The Meaning of Psalms 7:4 Explained

Psalms 7:4

KJV: If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)

YLT: If I have done my well-wisher evil, And draw mine adversary without cause,

Darby: If I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me; (indeed I have freed him that without cause oppressed me;)

ASV: If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (Yea, I have delivered him that without cause was mine adversary;)

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If I have rewarded  evil  unto him that was at peace  with me; (yea, I have delivered  him that without cause  is mine enemy:  ) 

What does Psalms 7:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 7:1-17 - Refuge In God From Evil Men
This psalm should be compared with 1 Samuel 24:1-22; 1 Samuel 25:1-44; 1 Samuel 26:1-25. Cush, or "dark-complexioned," may refer to a Benjamite who was David's calumniator with Saul. If David needed deliverance from his foes, how much more do we from Satan! 1 Peter 5:8-9.
So far from being guilty of the offense charged against him, David on two occasions had spared Saul's life, 1 Samuel 24:1-22; 1 Samuel 26:1-25. Mine honor, Psalms 7:5, is probably another word for "soul," Genesis 49:6. It seems as if, Psalms 7:6-9, God has abdicated His throne, and the suppliant is pleading with him to resume it, with no fear as to the verdict. Evil recoils, like the boomerang, on those who set it in motion. Ralph the Rover perished on the Inchcape Rock, whose warning bell he had destroyed. The hunter falls into the pit prepared in the forest track for his prey, Judges 1:7. What a noble prayer in Psalms 7:9! [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 7

1  David prays against the malice of his enemies, professing his innocence
10  By faith he sees his defense, and the destruction of his enemies

What do the individual words in Psalms 7:4 mean?

if I have repaid to him who was at peace with me evil Or have plundered my enemy without cause
אִם־ גָּ֭מַלְתִּי שֽׁוֹלְמִ֥י רָ֑ע וָאֲחַלְּצָ֖ה צוֹרְרִ֣י רֵיקָֽם

גָּ֭מַלְתִּי  I  have  repaid 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: גָּמַל  
Sense: to deal fully with, recompense.
שֽׁוֹלְמִ֥י  to  him  who  was  at  peace  with  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: שָׁלֵם  
Sense: .
רָ֑ע  evil 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
וָאֲחַלְּצָ֖ה  Or  have  plundered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular, third person feminine singular
Root: חָלַץ 
Sense: to remove, draw out, draw off, take off, withdraw, equip (for war), arm for war, rescue, be rescued.
צוֹרְרִ֣י  my  enemy 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: צָרַר 
Sense: to bind, be narrow, be in distress, make narrow, cause distress, besiege, be straitened, be bound.
רֵיקָֽם  without  cause 
Parse: Adverb
Root: רֵיקָם  
Sense: vainly, emptily.