Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

PSALMS 5:10KJV
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Psalms 5:10 (KJV)

What does Psalms 5:10 mean?

Psalms 5:10 is a prayer asking God to judge people whose many wrongs amount to rebellion against him. The speaker asks that their own plans bring them down and that God cast them out.

After describing their deceitful speech in verse 9, the speaker asks God to deal with the people behind it. “Let them fall by their own counsels” pictures their schemes becoming the cause of their downfall.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 5:10

  • “Destroy” — אָשַׁם (asham): This Hebrew word can carry the sense of being guilty or being held guilty. The KJV’s “Destroy” expresses the judgment the speaker asks God to bring upon them.
  • “transgressions” — פֶּשַׁע (peshaʿ): The word refers to acts of wrongdoing or rebellion. Here, “the multitude of their transgressions” presents their conduct as repeated, not merely a single offense.
  • “rebelled” — מָרָה (marah): The word can mean to resist or defy. “Against thee” directs that defiance toward God.

Why Psalms 5:10 matters

  • The prayer connects the people’s words with their conduct. Verse 9 describes deceptive speech, while verse 10 calls attention to their many transgressions.
  • The speaker asks for judgment on the basis of what the people have done. The phrase “in the multitude of their transgressions” gives the reason for asking God to cast them out.
  • The verse is addressed to God rather than to the people being judged. “Destroy thou them, O God” makes the sentence a request, not a command for the speaker’s companions to carry out.

Where else these words appear

“counsels” Hebrew H4156 · used in 7 verses

  • Psalms 81:12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
  • Proverbs 22:20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
  • Hosea 11:6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

“Destroy” Hebrew H816 · used in 32 verses

  • Leviticus 4:13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;
  • Numbers 5:6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;
  • Ezekiel 6:6 In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

“rebelled” Hebrew H4784 · used in 43 verses

  • Numbers 20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
  • 1 Kings 13:21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
  • Isaiah 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

“out” Hebrew H5080 · used in 51 verses

  • Deuteronomy 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
  • Nehemiah 1:9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
  • Jeremiah 29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.