Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.

PSALMS 70:2KJV
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Psalms 70:2 (KJV)

What does Psalms 70:2 mean?

Psalms 70:2 is a prayer asking God to bring shame and confusion to those who are trying to harm the speaker. The verse calls for those who seek the speaker’s life and wish him harm to be turned back and frustrated in their plans.

King David is speaking in this psalm, crying out to God for urgent help against enemies who are actively seeking to destroy him. The verse uses strong language to show David’s distress and his desire for God to intervene so that his enemies’ evil intentions will fail and they themselves will be disgraced.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 70:2

  • "Ashamed" (בּוֹשׁ, bosh): This word often means to be put to shame or to feel humiliation. Here, David asks that his enemies experience public disgrace for their actions.
  • "Confounded" (חָפֵר, chafeir): This word carries the sense of being perplexed or thrown into confusion. David is asking that those who seek his life be unsettled and lose their confidence.
  • "Seek" (בָּקַשׁ, baqash): This verb means to search for or pursue. The verse highlights that these people are actively and intentionally trying to harm David.
  • "Soul" (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh): In Hebrew thought, "soul" often means the whole self or life, not just the inner spirit. David’s enemies are not just after his reputation but his very life.

Why Psalms 70:2 matters

  • This verse clarifies that David is not seeking personal revenge but is asking God to act as judge and protector, showing his reliance on God rather than his own strength.
  • The strong words for shame and confusion emphasize how serious and threatening the situation feels to David, revealing the depth of his distress.
  • Understanding the original words helps us see that David’s prayer is not just about embarrassment for his enemies but about stopping real, life-threatening harm.

Where else these words appear

“desire” Hebrew H2655 · used in 10 verses

  • 1 Kings 13:33 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
  • Nehemiah 1:11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
  • Psalms 35:27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

“turned” Hebrew H5472 · used in 14 verses

  • Psalms 35:4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
  • Psalms 78:57 But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
  • Isaiah 42:17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

“confounded” Hebrew H2659 · used in 17 verses

  • Job 6:20 They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.
  • Psalms 71:24 My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.
  • Isaiah 24:23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

“confusion” Hebrew H3637 · used in 38 verses

  • Numbers 12:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
  • Job 19:3 These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me.
  • Isaiah 54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.