Psalm 35:13

13 But when they were sick, I wore clothes for grieving, and I kept a strict fast. When my prayer came back unanswered,

Psalm 35:13 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 35:13

But as for me, when they were sick
Or under any disorder or distress of body or mind, when any misfortune or infirmity attended them; meaning Saul and his courtiers, before David was persecuted by them;

my clothing [was] sackcloth;
that is, he was grieved, and mourned for them, it being usual to put on sackcloth in time of mourning; see ( Genesis 37:34 ) ;

I humbled my soul with fasting;
on the account of them, giving up himself to prayer for them, as follows:

and my prayer returned into mine own bosom;
that is, he prayed privately and heartily for them, as for himself; he was constant in it, his heart was in it, and he took delight in it, and he was heard and answered; unless the sense should be, that his prayer was slighted by them, and so returned back to himself, as a present despised is returned; but however it was not without its effect, the good for which he prayed for them was returned by the Lord unto him.

Psalm 35:13 In-Context

11 Violent witnesses stand up. They question me about things I know nothing about.

12 They pay me back evil for good, leaving me stricken with grief.

13 But when they were sick, I wore clothes for grieving, and I kept a strict fast. When my prayer came back unanswered,

14 I would wander around like I was grieving a friend or a brother. I was weighed down, sad, like I was a mother in mourning.

15 But when I stumbled, they celebrated and gathered together— they gathered together against me! Strangers I didn't know tore me to pieces and wouldn't quit.

Footnotes

• [a] Heb uncertain