Let me not be disappointed, Yahweh, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol.
Parallel Translations
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Let me not be disappointed, Yahweh, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol.
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Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.
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(31-18) O LORD, let me not be ashamed, for I have called upon Thee; let the wicked be ashamed, let them be put to silence in the nether-world.
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Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (22)
Passages linked to Psalms 31:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 25:2-3 My God, I have trusted in you. Don’t let me be shamed. Don’t let my enemies triumph over me. Yes, no one who waits for you will be shamed. They will be shamed who deal treacherously without cause.
- Jeremiah 20:11 But Yahweh is with me as an awesome mighty one. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they won’t prevail. They will be utterly disappointed, because they have not dealt wisely, even with an everlasting dishonor which will never be forgotten.
- Psalms 34:5 They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
- Psalms 35:26 Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.
- Psalms 115:17 The dead don’t praise Yah, neither any who go down into silence;
- Isaiah 41:11-12 Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded. Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish. You will seek them, and won’t find them, even those who contend with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as a non-existent thing.
- 1 Samuel 2:9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the wicked will be put to silence in darkness; for no man will prevail by strength.
- Psalms 35:4 Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
- Psalms 40:14-15 Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt. Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, “Aha! Aha!”
- Psalms 69:6-7 Don’t let those who wait for you be shamed through me, Lord Yahweh of Armies. Don’t let those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, God of Israel. Because for your sake, I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face.
- Psalms 70:2-3 Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul. Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. Let them be turned because of their shame who say, “Aha! Aha!”
- Psalms 71:24 My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me.
- Psalms 94:17 Unless Yahweh had been my help, my soul would have soon lived in silence.
- Isaiah 45:16-17 They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together. Israel will be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation. You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.
- Daniel 12:2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Psalms 6:10 May all my enemies be ashamed and dismayed. They shall turn back, they shall be disgraced suddenly.
- Psalms 31:1 In you, Yahweh, I take refuge. Let me never be disappointed. Deliver me in your righteousness.
- Psalms 83:16-17 Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, Yahweh. Let them be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish;
- Isaiah 50:6-7 I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord Yahweh will help me. Therefore I have not been confounded. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I won’t be disappointed.
- Isaiah 65:13-14 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed; Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit.
- Joel 2:26-27 You will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied, and will praise the name of Yahweh, your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people will never again be disappointed. You will know that I am among Israel, and that I am Yahweh, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed.
- Matthew 22:12-13 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?’ He was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.’
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 17. O Jehovah! let me not be ashamed. In…
17. O Jehovah! let me not be ashamed. In these words, the Psalmist continues his prayer, and to strengthen his hopes, he contrasts himself with his enemies; for it would have been more than absurd to permit those who by their wickedness so openly provoked the wrath of God to escape with impunity, and that one who was innocent and relied upon God should be disappointed and made a laughing-stock. Here, accordingly, we perceive what the Psalmist’s comparison implies. Moreover, instead of speaking of his hope or trust, he now speaks of his calling upon God, saying, I have called on thee; and he does this with good reason, for he who relies on the providence of God must flee to him with prayers and strong cries. To be silent in the grave, implies that death, when it befalls the ungodly, restrains and prevents them from doing farther injury. This silence is opposed both to their deceitful and treacherous devices, and to their outrageous insolence. In the very next verse, therefore, he adds, Let lying lips be put to silence, which, in my opinion, includes both their craftiness, and the false pretences and calumnies by which they endeavor to accomplish their designs, and also the vain boasting in which they indulge themselves. For he tells us that they speak with harshness and severity against the righteous, in pride and scorn; because it was their froward conceit, which almost always begets contempt, that made David’s enemies so bold in lying. Whoever proudly arrogates to himself more than is his due, will almost necessarily treat others with contempt.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Let death destroy them to the intent that they…
Let death destroy them to the intent that they may hurt no more.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 31:17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD;…
Psa 31:17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, [and] let them be silent in the grave.
Ver. 17. Let me not be ashamed] i.e. Disappointed of my hopes.
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Let the wicked be ashamed] For they call not upon God, but shame those that do, Psa 14:4; Psa 14:6.
Let them be silent in the grave] Let their large spoken mouths be stopped with a spadeful of mould.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I have called upon thee; and therefore thy honour…
I have called upon thee; and therefore thy honour will be eclipsed in my disappointment, as if thou didst not hear prayers, nor keep promise, nor make any difference between good and bad men.
Let the wicked be ashamed; frustrated in their wicked designs and carnal confidences. Seeing they are implacable in their malice and rage against innocent and good men, do thou cut them off by thy just judgment; and since either the righteous or the wicked must be cut off, let destruction fall upon them, who most deserve it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Let me not be ashamed, O Lord,.... The same…
Let me not be ashamed, O Lord,.... The same petition as in Psa 31:1;
for I have called upon thee; who is nigh unto all that call upon him in truth, and is rich unto them, and has promised to help and save them; which should he not do, not only he would be made ashamed, but the promise of God would seem to fail: for the psalmist does not plead any duty of his, nor make a merit of his prayers; but has respect to the promise and faithfulness of God;
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let the wicked be ashamed; as they will be, sooner or later, of their wickedness, and of their false trust and confidence; of their being incensed against Christ, and their rage against his people, and persecution of them;
and let them be silent in the grave; as all are that are there; and the sense is, let them be brought to the grave, where they will be silent, or cease (f); that is, from their evil words and works, and particularly from troubling the saints, Job 3:17.
(f) "Verbum est" "quod significat cessare ab aliquo opere, vel sermone", Psal. iv. 5. Gejerus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 17. Let the wicked be ashamed] Those who…
Verse 17. Let the wicked be ashamed] Those who traduce my character and lay snares for my life; let them be confounded.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I…
Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon thee - That is, I have reposed entire confidence in thee, and in thy promises, in the time of trial; let now the result be such as to show that I had reason thus to trust in thee; that thy character is such that the persecuted and the afflicted may always find thee to be a safe and secure refuge. In other words, Let me not be disappointed, and thus be made “ashamed” before men, as if I had put my trust where no relief was to be found, or where there was nothing to authorize an act of unreserved confidence. See the notes at Psa 25:2-3.
Let the wicked be ashamed - Let them be disappointed in that on which they had put their trust; let it be seen that they, in their wicked plans, had no safe ground of confidence. They rely on their strength; their skill; their courage; their resources; and not on God. Let it now be seen that these things constitute no safe ground of trust, and let not others be encouraged to follow their example by any success that shall attend them in their designs.
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And let them be silent in the grave - Margin, “let them be cut off for the grave.” Hebrew: “for Sheol.” The more correct translation is that which is in the text, “Let them be silent.” That is, let them go down to the grave - to “Sheol” - to the “underworld” - to the “land of silence.” On the meaning of the word used here - “Sheol,” the grave - see the notes at Isa 14:9; compare the notes at Job 10:21-22; and the notes at Psa 16:10. This is represented as a land of “silence.” This idea is derived from “the grave,” where the dead repose in silence; and the meaning here is, let them be cut off and consigned to that land of silence. It is a prayer that the wicked may not triumph.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 17. Ashamed—This marks the different results of a wicked…
17. Ashamed—This marks the different results of a wicked and a holy life. The verb, in either case, is simply declarative. Shame is often, as here, used to represent the punishment of the wicked, in the recoil of their evil designs upon themselves.
Silent in the grave—Hebrew, silent to sheol. Either silent in sheol, or silent as sheol. On sheol, see notes on Psa_6:5; Psa_9:17; Psa_16:10
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. The prayer of Psa_31:1 is repeated. While my…
17. The prayer of Psa_31:1 is repeated. While my prayers are answered, let my enemies be silenced and consigned to Sheol. A similar prayer in Psa_25:2-3; Jer_17:18.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Let me not be ashamed, O Lord (see the…
Let me not be ashamed, O Lord (see the comment on ver. l). For I have called upon thee. "I have," i.e. , "been ever thy true worshipper." Even when I have sinned (ver. 10), my sins have not been "sins of unfaithfulness," but lapses, sins of infirmity, unpremeditated yieldings to temptation. Let the wicked be ashamed. Bring shame, i.e. , upon those who are at once my enemies and thine the wicked and impenitent generally and, among them on my present adversaries, those who are collected together to carry on war against me. And let them be silent in the grave; or, in Sheol. Let a stop be put to their slanders (ver. 13) and lying speeches (ver. 18); let them he silenced by removal from this world to the land of the departed.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 17. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord;…
Ver. 17. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon thee. Put not my prayers to the blush! Do not fill profane mouths with jeers at my confidence in my God. Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. Cause them to their amazement to see my wrongs righted and their own pride horribly confounded. A milder spirit rules our prayers under the gentle reign of the Prince of Peace, and, therefore, we can only use such words as these in their prophetic sense, knowing as we do full well, that shame and the silence of death are the best portion that ungodly sinners can expect. That which they desired for despised believers shall come upon themselves by a decree of retributive justice, at which they cannot cavil"As he loved mischief, so let it come upon him."
Ver. 17. None.
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Ver. 17. The shame and silence of the wicked in eternity.
The silence of the grave, its grave eloquence.
Psalms 31:18*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5")
grave
Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Do not let me be humiliated
Do not let me be humiliated
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Do not let others make me feel ashamed" (See: Active or Passive)
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May the wicked be humiliated!
"I wish that God would disgrace wicked people!"
the wicked
This refers to "wicked people. (See: Nominal Adjectives)
May they be silent in Sheol. May lying lips be silenced
This idea is repeated to emphasize the writer's desire that the voices of the wicked are not heard. (See: Parallelism)
May they be silent in Sheol
Here "in Sheol" represents death. AT: "Let them die so they cannot speak" (See: Metonymy)
lying lips
These represent lying people. AT: "people who lie" (See: Metonymy)
that speak against the righteous defiantly
Here "the righteous" refers to people who are righteous. AT: "that say terrible things about righteous people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
with arrogance and contempt
These terms have similar meanings. AT: "with a complete lack of respect"
translationWords
call
evil
Hades
righteous
arrogant
contempt
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 31:17 The psalmist, who did not deserve to be…
31:17 The psalmist, who did not deserve to be disgraced, invokes the principle of retribution (see study note on 1:6; see also “Prayers for Vengeance” Theme Note).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.