David says in the second half of this verse, You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.
The NIV takes this as beginning a new section, contrasting with the men of the world in the first part of the verse. That is, David describes God’s people (the treasured ones
) rather than David’s enemies, noting that the Lord provides his children with his goodness.
But it is better, based on the context, to take also this part of the verse as a description of judgment that the Lord has in store for David’s enemies (as ESV, NKJV, NASB, NIV2011). First, the their
in the first part of the verse refers to David’s enemies, and there is no evidence that its referent changes when it is used again in this second part. Second, the next verse begins with a strong contrast (as for me
), denoting the start of a contrast with the wicked of Psalm 17:14.1
But are not children and abundance gifts from God? Certainly. Yet when men receive God’s gifts without acknowledging and serving God himself as giver, the gifts testify against them. Notably, the word for portion
in the first part of the verse sometimes alludes to the person’s deserved fate (Job 20:29; Job 27:13; Isaiah 17:14). What David is saying is that the Lord fills the womb, or belly, of the enemy with gifts in which they find their satisfaction, but gifts that are temporary and fleeting.2 They do not find their satisfaction in an eternal inheritance or portion, unlike David (Psalm 16:11; Psalm 17:15). And so they whose god is their belly (Philippians 3:19) will experience the frustration of the fleeting life, since their kindred and goods cannot go with them to the grave (Psalm 49:16–20; Ecclesiastes 2:15–23).
14 from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.