Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.

PSALMS 109:11KJV
Know the Bible

Psalms 109:11 (KJV)

What does Psalms 109:11 mean?

Psalms 109:11 is a request that an enemy lose his possessions and the results of his work. The speaker asks that a person seeking payment seize everything the enemy has, and that outsiders take what he has worked for.

The verse pictures loss from two directions: someone pressing a claim and strangers carrying away the fruit of labor. The repeated “let” expresses what the speaker wants to happen; it is a request, not an account of events already completed. After the plea about the enemy’s children in verse 10, the request turns to his property.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 109:11

  • “extortioner” — נֹשֶׁה (nosheh): This word can mean a creditor, someone seeking repayment of a debt. The KJV’s “extortioner” presents that person as making a harsh demand.
  • “catch” — נָקַשׁ (naqash): This word can carry the sense of trapping or ensnaring. The image suggests possessions being caught and held, rather than merely noticed or counted.
  • “labour” — יְגִיעַ (yegiaʿ): This word can refer to toil or what toil produces. Here it points to the results of a person’s work as things strangers could carry away.

Why Psalms 109:11 matters

  • The request reaches beyond money owed to one person. “All that he hath” and “his labour” extend the loss to the enemy’s possessions and livelihood.
  • The request belongs to a response to hostility. Earlier, the speaker says, “they have spoken against me with a lying tongue” (verse 2), which helps explain the anger expressed here.
  • The verse describes the speaker’s appeal, not a direct command to the audience. The surrounding words are addressed to God, beginning with “Hold not thy peace” in verse 1.

Where else these words appear

“catch” Hebrew H5367 · used in 5 verses

  • Deuteronomy 12:30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
  • 1 Samuel 28:9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
  • Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.

“extortioner” Hebrew H5383 · used in 12 verses

  • Exodus 22:25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
  • Deuteronomy 24:11 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
  • Nehemiah 5:11 Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.

“labour” Hebrew H3018 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 31:42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
  • Job 39:16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;
  • Jeremiah 3:24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

“spoil” Hebrew H962 · used in 39 verses

  • Genesis 34:27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
  • 2 Kings 7:16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
  • Isaiah 42:22 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.