Psalm - 109:14



14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh. Don't let the sin of his mother be blotted out.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Psalm 109:14.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered in the sight of the Lord: and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Let the Lord keep in mind the wrongdoing of his fathers; and may the sin of his mother have no forgiveness.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be brought to remembrance unto the LORD; And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Let the iniquity of his fathers - Of his ancestors.
Be remembered with the Lord - Or, by the Lord. The doctrine of the Bible is, that God "visits the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate" him Exodus 20:5; the matter of fact is that children and children's children often suffer from the errors, the crimes, and the follies of their parents, as in the case of intemperance, murder, and treason (compare the notes at Romans 5:12 ff); and the prayer here is, that this regular effect of sin might follow in this instance; that these consequences might not be arrested by divine interposition.
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out - This is probably added to complete the parallelism; the sin of his father and his mother. There may, however, if this is a composition of David, be a similar allusion to that which occurs in Psalm 51:5, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." The prayer is, that whatever effects might properly follow from the fact that his mother was a sinner - either in some special sense, or in the general sense that all are sinhers - might come upon him.

(g) Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
(g) Thus the Lord punishes to the third and fourth generation the wickedness of the parents in their wicked children.

Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord,.... Not of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; who, though they had their failings, they were not remembered, and much less punished in their posterity, but were forgiven: rather of the Amorites and Hittites; the one being said to be the father, and the other the mother, of the Jews, Ezekiel 16:3, they succeeding them in their land, and imitating their example, and committing the same sins they did: or rather of their wicked ancestors, who killed the prophets; and the measure of whose sins Judas and the Jews filled up in crucifying Christ, see Matthew 23:31. The iniquity of these may be said to be remembered, it not being forgiven, when it was brought to account, and punished in their posterity, doing the same wicked actions; compare with this Revelation 16:19.
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out: or forgiven; but stand as a debt to be accounted for: meaning not the sin of his mother Eve, nor of his immediate parent; but either of the Hittite as before, or of the synagogue of the Jews, or Jerusalem, which killed the prophets of the Lord.

Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered, &c.--Added to the terrible overthrow following his own sin, let there be the imputation of his parents' guilt, that it may now come before God, for His meting out its full consequences, in cutting off the memory of them (that is, the parents) from the earth (Psalm 34:16).

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