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Psalm 139:19

If only you, God, would kill the wicked. Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

17How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is their sum!
18If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.
19If only you, God, would kill the wicked. Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20For they speak against you wickedly. Your enemies take your name in vain.
21LORD, don’t I hate those who hate you? Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you?
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← Psalm 139:18Psalm 139:20 →
Notice

The plea for God to kill the wicked breaks into wonder at his thoughts, confronting you with the fierce language of prayer against bloodthirsty people.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

How does the turn from God’s precious thoughts to a plea for death affect your reading?

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What does the description “bloodthirsty men” clarify about the evil the speaker opposes?

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What violence do you struggle to bring before God without wanting to take judgment into your own hands?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

10 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
Psalm 6:8Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.Both speakers tell evildoers to depart, addressing wrongdoing in prayers that turn to God.
Psalm 119:115Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.Both speakers demand distance from evildoers; Psalm 119 connects that distance with keeping God’s commandments.
Psalm 5:6You will destroy those who speak lies. The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.Both passages name bloodthirsty people and connect wickedness with death at God’s hand.
Psalm 59:2Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Save me from the bloodthirsty men.Both prayers name bloodthirsty men, with Psalm 59 asking for rescue and Psalm 139 asking God to kill the wicked.
Isaiah 11:4but he will judge the poor with righteousness, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with …Psalm 139 asks God to kill the wicked; Isaiah describes a judge who will kill the wicked.
2 Corinthians 6:17Therefore “‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.Both passages speak of separation from evil, though one dismisses bloodthirsty men and the other commands departure from uncleanness.
Matthew 25:41Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;Both contain a command to depart, though the psalm addresses bloodthirsty men and Matthew pronounces a sentence of eternal fire.
Genesis 49:6My soul, don’t come into their council. My glory, don’t be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung …Both speakers reject association with violent people; Genesis names the killing that makes such company intolerable.
Genesis 4:8Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.Bloodshed is the shared thread: the psalm rejects bloodthirsty men, while Genesis recounts Cain killing his brother.
Matthew 7:23Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’Both speakers command wrongdoers to depart, with Matthew adding the declaration that the speaker never knew them.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. sermon or Bible study notes.

What the Bible says about anger →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Ask God to judge bloodshed and protect those threatened

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Encouragement

The request for death is addressed to God; it grants no permission to harm someone. The speaker seeks distance from bloodthirsty men and puts judgment before God.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 139:19. 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 139 · 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).