Verse

Psalm chapter 35

English Standard Version

1Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! 2Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help! 3Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, "I am your salvation!" 4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life! Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me! 5Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away! 6Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them! 7For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life. 8Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it — to his destruction! 9Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord, exulting in his salvation. 10All my bones shall say, "O Lord, who is like you, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him?" 11 Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know. 12 They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft. 13But I, when they were sick — I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. 14I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning. 15But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered; they gathered together against me; wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; 16like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth. 17How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions! 18I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you. 19 Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes, and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause. 20For they do not speak peace, but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit. 21They open wide their mouths against me; they say, "Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!" 22 You have seen, O Lord; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me! 23Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord! 24 Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me! 25Let them not say in their hearts, "Aha, our heart 's desire!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up." 26Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me! 27Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, "Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!" 28Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.
New International Version

New American Standard Bible

1Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me. 2Take hold of buckler and shield And rise up as my help. 3Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation.' 4Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me. 5Let them be like chaff before the wind, With the angel of the Lord driving them on. 6Let their way be dark and slippery, With the angel of the Lord pursuing them. 7For they hid their net for me without cause; Without cause they dug a pit for my soul. 8Let destruction come upon him when he is unaware, And let the net which he hid catch him; Let him fall into that very destruction. 9So my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; It shall rejoice in His salvation. 10All my bones will say, 'Lord, who is like You, Who rescues the afflicted from one who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?' 11Malicious witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know. 12They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul. 13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, But my prayer kept returning to me. 14I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother. 15But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; The afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me, They slandered me without ceasing. 16Like godless jesters at a feast, They gnashed at me with their teeth. 17Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, My only life from the lions. 18I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty people. 19Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Nor let those who hate me for no reason wink maliciously. 20For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. 21They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, 'Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!' 22You have seen it, Lord, do not keep silent; Lord, do not be far from me. 23Stir Yourself, and awake to my right And to my cause, my God and my Lord. 24Judge me, Lord my God, according to Your righteousness, And do not let them rejoice over me. 25Do not let them say in their heart, 'Aha, our desire!' Do not let them say, 'We have swallowed him up!' 26May those be ashamed and altogether humiliated who rejoice at my distress; May those who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and dishonor. 27May those shout for joy and rejoice, who take delight in my vindication; And may they say continually, 'The Lord be exalted, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.' 28And my tongue shall proclaim Your righteousness And Your praise all day long.
Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

King James Version

New King James Version

1{A Psalm of David.} Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me. 2Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help. 3Also draw out the spear, And stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.” 4 Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor Who seek after my life; Let those be turned back and brought to confusion Who plot my hurt. 5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, And let the angel of the Lord chase them. 6Let their way be dark and slippery, And let the angel of the Lord pursue them. 7For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit, Which they have dug without cause for my life. 8Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly, And let his net that he has hidden catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall. 9And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; It shall rejoice in His salvation. 10 All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like You, Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?” 11Fierce witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know. 12 They reward me evil for good, To the sorrow of my soul. 13But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart. 14I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother. 15But in my adversity they rejoiced And gathered together; Attackers gathered against me, And I did not know it; They tore at me and did not cease; 16With ungodly mockers at feasts They gnashed at me with their teeth. 17Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, My precious life from the lions. 18I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people. 19 Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause. 20For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful matters Against the quiet ones in the land. 21They also opened their mouth wide against me, And said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it. 22 This You have seen, O Lord; Do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be far from me. 23Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, To my cause, my God and my Lord. 24Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness; And let them not rejoice over me. 25Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.” 26Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who rejoice at my hurt; Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor Who exalt themselves against me. 27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” 28And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness And of Your praise all the day long.

What does Psalm chapter 35 mean?

This is considered one of the "imprecatory psalms:" songs which request the Lord's immediate destruction of an enemy. Others include psalms 5, 10, 58, 69, 83, 109, and 140. In David's context, he was the anointed leader of a nation meant to produce the Messiah. Believers, today, are not in that same circumstance. With Christ's death accomplished, we're commanded to pray for our enemies' salvation, instead (John 18:36; Matthew 5:44–48). God will accomplish vengeance in His own time and in His own way (Romans 12:17–21).

Psalm 35 can be separated into three sections, all echoing the same basic themes. In each segment, David notes the sin and evil of his enemies, asks God to conquer them, and promises that he will ardently worship the Lord in thanks.

David begins by asking God to take up arms against his enemies, using military terminology. Some of the items mentioned would never have been used at the same time, such as a "standing shield" and a "buckler." The point is not that God will literally use weapons, but that David is asking for His help in battle. David also calls on God to thwart his enemies' efforts. This includes making their attacks rebound to their own destruction (Psalm 35:1–10).

The psalm, itself, is not explicitly tied to any event in David's life. However, he experienced persecution from both Saul (1 Samuel 19:1–2) and Absalom (2 Samuel 15:13–14). Both saw David as a rival for the people's loyalty, so one would expect that slander, lies, and other propaganda would have been part of their efforts. In this segment of the psalm, David focuses much attention on the idea of lying witnesses and false accusations. What's especially grievous is that David treated those same persons as his friends, caring for them and praying for their welfare. Now, they invent lies as part of their attacks on him (Psalm 35:11–18).

In the final stanza, David directly pleads with God to be active in defeating his enemies. He pictures his foes plotting, using secret signals, and anticipating David's utter defeat. This is a pattern of such people attacking those who are peaceful and sincere in their faith. In response, David asks for those who support him to praise God. This is in anticipation of the Lord's righteous response to these wicked assailants (Psalm 35:19–28).
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