Read
Psalm 109:29
Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
27that they may know that this is your hand; that you, LORD, have done it.
28They may curse, but you bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, but your servant shall rejoice.
29Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth. Yes, I will praise him among the multitude.
31For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.
Notice
The robe of shame makes this prayer for judgment stark: the speaker asks that his adversaries be covered in their own disgrace.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does shame worn as a robe suggest about the reversal the speaker seeks?
Write on thisWhere do you see a difference between asking God for judgment and seeking someone's humiliation yourself?
Write on thisWhat changes in your reading when you include God's help for the needy in verse 31?
Write on thisConnect
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
Job 8:22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame. The tent of the wicked will be no more.”Both passages describe hostile people clothed with shame, making disgrace something they wear.
Psalm 86:17Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, LORD, have helped me, and comforted me.Both prayers seek shame for those who oppose the speaker, with God's help explicit in Psalm 86.
Psalm 89:45You have shortened the days of his youth. You have covered him with shame. Selah.Both describe shame as a covering, though Psalm 89 laments that covering rather than requesting it for adversaries.
Psalm 132:18I will clothe his enemies with shame, but on himself, his crown will shine.”Both picture enemies clothed with shame; Psalm 109 requests this, while Psalm 132 declares that it will happen.
Psalm 35:26Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.Both prayers ask that opponents be clothed with shame and dishonor, using the same image of disgrace worn like clothing.
Jeremiah 20:11But the LORD is with me as an awesome mighty one. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they won’t prevail. They will be utterly disappointed because they …Both passages speak of dishonor for hostile people; Jeremiah expresses confidence that his persecutors will fail because the LORD is with him.
Micah 7:10Then my enemy will see it, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her. Now she will be trodden down like the …Both portray shame covering an enemy, with Micah naming the enemy's taunt about the LORD.
Daniel 12:2Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.Both speak of shame, though Daniel concerns those who awake from death and Psalm 109 concerns the speaker's adversaries.
Jeremiah 3:25Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. …Both use covering language for disgrace, though Jeremiah confesses the speakers' own sin while Psalm 109 asks for shame upon adversaries.
Jeremiah 14:3Their nobles send their little ones to the waters. They come to the cisterns, and find no water. They return with their vessels empty. They are disappointed …The shared thread is covering in disgrace or distress: adversaries wear shame, while those returning without water cover their heads.
Jeremiah 51:51“We are confounded because we have heard reproach. Confusion has covered our faces, for strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the LORD’s house.”Both portray disgrace as a covering, though Jeremiah describes the speakers' own reproach rather than shame sought for their enemies.
Ezekiel 26:16Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe …Both use clothing to portray a humiliating reversal: shame covers the adversaries, while trembling clothes the princes.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. work conflict. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The request for dishonor is severe, and it is addressed to God. The surrounding lines locate the speaker's hope in YHWH, who stands beside the needy.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 109:29. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
Keep goingPsalm 109 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms
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).