Psalm 109:11

11 An usurer seek all his chattel; and aliens ravish his travails. (Let an usurer take away all his chattel, or his substance; and let foreigners, or strangers, take all that he hath worked for.)

Psalm 109:11 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 109:11

Let the extortioner catch all that he hath
Or, "lay a snare for all" ^F3; as the Romans did, by bringing in their army, invading the land of Judea, and besieging the city of Jerusalem; who are "the extortioner or exacter that demanded tribute of them"; which they refused to pay, and therefore they seized on all they had for it. The Syriac and Arabic versions render it, "the creditor"; who sometimes for a debt would take wife and children, and all that a man had; see ( 2 Kings 4:1 2 Kings 4:2 ) ( Matthew 18:25 ) . It might be literally true of Judas; who dying in debt, his wife and children, and all he had, might be laid hold on for payment.

And let the stranger spoil his labour;
plunder his house of all his goods and substance he had been labouring for: which was true of the Romans, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; who came into the land, and spoiled their houses, fields, and vineyards, they had been labouring in; they took away their place and nation, and all they had, ( John 11:48 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (vqny) "illaqueet", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Piscator, Gejerus; "iretiat", Vatablus, Michaelis.

Psalm 109:11 In-Context

9 (Let) His sons be made fatherless; and his wife a widow.

10 His sons trembling be borne over, and beg; and be they cast out of their habitations. (Let his sons and daughters be made vagrants, and go begging; yea, let them be thrown out of their dwelling places.)

11 An usurer seek all his chattel; and aliens ravish his travails. (Let an usurer take away all his chattel, or his substance; and let foreigners, or strangers, take all that he hath worked for.)

12 None helper be to him; neither any be that have mercy on his motherless children. (Let there be no one to help him; nor let anyone have mercy on his motherless children.)

13 His sons be made into perishing (Let all his sons and daughters die); (and) the name of him be done away in one generation.