Psalm 109:9
New International Version
May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.

New Living Translation
May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow.

English Standard Version
May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!

Berean Standard Bible
May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.

King James Bible
Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

New King James Version
Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.

New American Standard Bible
May his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.

NASB 1995
Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow.

NASB 1977
Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.

Legacy Standard Bible
Let his sons be orphans And his wife a widow.

Amplified Bible
Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow.

Christian Standard Bible
Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.

American Standard Version
Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.

Contemporary English Version
Make orphans of his children and a widow of his wife;

English Revised Version
Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Let his children become fatherless and his wife a widow.

Good News Translation
May his children become orphans, and his wife a widow!

International Standard Version
May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow.

Majority Standard Bible
May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.

NET Bible
May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow!

New Heart English Bible
Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

Webster's Bible Translation
Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

World English Bible
Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
His sons are fatherless, and his wife a widow.

Young's Literal Translation
His sons are fatherless, and his wife a widow.

Smith's Literal Translation
His sons shall be orphans, and his wife a widow.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

Catholic Public Domain Version
May his sons be orphans, and his wife a widow.

New American Bible
May his children be fatherless, his wife, a widow.

New Revised Standard Version
May his children be orphans, and his wife a widow.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Let their children be fatherless and their wives widows.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Their children shall be orphans and their wives, widows.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Let his children be orphans, and his wife a widow.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Song of the Slandered
8May his days be few; may another take his position. 9May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. 10May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.…

Cross References
Exodus 22:24
My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children will be fatherless.

Jeremiah 18:21
Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.

Lamentations 5:3
We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers are widows.

Job 18:19
He has no offspring or posterity among his people, no survivor where he once lived.

Isaiah 14:20-22
You will not join them in burial, since you have destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of the wicked will never again be mentioned. / Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the iniquities of their forefathers. They will never rise up to possess a land or cover the earth with their cities. / “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will cut off from Babylon her name and her remnant, her offspring and her posterity,” declares the LORD.

Deuteronomy 28:32
Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, while your eyes grow weary looking for them day after day, with no power in your hand.

Hosea 9:12
Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one. Yes, woe be to them when I turn away from them!

Proverbs 17:13
If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.

1 Samuel 2:32-33
You will see distress in My dwelling place. Despite all that is good in Israel, no one in your house will ever again reach old age. / And every one of you that I do not cut off from My altar, I will cause your eyes to fail and your heart to grieve. All your descendants will die by the sword of men.

2 Samuel 14:7
Now the whole clan has risen up against your maidservant and said, ‘Hand over the one who struck down his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of the brother whom he killed. Then we will cut off the heir as well!’ So they would extinguish my one remaining ember by not preserving my husband’s name or posterity on the earth.”

Matthew 23:38
Look, your house is left to you desolate.

Luke 13:35
Look, your house is left to you desolate. And I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Matthew 27:25
All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

Acts 1:20
“For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, ‘May another take his position.’

Romans 11:9-10
And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution to them. / May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.”


Treasury of Scripture

Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

Exodus 22:24
And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

Jeremiah 18:21
Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.

Lamentations 5:3
We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows.

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Psalm 109
1. David complains of his slanderous enemies
16. He shows their sin
21. Complaining of his own misery, he prays for help
29. He promises thankfulness














May his children be fatherless
This phrase is a part of an imprecatory psalm, where David calls upon God to bring justice against his enemies. The Hebrew word for "fatherless" is "יָתוֹם" (yathom), which conveys a deep sense of vulnerability and helplessness. In ancient Israelite society, being fatherless was synonymous with being unprotected and without provision, as the father was the primary provider and protector. This plea reflects the severity of the judgment David seeks, emphasizing the complete removal of the enemy's lineage and support system. It is a call for divine justice, highlighting the seriousness of the offenses committed against David, and by extension, against God's anointed.

and his wife a widow
The term "widow" in Hebrew is "אַלְמָנָה" (almanah), which similarly denotes a state of vulnerability and social marginalization. In the historical context of the Bible, widows were often left without means of support, relying on the community's charity or God's provision through laws designed to protect them (e.g., Deuteronomy 24:19-21). This phrase underscores the totality of the judgment David is invoking, wishing for the enemy's family to experience the same desolation and hardship that he perceives they have caused. From a conservative Christian perspective, this verse is not a directive for personal vengeance but rather an appeal to God's righteous judgment, trusting that God will ultimately vindicate His people and uphold justice. It serves as a reminder of the seriousness of sin and the importance of seeking God's mercy and forgiveness.

(9) Children . . . wife.--It is one of the sadly peculiar features of this series of curses that the resentment of the imprecator cannot satisfy itself on the person of his foe, but fastens also on his innocent descendants. To invoke a speedy death does not content him; he must feast his anger with the thought of the fatherless children and desolate widow.

Verse 9. - Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Necessary consequences of his own condemnation to death.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
May his children
בָנָ֥יו (ḇā·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

be
יִֽהְיוּ־ (yih·yū-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

fatherless
יְתוֹמִ֑ים (yə·ṯō·w·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3490: A bereaved person

and his wife
וְ֝אִשְׁתּוֹ (wə·’iš·tōw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

a widow.
אַלְמָנָֽה׃ (’al·mā·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 490: A widow, a desolate place


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OT Poetry: Psalm 109:9 Let his children be fatherless and his (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 109:8
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