Psalms 35:11-16

11 Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about.

12 They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved.

13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered,

14 I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother.

15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge. They slandered me without ceasing.

16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;^[a]they gnashed their teeth at me.

Psalms 35:11-16 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.

Cross References

• 1. S Exodus 23:1; S Matthew 26:60; Psalms 27:12
• 2. Psalms 38:20; Psalms 109:5; Proverbs 17:13; Jeremiah 18:20; John 10:32
• 3. S 2 Samuel 3:31; 1 Kings 20:31; Psalms 30:11; Psalms 69:11
• 4. Job 30:25; Psalms 69:10; Psalms 109:24
• 5. Psalms 38:6; Psalms 42:9; Psalms 43:2
• 6. S Job 31:29
• 7. S Job 16:10; Job 30:1,8
• 8. S Psalms 22:7; Mark 10:34
• 9. S Job 16:9; Mark 9:18; Acts 7:54; Lamentations 2:16

Footnotes

• [a]. Septuagint; Hebrew may mean "Like an ungodly circle of mockers,"