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Psalm 71:13

Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me.

11saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”
12God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me.
13Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me.
14But I will always hope, and will add to all of your praise.
15My mouth will tell about your righteousness, and of your salvation all day, though I don’t know its full measure.
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← Psalm 71:12Psalm 71:14 →
Notice

“Consumed” makes this a severe prayer for judgment, spoken under threat from accusers who claim God has abandoned the speaker and want to seize him.

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

What do you find hardest to reckon with in the request that accusers be “consumed”?

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How does the threat described in verse 11 shape your reading of this prayer?

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What distinction do you see between asking God for judgment and taking revenge yourself?

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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 25:3Yes, no one who waits for you will be shamed. They will be shamed who deal treacherously without cause.Both passages associate shame with those who act against others: treacherous people in Psalm 25 and accusers seeking harm in Psalm 71.
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 describe disappointment and disgrace for persecutors, though Jeremiah declares their defeat while Psalm 71 asks God for it.
Psalm 71:24My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me.The same psalm later describes those who want to harm the speaker as disappointed, echoing the request made here.
Psalm 109:29Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.Both prayers ask that adversaries be covered with shame or dishonor, using clothing as an image of disgrace.
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 seek disappointment and covering shame for people who seek harm or rejoice at the speaker’s calamity.
John 8:9They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the …The connection is limited: Psalm 71 requests disgrace for accusers, while John describes people leaving after conviction by their conscience.
Esther 9:2the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus, to lay hands on those who wanted to harm them. No one …Both name people who want to harm others; Psalm 71 seeks their defeat in prayer, while Esther describes armed resistance.
Isaiah 41:11Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded. Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish.Both speak of hostile people facing disgrace and destruction, with Psalm 71 expressing a prayer and Isaiah declaring what will happen.
1 Peter 5:5Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility and subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists …Both use clothing imagery, though Psalm 71 asks for enemies to wear disgrace and Peter directs believers to clothe themselves with humility.
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 depict shame as a covering, though Psalm 71 seeks it for accusers and Jeremiah describes it on the speakers’ own faces.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. fear for the future.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about fear →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Write a prayer about one accusation, entrusting judgment to God

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Encouragement

The plea for accusers to be consumed is severe. It comes from someone under threat who brings judgment before God; it gives no command to carry out revenge.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 71:13. 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 71 · 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).