Psalm 31:13

13 For I have heard the ¹slander of many, ²Terror is on every side; While they ³took counsel together against me, They ⁴schemed to take away my life.

Psalm 31:13 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 31:13

For I have heard the slander of many
Both enemies and neighbours;

fear [was] on every side;
his enemies were a "Magormissabib" to him, ( Jeremiah 20:3 ) ; encompassed him around, so that he was in fear from every quarter;

while they took counsel together against me;
how to apprehend him, and what to do with him;

they devised to take away my life;
nothing short of that would satisfy; but life is in the hand of God; men may devise, but God disappoints, and his counsel stands; hence the psalmist was encouraged, after all, to trust in him, in this time of imminent danger, as follows.

Psalm 31:13 In-Context

11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach, Especially to my neighbors, And an object of dread to my acquaintances; Those who see me in the street flee from me.

12 I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

13 For I have heard the slander of many, Terror is on every side; While they took counsel together against me, They schemed to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD , I say, "You are my God."

15 My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 50:20; Jeremiah 20:10
• 2. Lamentations 2:22
• 3. Psalms 62:4; Matthew 27:1
• 4. Psalms 41:7

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "whispering"