah 1).

Psalms 79:1–13

This lament describes the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Israel’s early history of rebellion, described in Psalm 78, angered God. As a result, Zion was destroyed. The temple was defiled, and the bodies of the dead lay across the land.

The psalmist then prays for forgiveness and rescue (Psalm 79:8–9) and asks God to repay the nation's enemies (Psalm 79:12–13). Other psalms lamenting the exile include Psalms 42–44, 102, 107, 126, and 137.

Related verses

Genesis 4:15
“Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.
Jeremiah 32:18
You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts,
Leviticus 26:21
If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins.
Psalm 74:18–22
Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
Proverbs 6:31
Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.
Leviticus 26:28
…then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Isaiah 65:5–7
They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
Psalm 44:16
…at the voice of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy, bent on revenge.
Psalm 74:10
How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?

Parallels

Psalm 74:1–23 Jeremiah 52:1–11

People

LORD: Names or title used to refer to God

Glossary

Asaph Imprecatory Psalms Mercy Music Psalms, Book of

Topics

Prayer: Imprecatory Prayer: Pleas offered In Reviling and Reproaching: The Wicked Utter, Against: God

Psalm 79:12

Translations?

Original?

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Related verses?

Parallels?