Psalms 69:28

May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living! ¹  Do not let their names be listed with the godly! ² 

May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous.

Erase their names from the Book of Life; don’t let them be counted among the righteous.

Strike their names from the list of the living; No rock-carved honor for them among the righteous.

Let their names be taken from the book of the living, let them not be numbered with the upright.

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous.

May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living! ¹  Do not let their names be listed with the godly! ² 

¹ tn Heb “let them be wiped out of the scroll of the living.”

sn The phrase the scroll of the living occurs only here in the OT. It pictures a scroll or census list containing the names of the citizens of a community. When an individual died, that person’s name was removed from the list. So this curse is a very vivid way of asking that the enemies die.

² tn Heb “and with the godly let them not be written.”

sn Do not let their names be listed with the godly. This curse pictures a scroll in which God records the names of his loyal followers. The psalmist makes the point that his enemies have no right to be included in this list of the godly.