Psalm 129:5 NKJV
Let all those who hate Zion
Be put to shame and turned back.
A Prayer Against Hatred
My Notes
Psalm 129:5 (NKJV)
“Let all those who hate Zion
Be put to shame and turned back.”
The psalmist now turns from testimony to petition. After recalling God’s faithfulness in cutting the cords of the wicked, he prays that those who hate Zion—the people, purposes, and presence of God—would be put to shame and turned back. This is not a cry for revenge but a cry for justice.
To “hate Zion” is to oppose God’s covenant, God’s truth, and God’s people. Throughout history, many have sought to destroy the work of God, undermine His worship, or silence His people. The psalmist asks that their schemes would fail, their plans collapse, and their efforts be reversed.
This prayer echoes Deborah’s closing words after God defeated Sisera:
“So let all Your enemies perish, O Lord!” (Judges 5:31 NKJV)
It is a prayer rooted in God’s righteousness, not human anger.
The psalmist does not ask for torment or destruction. He simply asks that the wicked would not prosper in their hatred. Their plans should be frustrated. Their conspiracies should unravel. Their pursuit of God’s people should be halted.
And sometimes, God answers this prayer in surprising ways. Some enemies are “turned back” in judgment. Others are “turned back” in mercy—like Saul of Tarsus, who set out to destroy the church but was stopped, humbled, and transformed into Paul the apostle.
To pray Psalm 129:5 is to ask God to defend His people, protect His purposes, and overturn the works of darkness. It is to trust that God sees every attack against His people as an attack against Himself.
In a world where evil often seems bold and unrestrained, this verse reminds us that God is not passive. He will not allow hatred of His kingdom to triumph. He will turn back every force that rises against His will.
Prayer
Abba, You see every force that rises against Your people and every scheme formed against Your purposes. I ask that You would put to shame the plans of the wicked and turn back all who oppose Your truth. Where judgment is needed, act in justice; where mercy is possible, turn hearts as You did with Paul. Please strengthen me to trust Your protection and to stand firm in Your righteousness. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
- To “hate Zion” is to oppose God’s people, God’s truth, and God’s kingdom.
- The psalmist’s prayer is not vindictive but just—asking that evil plans fail.
- God often frustrates the schemes of the wicked and turns back their efforts.
- Some enemies are turned back in judgment; others are turned back in mercy.
- God defends His people because they are precious to Him—“the apple of His eye.”
Cross‑References (NKJV)
Judges 5:31
“Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength.”
Isaiah 37:29
Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came.
Psalm 35:4
“Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor Who seek after my life; Let those be turned back and brought to confusion Who plot my hurt.”
Zechariah 2:8
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.”
Acts 9:3–5
As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
Meditation Questions
- Where do I see opposition to God’s truth or God’s people today?
- How has God “turned back” harmful plans in my life before?
- Are there situations where I need to trust God’s justice instead of seeking my own?
Proverb for Today
The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil. Proverbs 19:23 NKJV
Daily Scripture
Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. Isaiah 35:3-6 NKJV
Bill
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Summary of Commentaries:
Psalm 129:5 is a prayer that those who hate Zion—those who oppose God’s people and God’s purposes—would be put to shame and turned back. The psalmist isn’t seeking revenge but asking that evil plans fail and that the enemies of righteousness be stopped. God’s justice means He frustrates wicked schemes and protects His people. Some enemies are turned back in judgment, others in mercy, as with Paul. Ultimately, this verse affirms God’s commitment to defend His church.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.” And so say we right heartily: and in this case vox populi is vex Dei, for so it shall be. If this be an imprecation, let it stand; for our heart says “Amen” to it. It is but justice that those who hate, harass, and hurt the good should be brought to naught. Those who confound right and wrong ought to be confounded, and those who turn back from God ought to be turned back. Loyal subjects wish ill to those who plot against their king.
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
is but a proper wish, and contains within it no trace of personal ill will. We desire their welfare as men, their downfall as traitors. Let their conspiracies be confounded, their policies be turned back. How can we wish prosperity to those who would destroy that which is dearest to our hearts? This present age is so flippant that if a man loves the Savior, he is styled a fanatic, and if he hates the powers of evil, he is named a bigot. As for ourselves, despite all objectors, we join heartily in this commination; and would revive in our heart the old practice of Ebal and Gerizim, where those were blessed who bless God, and those were cursed who make themselves a curse to the righteous. We have heard men desire a thousand times that the gallows might be the reward of the assassins who murdered two inoffensive men in Dublin, and we could never censure the wish; for justice ought to be rendered to the evil as well as to the good. Besides, the church of God is so useful, so beautiful, so innocent of harm, so fraught with good, that those who do her wrong are wronging all mankind and deserve to be treated as the enemies of the human race. Study a chapter from the “Book of Martyrs,” and see if you do not feel inclined to read an imprecatory Psalm over Bishop Bonner and Bloody Mary. It may be that some wretched nineteenth-century sentimentalist will blame you: if so, read another over him.
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Enduring Word
Let all those who hate Zion be put to shame: The psalmist prayed that not only would the Israelites be delivered from their enemies, but that God would also apply His righteousness to their enemies. They should be shamed and turned back. (Guzik)
i. Some take offense at the prayer the psalmist made against the enemies of Israel, yet there is really no basis for such offense. “It is striking in this case, at least, how mild these imprecations are. The psalmist is not asking that those who have harmed Israel be sent to hell, or even that they experience the same sufferings they have inflicted on others. He asks only that they and their designs might not prosper.” (Boice)
ii. “At the heart of high and holy patriotism there must ever burn a divine anger with all that is opposed to the purpose and plan of God. To hate Zion is to hate God. To tolerate those who do so is to be confederate with their wickedness.” (Morgan)
iii. This is “…a proper wish, and contains within it no trace of personal ill-will. We desire their welfare as men, their downfall as traitors. Let their conspiracies be confounded, their policies be turned back. How can we wish prosperity to those who would destroy that which is dearest to our hearts?” (Spurgeon)
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Albert Barnes
Let them all be confounded and turned back … – This might be rendered in the indicative, “they are ashamed,” but the connection seems to require the rendering in our version. It is a prayer that God would now interpose as he had done in former times, and that he would cause all the haters of Zion to be put to shame as formerly.
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John Gill
Let them all be confounded,…. Or “ashamed”: as all the enemies of God’s people will be sooner or later, either in this world, or however when Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven; or let them be disappointed of their views, aims, and ends, when they will be confounded, as disappointed persons are;
and turned back; from pursuing their designs and accomplishing them; as the Assyrian monarch was, who had a hook put into his nose, and a bridle in his lips, and was turned back by the way he came, Isaiah 37:29;
that hate Zion; the inhabitants of Zion, who are called out of the world, and separated from the men of it, and therefore hated by them; the King of Zion, the Messiah, whom they will not have to reign over them; the doctrines of the Gospel, the word that comes out of Zion, to which they are utter enemies; and the laws and ordinances of Zion, the discipline of God’s house, which they cannot bear to be under and submit unto.
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Matthew Henry
The psalmist, having triumphed in the defeat of the many designs that had been laid as deep as hell to ruin the church, here concludes his psalm as Deborah did her song, So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord! Jdg. 5:31.
I. There are many that hate Zion, that hate Zion’s God, his worship, and his worshippers, that have an antipathy to religion and religious people, that seek the ruin of both, and do what they can that God may not have a church in the world.
II. We ought to pray that all their attempts against the church may be frustrated, that in them they may be confounded and turned back with shame, as those that have not been able to bring to pass their enterprise and expectation: Let them all be confounded is as much as, They shall be all confounded.
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Miscellaneous Comments
If anyone be desirous to accept these words, “Let them be confounded and turned backward,” as they sound, he will devoutly explain the imprecation: that is to say, it may be an imprecation of good confusion, which leads to repentance, and of turning to God from sin; thus Bellarmine. There is a confounding by bringing grace, glory, and turning from the evil way. Thus, some enemies and persecutors of the Christians have been holily confounded and turned to the faith of Christ; as St. Paul, who, full of wrath and slaughter, was going to Damascus that he might afflict the believers, but was graciously confounded on the road.
—Thomas Le Blanc.
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