Psalm 7:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.

NIV: Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.

NASB: Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice, And he conceives harm and gives birth to lies.

CSB: See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil, conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.

NLT: The wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies.

KJV: Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.

NKJV: Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.

The Hebrew of this verse is somewhat tricky to translate, leading to different opinions on how it should be rendered in English. The general message is the same, regardless of those choices. Those who are evil have injustice lurking in their lives. They invent trouble and bring about deception and more evil. The metaphor between sin and pregnancy is repeated in other Scriptures (Job 15:35; Isaiah 59:13).

The ESV presents a clever—if biting—metaphor creating a direct line of evil through conception, pregnancy, and birth. This does not follow the literal order of the Hebrew words, but it does match their sense. Looking for trouble—seeking selfish, ungodly things—leads naturally to injustice, which leads to even more lies and evil. This closely resembles comments made by James. He noted the progression of sin from desire to conception to birth to maturity. He writes: "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:14–15). Sinning begins with evil thoughts and results in wicked deeds.

Other translations, such as the NASB, refer to the same ideas but in a less linear way. This is more strictly accurate to the order of the words in Hebrew.

David is referring to his enemies who slandered him and plotted to destroy him. This may have been Cush, the Benjaminite (Psalm 7:1), though Scripture does not say so directly.

Psalm 7:12–17 is the closing section of this psalm. David expresses confidence in God's inevitable punishment of the wicked. David's enemies would be defeated by God, whom David describes as a warrior prepared for battle. The psalm began with a prayer for deliverance and concludes with thanks for answered prayer.

David takes refuge in God and asks to be rescued from those seeking his life. He boldly defends himself from accusations of fraud or plunder. Rather than seek his own revenge, David calls on the Lord to execute judgment. The wicked man plots evil, is full of mischief, and gives birth to lies. However, trouble will come back to strike such a person. His sin and violence will lead to a sinful, violent end. David concludes this psalm by giving thanks and praise to the Lord.

This psalm was written by David. He prays to the Lord, the righteous Judge of the universe, to judge his wicked enemies. David may have written this psalm when he was being pursued by Saul's forces (1 Samuel 24:1–2). Themes expressed by David in 1 Samuel chapter 24 resemble those found in Psalm 7. The accusations he responds to may have come from Cush, mentioned in the psalm's title.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.