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Psalms 35

KJV · Chapter 35/150

1Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

2Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.

3Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

4Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.

5Let them be as 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 persecute them.

7For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.

8Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.

9And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.

10All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?

11False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.

12They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.

13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

14I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.

15But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:

16With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

17Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.

18I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.

19Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.

20For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.

21Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

22This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.

23Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.

24Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.

25Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.

26Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.

27Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

28And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David asks God to fight on his behalf against enemies who repaid good with evil and persecuted him without cause, even after he had wept and fasted for them when they were sick.

Explanation

This is one of the so-called 'imprecatory psalms,' in which the psalmist openly asks God to judge and punish his adversaries — a form of prayer that may sound shocking today, but which expresses handing vengeance over to God rather than taking it personally (something reinforced by the Mosaic Law, which restricted personal revenge). The poignant detail is that David treated his enemies with compassion when they were sick, and was still betrayed by them. Today's application: it is possible to bring even the harshest feelings of anger and desire for justice to God, trusting that He will judge righteously, rather than acting on one's own.

Fun facts

  • Psalms like this one belong to the group of 'imprecatory psalms' (which also include Psalms 69, 109, and 137) — texts that call for judgment on enemies and that still generate theological debate today about how to reconcile them with the call to forgiveness.
  • The practice described in verses 13-14 — wearing sackcloth (rough cloth) and fasting for the health of another person, even an adversary — was a common practice of intercession in ancient Israel, also seen in Job 30:25.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Psalms 35:1Opens the psalm asking God to take up his own defense, using language that mixes courtroom and battlefield: to plead the cause and fight the fight that are his.
  2. Psalms 35:2Shield and buckler, a smaller round shield, were part of a soldier’s equipment at the time; the psalmist asks God Himself to arm up like a warrior to fight at his side, a military image of protection applied to a personal persecution.
  3. Psalms 35:3Continues asking God to arm Himself like a warrior, but ends with a deeply personal request: just hearing the phrase “I am thy salvation” would already be enough to comfort his soul.
  4. Psalms 35:4A request for poetic justice: that whoever seeks to take his life come out ashamed and be forced to retreat, the common pattern of psalms of lament.
  5. Psalms 35:5Repeats the image of chaff carried by the wind, already used in Psalm 1, now asking that an angel of the LORD Himself chase and drive away the enemies.
  6. Psalms 35:6Continues the same request for poetic justice, now imagining the enemies’ path dark and slippery, hard to walk without falling.
  7. Psalms 35:7Explains the reason for so much pleading for justice: the enemies set a hidden trap for no real reason, a completely unjustified attack.
  8. Psalms 35:8Repeats the same idea of poetic justice found in other psalms: that the trap the enemy prepared close in on himself, without warning.
  9. Psalms 35:9Shifts tone, from a plea for justice to anticipated joy: even before the final outcome, he already declares he will rejoice in God’s salvation.
  10. Psalms 35:10Describes a praise that involves the whole body, down to the bones, recognizing that no one else defends the weak against the strong the way God does.
  11. Psalms 35:11Describes the specific kind of injustice he suffered: false witnesses accusing him of things he didn’t even know existed.
  12. Psalms 35:12Describes the ingratitude of these people: he did good to them, and the response he got back was evil, almost like a theft of his very soul.
  13. Psalms 35:13Wearing sackcloth, a rough fabric, and fasting were the visible signs of mourning and pleading in Hebrew culture. The sad detail here is that the psalmist did this for his own enemies when they were sick, and now those same enemies are the ones attacking him.
  14. Psalms 35:14Continues describing how well he treated these same people before: he wept for them as if they were a brother or close friend, with the same mourning as someone who loses their own mother.
  15. Psalms 35:15Draws a painful contrast: while he wept over their troubles, those same people gathered to celebrate his misfortunes, never letting up their attacks.
  16. Psalms 35:16Gnashing teeth is a physical expression of extreme rage and hostility, the kind of gesture that shows stored-up hatred, not just passing disapproval.
  17. Psalms 35:17Repeats the classic lament question, “how long”, asking that God finally step in and rescue his life from the grip of these enemies compared to lions.
  18. Psalms 35:18Promises that, if he is delivered, he will praise publicly, in a great gathering of people, not keeping the gratitude only to himself.
  19. Psalms 35:19Asks that his enemies have no reason to celebrate without cause, even mentioning the gesture of winking in mockery, a physical sign of scorn.
  20. Psalms 35:20Describes the true character of these enemies: they don’t speak of real peace, they plan to deceive exactly those who live peacefully and expect no trouble.
  21. Psalms 35:21A cry of mockery, like someone pointing and celebrating another person’s misfortune in the public square, the kind of public humiliation the psalmist says he’s suffering.
  22. Psalms 35:22Asks God not to stay silent, since He saw everything that happened, silence at this moment would seem strange after so much witnessed.
  23. Psalms 35:23Uses urgent language, almost as if asking God to wake up, calling Him twice by different names to reinforce the intimacy of the request.
  24. Psalms 35:24Asks for a judgment based on God’s righteousness, making clear that the greatest fear isn’t losing, it’s giving the enemies a reason to celebrate.
  25. Psalms 35:25Fears even what the enemies might think in secret, celebrating inwardly as if they had already swallowed him whole.
  26. Psalms 35:26Asks that shame clothe the enemies like a garment, a poetic way of asking that the humiliation they wanted to cause come back on themselves.
  27. Psalms 35:27Draws the final contrast: while asking shame for the enemies, he wishes joy and singing for whoever supports his just cause, recognizing that God cares about the well-being of those who serve Him.
  28. Psalms 35:28Closes the psalm with a vow of constant praise, promising that his tongue will speak of God’s righteousness every day, not only in the moment of crisis.

Chapters

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