Psalms 94:23

My Notes

What Does Psalms 94:23 Mean?

"And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off." The BOOMERANG principle stated three ways: God brings THEIR OWN iniquity upon them. God cuts them off IN THEIR OWN wickedness. The LORD OUR GOD shall cut them off. The emphasis through repetition: the wickedness RETURNS to the wicked. The iniquity comes BACK. The evil boomerangs.

The phrase "bring upon them their own iniquity" (vayyashev aleihem et onam — He will turn upon them their iniquity) uses SHUV — to return, to turn back. God RETURNS the iniquity to its source. The evil doesn't just float in the universe. It has a RETURN ADDRESS — and God delivers it back. The iniquity goes HOME to the person who generated it.

The phrase "cut them off in their own wickedness" (vera'atam yatzmitem — in their evil He will cut them off/silence them) makes the WICKEDNESS the instrument of the cutting: God doesn't use an EXTERNAL weapon. He uses the wicked person's OWN EVIL. The wickedness they practiced becomes the wickedness that destroys them. The tool of sin becomes the tool of judgment. The weapon they wielded becomes the weapon used against them.

The TRIPLE repetition — bring their iniquity, cut off in their wickedness, the LORD shall cut them off — is INSISTENCE: the psalmist says it three ways because the truth is THREE TIMES important. The repetition isn't redundancy. It's EMPHASIS. The certainty deserves triple expression. The promise is that significant.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What sin have you seen that carries within it the seeds of its own destruction?
• 2.What does God using THEIR OWN iniquity (not external punishment) teach about justice as return-to-sender?
• 3.How does the TRIPLE statement (three ways of saying the same thing) describe emphatic divine certainty?
• 4.What wickedness in your world is already GENERATING the consequences that will eventually arrive?

Devotional

THEIR OWN iniquity returns. THEIR OWN wickedness destroys them. The boomerang principle stated THREE times: the evil comes BACK to the evil-doer. The weapon they wielded becomes the weapon used against them. The sin they practiced becomes the judgment they receive. The iniquity has a return address.

The 'THEIR OWN' is the precision: God doesn't invent a new punishment. He RETURNS the existing one. The iniquity the wicked generated is the iniquity God delivers back. The wickedness is RECYCLED — sent out as sin, returned as judgment. The same substance. Different direction. What went out as their choice comes back as God's verdict.

The wickedness as the INSTRUMENT of cutting-off means the wicked are destroyed BY their own sin: God doesn't need to create a weapon. The wickedness IS the weapon. The sin carries its own consequences. The evil generates its own destruction. God's role is to DELIVER the consequences that the sin already contained. The judgment is INHERENT in the behavior.

The TRIPLE statement ('bring their iniquity... cut off in their wickedness... the LORD our God shall cut them off') is emphatic certainty: the psalmist isn't uncertain. He states it THREE WAYS because the conviction is absolute. The boomerang will come back. The iniquity will return. The wickedness will destroy. The LORD our God WILL cut them off. The triple repetition is the triple certainty.

What wickedness have you seen that contains its OWN destruction — sin that carries within it the seeds of its own judgment?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture