Discovery BoxPsalms 109:9-12 
Context109:9 May his children 1 be fatherless,
and his wife a widow!
109:10 May his children 2 roam around begging,
asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home! 3
109:11 May the creditor seize 4 all he owns!
May strangers loot his property! 5
109:12 May no one show him kindness! 6
May no one have compassion 7 on his fatherless children!
1 tn Or “sons.”
2 tn Or “sons.”
3 tn Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (vÿdoreshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (yÿgoreshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shi’elu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.
4 tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).
5 tn Heb “the product of his labor.”
6 tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”
