Verse

Psalm 35:14

ESV I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning.
NIV I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother.
NASB I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
CSB I went about mourning as if for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for a mother.
NLT I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother.
KJV I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.

What does Psalm 35:14 mean?

David continues his description of how he showed compassion on those who have now turned against him. He grieved for them in their struggles, as he would for an intimate family member. Yet now, they repay his good with evil and seek to kill him (Psalm 35:11–13).

Such compassion mirrors the concern Jesus showed for Jerusalem. He lamented: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37). The apostle Paul, too, showed compassion. He writes in Romans 10:1: "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for [the Jews] is that they may be saved." In Jude 1:23 the apostle Jude urges Christians to "save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy [kindness, compassion] with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh."
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