Psalm 109:10
New International Version
May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.

New Living Translation
May his children wander as beggars and be driven from their ruined homes.

English Standard Version
May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

Berean Standard Bible
May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.

King James Bible
Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

New King James Version
Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places.

New American Standard Bible
May his children wander about and beg; And may they seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.

NASB 1995
Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.

NASB 1977
Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes.

Legacy Standard Bible
Let his sons wander aimlessly and beg; And let them search for food from their ruined homes.

Amplified Bible
Let his children wander and beg; Let them seek their food and be driven far from their ruined homes.

Christian Standard Bible
Let his children wander as beggars, searching for food far from their demolished homes.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Let his children wander as beggars, searching for food far from their demolished homes.

American Standard Version
Let his children be vagabonds, and beg; And let them seek their bread out of their desolate places.

Contemporary English Version
make his children beg for food and live in the slums.

English Revised Version
Let his children be vagabonds, and beg; and let them seek their bread out of their desolate places.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Let his children wander around and beg. Let them seek help far from their ruined homes.

Good News Translation
May his children be homeless beggars; may they be driven from the ruins they live in!

International Standard Version
May his children roam around begging, seeking food while driven far from their ruined homes.

Majority Standard Bible
May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.

NET Bible
May his children roam around begging, asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home!

New Heart English Bible
Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins.

Webster's Bible Translation
Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

World English Bible
Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And his sons wander continually, "" Indeed, they have begged, "" And have sought out of their dry places.

Young's Literal Translation
And wander continually do his sons, Yea, they have begged, And have sought out of their dry places.

Smith's Literal Translation
And shaking his sons shall wander about, and they asked and sought from their desolations.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Let his children be carried about vagabonds, and beg; and let them be cast out of their dwellings.

Catholic Public Domain Version
May his sons be carried by those who walk unsteadily, and may they go begging. And may they be cast out of their dwelling places.

New American Bible
May his children wander and beg, driven from their hovels.

New Revised Standard Version
May his children wander about and beg; may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Let their children be continually vagabonds, and beg; let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
— Peshitta mss. omit v. 10:"Let his sons always beg and be vagabonds, and seek food out of their ruins.”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Let his children be vagabonds, and beg; And let them seek their bread out of their desolate places.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Let his children wander without a dwelling-place, and beg: let them be cast out of their habitations.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Song of the Slandered
9May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. 10May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes. 11May the creditor seize all he owns, and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.…

Cross References
Proverbs 20:4
The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.

Job 5:4
His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.

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

Isaiah 10:2
to deprive the poor of fair treatment and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people, to make widows their prey and orphans their plunder.

Jeremiah 49:11
Abandon your orphans; I will preserve their lives. Let your widows trust in Me.”

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.

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.

2 Kings 4:1
Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”

Isaiah 9:17
Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

Hosea 14:3
Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”

Matthew 18:25
Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.

Luke 18:3
And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’

James 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

1 Timothy 5:5
The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers.

Matthew 23:14
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.


Treasury of Scripture

Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

Psalm 37:25
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Genesis 4:12-14
When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth…

2 Samuel 3:29
Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread.

Jump to Previous
Beg Bread Children Company Continually Desolate Driven Dry Far Food Friends Homes Inhabit Others Places Ruined Ruins Seek Sought Sustenance Wander Wanderers Wandering
Jump to Next
Beg Bread Children Company Continually Desolate Driven Dry Far Food Friends Homes Inhabit Others Places Ruined Ruins Seek Sought Sustenance Wander Wanderers Wandering
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 wander as beggars
This phrase begins with a plea for the children of the wicked to experience the consequences of their father's actions. The Hebrew word for "wander" (נוּעַ, nua) conveys a sense of aimlessness and instability, suggesting a life without direction or security. In the ancient Near Eastern context, being a beggar was not just a state of poverty but also of social exclusion and vulnerability. The psalmist's invocation here reflects a deep desire for justice, where the sins of the father impact the family, a concept seen throughout the Old Testament, emphasizing the communal nature of sin and its repercussions.

may they seek sustenance far from their ruined homes
The phrase "seek sustenance" (בִּקֵּשׁ לֶחֶם, biqqesh lechem) implies a desperate search for basic needs, highlighting the severity of their plight. The Hebrew word for "sustenance" is often translated as "bread," a staple of life, symbolizing the struggle for survival. The mention of "ruined homes" (מְחָרְבוֹתֵיהֶם, mecharvotayhem) paints a picture of desolation and loss. Historically, the destruction of one's home was a sign of divine judgment and a physical manifestation of God's displeasure. This imagery serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of wickedness, urging the reader to reflect on the importance of righteousness and the protection it affords to one's household.

(10) Be continually vagabonds.--"Wander and wander about" would better reproduce the original.

Desolate places.--Rather, ruins. They are imagined creeping out of the ruins of their homes to beg. But there was a different reading, followed by the LXX. and Vulg., "let them be driven out of their homes." This reading involves but a slight literal change. Comp.,

"Worse evil yet I pray for on my spouse;

Let him still live, through strange towns roam in want,

Exiled, suspected, cowering, with no home."

SENECA: Med., i. 19.

Verse 10. - Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg. If it be just that the sins of the fathers be visited upon the children, the psalmist may be regarded as justified in this wish. Still, it is not one that a Christian will readily echo. Let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. Professor Cheyne corrects דָרְשׁוּ into לֺגּדְשׁוּ, and translates, "Let them be driven from their desolate houses."

Parallel Commentaries ...


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

wander
וְנ֤וֹעַ (wə·nō·w·a‘)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 5128: To quiver, wave, waver, tremble, totter

as beggars;
וְשִׁאֵ֑לוּ (wə·ši·’ê·lū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7592: To inquire, to request, to demand

may they seek sustenance
וְ֝דָרְשׁ֗וּ (wə·ḏā·rə·šū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1875: To tread, frequent, to follow, to seek, ask, to worship

far from their ruined homes.
מֵחָרְבוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ (mê·ḥā·rə·ḇō·w·ṯê·hem)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 2723: Waste, desolation, ruin


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OT Poetry: Psalm 109:10 Let his children be wandering beggars (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 109:9
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