Psalms 109:18

18 He ¹clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it ²soak^[a] into his body like water, like oil into his bones!

Psalms 109:18 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 109:18

As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment,
&c.] He was full of it; his mouth was full of cursing and bitterness; it was visible in him, easy to be discerned; he took pride as well as pleasure in it, it was in his esteem an ornament to him, as his clothes were. The Syriac version renders it, "as armour"; as if it was a protection to him, or he thought it to be so.

So let it come into his bowels like water;
the meaning is, let the wrath of God and the curse of the law come into his conscience, and make sad work there, and fill him with dread and terror, and that in great abundance, and with great force; like a flood of waters that carry all before it; or like the waters of jealousy which made the belly to swell and the thigh to rot; or the flying roll of the curse, which entering into the house of the sinner destroyed it, and all in it, ( Numbers 5:22 ) ( Zechariah 5:4 ) .

And like oil into his bones;
which is more piercing and penetrating than water; and signifies the inward and quick sense he should have of his sins, and of the wrath of God for them; see ( Job 20:11 ) .

Psalms 109:18 In-Context

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!

20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, of those who speak evil against my life!

Cross References

• 1. [ver. 29; Psalms 73:6]
• 2. [Numbers 5:22]

Footnotes

• [a]. Revocalization; Masoretic Text it has soaked