The Meaning of Psalms 7:16 Explained

Psalms 7:16

KJV: His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.

YLT: Return doth his perverseness on his head, And on his crown his violence cometh down.

Darby: His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violence shall come down upon his own pate.

ASV: His mischief shall return upon his own head, And his violence shall come down upon his own pate.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

His mischief  shall return  upon his own head,  and his violent  dealing shall come down  upon his own pate. 

What does Psalms 7:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 7:1-17 - Refuge In God From Evil Men
This psalm should be compared with 1 Samuel 24:1-22; 1 Samuel 25:1-44; 1 Samuel 26:1-25. Cush, or "dark-complexioned," may refer to a Benjamite who was David's calumniator with Saul. If David needed deliverance from his foes, how much more do we from Satan! 1 Peter 5:8-9.
So far from being guilty of the offense charged against him, David on two occasions had spared Saul's life, 1 Samuel 24:1-22; 1 Samuel 26:1-25. Mine honor, Psalms 7:5, is probably another word for "soul," Genesis 49:6. It seems as if, Psalms 7:6-9, God has abdicated His throne, and the suppliant is pleading with him to resume it, with no fear as to the verdict. Evil recoils, like the boomerang, on those who set it in motion. Ralph the Rover perished on the Inchcape Rock, whose warning bell he had destroyed. The hunter falls into the pit prepared in the forest track for his prey, Judges 1:7. What a noble prayer in Psalms 7:9! [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 7

1  David prays against the malice of his enemies, professing his innocence
10  By faith he sees his defense, and the destruction of his enemies

What do the individual words in Psalms 7:16 mean?

Shall return His trouble upon his own head and on his own crown his violent dealing shall come down
יָשׁ֣וּב עֲמָל֣וֹ בְרֹאשׁ֑וֹ וְעַ֥ל קָ֝דְקֳד֗וֹ חֲמָס֥וֹ יֵרֵֽד

יָשׁ֣וּב  Shall  return 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
עֲמָל֣וֹ  His  trouble 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עָמָל  
Sense: .
בְרֹאשׁ֑וֹ  upon  his  own  head 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
וְעַ֥ל  and  on 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
קָ֝דְקֳד֗וֹ  his  own  crown 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קָדְקֹד  
Sense: head, crown of head, top of head, hairy crown, scalp.
חֲמָס֥וֹ  his  violent  dealing 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חָמָס  
Sense: violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice.
יֵרֵֽד  shall  come  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.