The prayer continues in the same mood; the psalmist hopes that after his enemy’s death “his creditors” (or the creditor), that is, the people or the person he owed money to, will come and take possession of all his belongings. And in the next line (verse 11b) even strangers are to get “everything he worded for” (Hebrew the fruits of his toil). For an example of the power of creditors, see 2 Kings 4.1.

In verse 12a kindness translates chesed (see 5.7), which usually is an attribute of God, “constant love.” In verse 12b the verb “to have pity” may have the active sense of “be kind to,” “be concerned about.”

Not only does the psalmist pray for his enemy’s death, but also for the death of his descendants, so that the family line will disappear (verse 13). For similar language see 9.5. In verse 13b the Masoretic text has “their name,” that is, the name of his descendants (verse 13a); many Hebrew manuscripts and the Septuagint have his name, which is preferred by Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy. New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and New English Bible follow the Masoretic text. Either reading makes good sense. The second generation means the one following the generation of the man himself; so Good News Translation “the next generation.” In languages which do not use the passive, it will be necessary to adjust the expression “may his name be forgotten…” to say, for example, “may the people in the next generation forget about him,” or negatively, “… not remember who he was.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .