Psalms 31:18

"Let me not be disappointed, LORD, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol."

Key Reflection

In Psalms 31:18, the psalmist prays to God for assurance and vindication, expressing his confidence in divine support while anticipating judgment on his enemies. The original audience would have understood that this verse reflects the common ancient Near Eastern practice of invoking divine retribution against one's foes; here, the psalmist asks both for personal comfort from disappointment and for the wicked to face God’s ultimate judgment in Sheol, the underworld where the dead reside.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Let the lying lips be put to silence -See the notes atPsalms 12:2-3. The lips which speak lies. The reference here is especially to those who had spoken in this manner against the psalmist himself, though he makes the language general, or prays in general that God would silence all liars: a prayer certainly in which all persons may properly join. Which speak grievous things -Margin, “a hard thing.” The Hebrew word -עתק‛âthâq- means “bold, impudent, wicked.” Gesenius, Lexicon. The phrase here means, therefore, to speak wickedly, or to speak in a bold, reckless, impudent manner; that is, without regard to the truth of what is said.

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