Psalm 109:17 describes a person who took pleasure in cursing others and did not take pleasure in blessing them. The psalmist says that the curses this man loved came back on him, and that blessing stayed far from him. It is a prayer for justice spoken by David, or by a psalmist writing in David’s name, against a man who had persecuted the poor and the brokenhearted. The verse is part of a long imprecatory section, a psalm in which the writer calls down judgment on an enemy.
Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
Psalm 109:17 (WEB)
What Psalm 109:17 Means
The verse begins with “he loved cursing,” which describes the enemy’s settled habit. Cursing was not an occasional outburst for him. It was something he wanted and enjoyed, so the psalmist says that cursing “came to him,” meaning that the harm he wished on others returned to him. The second half contrasts this with blessing. He “didn’t delight in blessing,” so blessing stayed “far from him.” The verse is less a prediction of a particular punishment than a moral observation: the heart that loves to wound tends to be left without the goodness it refused to give.
It is worth being clear about what the verse does not promise. It does not say that every person who speaks harshly will suffer exactly what they wished on someone else, and it does not give believers a formula for securing their own outcomes. It describes how the psalmist understood God’s justice in one situation, where a wrongdoer had oppressed people who could not defend themselves. Read honestly, it teaches that God sees the direction of a person’s heart and that a life set on cruelty is not a life open to God’s blessing.
The Context of Psalm 109:17
Psalm 109 is traditionally attributed to David and belongs to a group of psalms often called imprecatory, because they call for God to act against enemies. In verses 14 to 16 the writer asks that the sins of this man and his family be remembered before the Lord, because he “didn’t remember to show kindness” and persecuted “the poor and needy man, the broken in heart.” The audience is the worshiping community of Israel, and the psalm gives language for the suffering of people who were wronged and had no earthly court to appeal to.
Verse 17 sits at the center of this indictment, explaining why the judgment is deserved. Verses 18 and 19 then describe the curse soaking into the man’s body like water and oil and wrapping him like a garment, while verse 20 names the outcome as the reward of the writer’s adversaries from the Lord. Seen in this setting, verse 17 is not a general statement about all speech. It is the reason the psalmist gives for trusting God to answer injustice with justice.
Key Phrases in Psalm 109:17
Proverbs 26:2
Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.
(WEB)
This proverb speaks of a curse that comes without cause not landing, like a bird that flies off or a sparrow that does not settle. It pairs well with Psalm 109:17 by showing that words aimed at harm have a way of falling short, and that the wise person trusts God to judge rather than trying to secure their own vengeance.
Romans 12:14
Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse.
(WEB)
Paul calls believers to bless those who persecute them, the very opposite of the cursing the psalm condemns. Reading it alongside Psalm 109:17 shows how the New Testament carries forward the same concern for the direction of the heart, asking Christians to turn their speech toward blessing even when they have been wronged.
A Short Prayer From Psalm 109:17
Lord, you see the hearts of people more clearly than I ever could. Where I have been tempted to take pleasure in someone else’s harm, or to speak words that wound, search me and turn me back toward blessing. Teach me to love what you love, to speak kindly even when I am hurt, and to leave justice in your hands rather than grasping for it myself. When I am wronged, help me bring it honestly to you and trust your righteousness. Let my life be shaped by your goodness, and let your blessing be near me and near the people I meet today. Amen.
