Psalms 35:3-13

3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers, and assure me: "I am your deliverance."
4 Let those who seek to kill me be disgraced and humiliated; let those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.
5 Let them be like husks in the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 They hid their net for me without cause; they dug a pit for me without cause.
8 Let ruin come on him unexpectedly, and let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it-to his ruin.
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord; I will delight in His deliverance.
10 My very bones will say, "Lord, who is like You, rescuing the poor from one too strong for him, the poor or the needy from one who robs him?"
11 Malicious witnesses come forward; they question me about things I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good, making me desolate.
13 Yet when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, and my prayer was genuine.[a]

Psalms 35:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 35

\\<<[A Psalm] of David>>\\. This psalm seems to have been written by David, when he was persecuted by Saul; and when many false charges were brought against him by his courtiers; and when he was the scorn and derision of the people; the subject of it is pretty much of the same kind with the seventh psalm, and might be written about the same time that was, and on the same occasion; and it may be applied to the church and people of God in like cases. There is a passage in it, Ps 35:19, which our Lord seems to refer to and apply to himself, Joh 15:25; and some interpret the whole of it concerning him. The Arabic version calls it a prophecy of the incarnation; though there does not appear any thing in it applicable to that.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Lit prayer returned to my chest
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