Mazmur 109:13-14

109:13 May his descendants ¹  be cut off! ² 

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! ³ 

109:14 May his ancestors’ ⁴  sins be remembered by the Lord!

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten! ⁵ 

[109:13]  ¹ tn Or “offspring.”

[109:13]  ² sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.

[109:13]  ³ tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”

[109:14]  ⁴ tn Or “fathers’ sins.”

[109:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “not be wiped out.”

[109:14]  sn According to ancient Israelite theology and its doctrine of corporate solidarity and responsibility, children could be and often were punished for the sins of their parents. For a discussion of this issue see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). (Kaminsky, however, does not deal with Ps 109.)