The Meaning of Psalms 109:5 Explained

Psalms 109:5

KJV: And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

YLT: And they set against me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

Darby: And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

ASV: And they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they have rewarded  me evil  for good,  and hatred  for my love. 

What does Psalms 109:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 109:1-16 - The Persecutor Of The Needy
This psalm is like a patch of the Sahara amid a smiling Eden. But, terrible as the words are, remember that they were written by the man who, on two occasions, spared the life of his persecutor, and who, when the field of Gilboa was wet with Saul's life-blood, sang the loveliest of elegiacs to his memory. These maledictions do not express personal vindictiveness. Probably they should be read as depicting the doom of the wrong-doer. The Apostle, quoting this psalm, expressly says that the Spirit of Inspiration spoke before by the mouth of David, Acts 1:16. The imperative let might better be translated by the future shall. This would be in perfect conformity with Hebrew usage.
Notice in Psalms 109:4 that by omitting the three words in italics, a beautiful suggestion is made of the life of prayer: But I-prayer. The only response of the psalmist to the hatred of his enemies was to give himself more absolutely to prayer. His whole being was consumed in the one intense appeal to God. Such times come to us all. Such prayers always end in praise and thanksgiving, Psalms 109:30. Happy are we who also can count on the Advocate with the Father, Psalms 109:31. Jesus prays our prayers with us. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 109

1  David complains of his slanderous enemies
16  He shows their sin
21  Complaining of his own misery, he prays for help
29  He promises thankfulness

What do the individual words in Psalms 109:5 mean?

And they have rewarded me evil for good thus hatred my love
וַיָּ֘שִׂ֤ימוּ עָלַ֣י רָ֭עָה תַּ֣חַת טוֹבָ֑ה וְ֝שִׂנְאָ֗ה אַהֲבָתִֽי

וַיָּ֘שִׂ֤ימוּ  And  they  have  rewarded 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
עָלַ֣י  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
רָ֭עָה  evil 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
טוֹבָ֑ה  good 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: טָבַב 
Sense: good, pleasant, agreeable.
וְ֝שִׂנְאָ֗ה  thus  hatred 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שִׂנְאָה  
Sense: hating, hatred, hate.
אַהֲבָתִֽי  my  love 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אַהֲבָה 
Sense: love.