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Psalm 109:14
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the LORD. Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
12Let there be no one to extend kindness to him, neither let there be anyone to have pity on his fatherless children.
13Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
14Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the LORD. Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off their memory from the earth;
16because he didn’t remember to show kindness, but persecuted the poor and needy man, the broken in heart, to kill them.
Notice
The sins of fathers and a mother enter a curse against a persecutor of the poor, reaching back into his family’s past.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What troubles you, if anything, about the request that his mother’s sin remain unblotted?
Write on thisWhat difference does the persecution described in verse 16 make to your reading of this curse?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 20:5you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on …Both passages speak of fathers’ iniquity before the LORD and describe judgment that reaches across generations.
Nehemiah 4:5Don’t cover their iniquity. Don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have insulted the builders.”Both prayers ask that sin remain before God without being blotted out, in response to wrongdoing.
Jeremiah 18:23Yet, LORD, you know all their counsel against me to kill me. Don’t forgive their iniquity. Don’t blot out their sin from your sight, Let them be overthrown …Both prayers ask the LORD to leave sin unblotted, with surrounding words describing attempts to kill.
2 Kings 11:1Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal offspring.The connection is limited: both mention a mother, but Kings recounts Athaliah’s violence while the psalm asks God to remember a mother’s sin.
2 Samuel 21:8–9But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, …Both texts mention mothers and family lines; the supplied Samuel verse identifies descendants without stating a request about remembered sin.
2 Kings 9:27But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, “Strike him also in the chariot!” They …The connection is limited: the psalm asks for divine judgment, while Kings recounts Jehu’s pursuit and Ahaziah’s violent death.
2 Samuel 21:1There was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, “It is for Saul, and for his …Both passages connect wrongdoing with a family before the LORD; Samuel names Saul’s killing of the Gibeonites as the reason for famine.
2 Kings 8:27He walked in the way of Ahab’s house and did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, as did Ahab’s house, for he was the son-in-law of Ahab’s house.Both passages speak of evil within a family line under the LORD’s judgment, with Kings naming Ahab’s house.
Isaiah 43:25I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.Both use the language of remembering and blotting out sin: the psalm asks God to remember, while Isaiah declares his forgiveness.
Leviticus 26:39Those of you who are left will pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers they shall pine away with them.Both passages name fathers’ iniquities as relevant to a later generation facing judgment.
Matthew 23:31–36Therefore you testify to yourselves that you are children of those who killed the prophets.Both passages bring ancestors’ wrongdoing into view; Matthew identifies the ancestors as those who killed the prophets.
2 Kings 10:13–14Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, “Who are you?” They answered, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah. We are going down to greet the …The shared thread is family relationships: the psalm mentions parents, while Kings identifies Ahaziah’s brothers and royal children.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
This severe prayer asks God to remember even the parents’ sins. You need not soften its words or make them a personal weapon; judgment belongs to YHWH.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).