Psalm 69:4 “then I restored that which I took not away.”
The whole of Psalm 64 has traditionally been seen as prophetically speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ and His sufferings on the cross of Calvary. Several of the verses are quoted in the New Testament as referring to Christ Himself.
For example: Verse 4 - “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head.” John 15:25 “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.” Verse 69:8 “I am become a stranger unto my brethren” compared to John 7:5; Verse 9 - “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” with John 2:17 and Romans 15:3. Psalm 69:21 “They gave me also gall for meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” - Also found in Matthew 27:34.
In view of the fact that this Pslam is prophetic of Christ we find a wonderful truth in verse 4 that has been perverted in many modern versions. The King James Bible correctly has Christ saying: “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: THEN I RESTORED THAT WHICH I TOOK NOT AWAY.’
John Gill comments on the meaning of Psalm 69:4 - “then I restored that which I took not away.” - “He satisfied justice he had never injured, though others had; he fulfilled a law, and bore the penalty of it, which he never broke; and made satisfaction for sins he never committed; and brought in a righteousness he had not taken away; and provided a better inheritance than what was lost by Adam: and all this was done at the time of his sufferings and death, and by the means of them.He satisfied justice he had never injured, though others had; he fulfilled a law, and bore the penalty of it, which he never broke; and made satisfaction for sins he never committed; and brought in a righteousness he had not taken away; and provided a better inheritance than what was lost by Adam: and all this was done at the time of his sufferings and death, and by the means of them.”
Likewise Matthew Henry remarks: “Applying it to Christ, it is an observable description of the satisfaction which he made to God for our sin by his blood: Then he restored that which he took not away; he underwent the punishment that was due to us, paid our debt, suffered for our offence.”
The Lord Jesus Christ WILLINGLY went to the cross and gave His life a ransom for many. He prayed, not my will but thine be done. Christ was NOT FORCED to go to the cross of Calvary, but “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2)
Agreeing with the reading and meaning found in the King James Bible - “the I restored that which I took not away”- are the following Bible translations: the 1599 Geneva Bible - “so that I restored that which I tooke not.”, Bishops’ bible 1568, the 1881 Revised Version -”then I restored that which I took not away. “, Webster’s 1833 translation, Darby, Young’s, 1950 Douay version, the 1960 Bible in Basic English, Green’s 2000 literal translation, the Spanish Reina Valera - (He venido pues á pagar lo que no he tomado.),
However the NASB says: “What I did not steal, I THEN HAVE TO restore.
The NIV, TNIV say: “I AM FORCED TO restore what I did not steal. “
The NKJV has: “Though I have stolen nothing, I still MUST restore it.”
Holman Standard - “Though I did not steal, I MUST repay.”
God’s Word translation says: “I AM FORCED to pay back what I did not steal.
RSV, NRSV, ESV all make it a question with: - “What I did not steal MUST I NOW RESTORE?”
The 1970 New English Bible also has a different question, asking: “HOW CAN I give back what I have not stolen?
Lamsa’s translation gives a completely different meaning to the verse, saying: “then I restored that which I TOOK LAWFULLY.”
The ever goofy NET version reads: “THEY MAKE ME REPAY what I did not steal!” and then footnotes that the Hebrew reads more like the King James Bible with: “Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.”
As usual, the Bible Babble crowd give us at least 4 different meanings for this one portion of a single verse, but it is the King James reading that best communicates the theological and prophetic truth that the Lord Jesus Christ willingly gave Himself for the church to redeem His people from their sins. He was not “forced” to do so; He was not asking whether He should do it or not, and no group of people (NET) “made him repay”
The King James Bible is right, as always.
For many more examples of how radically different the Bible Babble versions really are, see the first of five comparative studies on the book of Psalms here:
http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/Psalms.html
By His grace, believing the Book,
Will Kinney