Psalm 35

Introduction

Psalm 35 is an imprecatory lament attributed to David, in which he cries out against false accusers and treacherous former friends who have repaid his kindness with hostility. The psalm's setting is one of legal and personal persecution: David faces enemies who bring false charges against him, who scheme in secret, and who rejoice when he stumbles. While no specific historical occasion is identified with certainty, the psalm's language of betrayal by those David had cared for during illness (vv. 13-14) fits several episodes in David's life, including Saul's turn against him or the treachery of court associates.

The psalm has a distinctive three-cycle structure, each cycle moving from lament and petition to a vow of praise. The first cycle (vv. 1-10) calls on God as a divine warrior and ends with praise from the psalmist's very bones. The second cycle (vv. 11-18) laments the treachery of false friends and culminates in a vow to give thanks in the great assembly. The third cycle (vv. 19-28) appeals for vindication and closes with a commitment to proclaim God's righteousness all day long. The phrase "without cause" (Psalms 35:7, Psalms 35:19) becomes theologically significant when Jesus applies it to the hatred directed against him (John 15:25), quoting this psalm alongside Psalms 69:4.

Cry for God to Fight (vv. 1-3)

¹ Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me. ² Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid. ³ Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul: "I am your salvation."

¹ Contend, O LORD, with those who contend against me; fight against those who fight against me. ² Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise up to help me. ³ Draw out the spear and close the way against my pursuers; say to my soul, "I am your deliverance."

Notes

The psalm opens with a bold legal and military metaphor. The verb רִיבָה ("contend") is a courtroom term meaning to take up someone's legal case or dispute (Psalms 43:1, Proverbs 22:23). David asks God to serve as his advocate against יְרִיבַי ("those who contend against me") -- the same root repeated for emphatic effect. The parallel verb לְחַם ("fight") shifts from legal to military imagery: God is asked not only to argue David's case but to wage war on his behalf. This double metaphor -- courtroom and battlefield -- runs throughout the psalm.

The military imagery intensifies in verse 2. מָגֵן ("shield") refers to the smaller, round defensive shield, while צִנָּה ("buckler") is the large, full-body shield used in battle (1 Samuel 17:7, Ezekiel 23:24). God is pictured as a warrior arming himself for combat. The command קוּמָה ("arise!") is a recurring battle cry in the Psalter, echoing the ancient formula of Numbers 10:35: "Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered."

In verse 3, הָרֵק חֲנִית ("draw out the spear") uses a verb that literally means "to empty out" or "to unsheathe." The second phrase, וּסְגֹר לִקְרַאת רֹדְפָי, is difficult. The verb סָגַר normally means "to shut, to close," leading to the translation "close the way against my pursuers" -- that is, block their path. Some interpreters understand it as a second weapon (a battle-axe or javelin), reading it as סֶגֶר, an otherwise unattested term. The BSB renders "javelin," following this interpretation. The verse climaxes with God's personal declaration to David's soul: יְשֻׁעָתֵךְ אָנִי ("I am your salvation/deliverance"). This is remarkable -- God does not merely provide salvation but declares himself to be salvation itself.

Imprecation Against the Enemy (vv. 4-8)

⁴ May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; ⁵ may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded. May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away. ⁶ May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues. ⁷ For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul. ⁸ May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.

⁴ Let those who seek my life be put to shame and disgraced; let those who plot my harm be turned back and humiliated. ⁵ Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away. ⁶ Let their path be darkness and slippery ground, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them. ⁷ For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life. ⁸ Let destruction come upon him unawares; let the net that he hid catch him; let him fall into it -- to destruction.

Notes

David now invokes a series of imprecations -- prayers that God would bring the enemies' own schemes back upon their heads. Verse 4 pairs two synonymous verbs for shame: יֵבֹשׁוּ ("let them be shamed") and יִכָּלְמוּ ("let them be disgraced"), followed by יִסֹּגוּ אָחוֹר ("let them be turned back") and יַחְפְּרוּ ("let them be confounded/humiliated"). The heaping up of terms for shame reflects the intensity of David's distress.

Verses 5-6 introduce the striking figure of the מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה ("angel of the LORD") as the agent of divine pursuit. The enemies are to become like מֹץ ("chaff") before the wind -- a frequent Old Testament image for the insubstantial and worthless (Psalms 1:4, Isaiah 17:13). The angel of the LORD appears twice (vv. 5-6), first driving them and then pursuing them. Their path is to be חֹשֶׁךְ וַחֲלַקְלַקּוֹת ("darkness and slippery ground") -- a terrifying picture of fleeing in pitch blackness on treacherous terrain with a divine pursuer behind them. The word חֲלַקְלַקּוֹת is an intensive reduplicated form emphasizing extreme slipperiness (Jeremiah 23:12).

Verse 7 provides the moral basis for the imprecation: חִנָּם ("without cause"), repeated twice for emphasis. The enemies' hostility is groundless. They hid שַׁחַת רִשְׁתָּם ("the pit of their net") -- combining two images of trapping (a net and a pit) into a single figure of malicious scheming. This word חִנָּם ("without cause") appears again in verse 19 and becomes a key term connecting this psalm to Christ. In John 15:25, Jesus says, "They hated me without cause," citing this language from the Psalms.

Verse 8 applies the principle of poetic justice (measure for measure): the very net the enemy hid should catch him; the pit he dug should swallow him. The word שׁוֹאָה ("destruction, ruin") denotes sudden, catastrophic devastation. The shift from plural to singular ("let destruction come upon him") may single out a primary adversary or may be a collective singular.

Interpretations

The imprecatory language of this psalm raises questions about how Christians should read prayers for divine vengeance. Some traditions treat these prayers as exclusively Old Testament expressions that are superseded by Jesus' command to love one's enemies (Matthew 5:44). Others argue that imprecatory psalms are legitimate prayers for God's justice, not personal vengeance -- David entrusts judgment to God rather than taking matters into his own hands (see Romans 12:19). Still others view the imprecations as prophetic pronouncements of what will happen to the wicked, not merely wishes. The Reformed tradition has generally affirmed that imprecatory psalms express a righteous desire for God's justice and vindication of the oppressed, while noting that believers should pray them with the understanding that God alone determines how and when justice is executed.

Vow of Praise (vv. 9-10)

⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and exult in His salvation. ¹⁰ All my bones will exclaim, "Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?"

⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD; it will exult in his deliverance. ¹⁰ All my bones will say, "Who is like you, O LORD -- you who rescue the afflicted from the one too strong for him, the afflicted and needy from the one who robs him?"

Notes

The first cycle of the psalm ends with a vow of praise. The two verbs in verse 9, תָּגִיל ("will rejoice") and תָּשִׂישׂ ("will exult"), express intense, overflowing joy. The word יְשׁוּעָה ("salvation, deliverance") echoes verse 3, where God declared, "I am your deliverance." The psalmist's rejoicing will be in the LORD himself, not merely in the outcome.

Verse 10 is striking for its physicality: כָּל עַצְמוֹתַי ("all my bones") will speak. The praise is so deep that it involves the whole body, not just the lips. The bones -- the firmest, most enduring part of the human frame -- cry out the great rhetorical question: מִי כָמוֹךָ ("Who is like you?"). This phrase echoes Moses' song at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:11) and is a declaration of God's incomparability. God is uniquely the champion of עָנִי ("the afflicted") and אֶבְיוֹן ("the needy") against those who are חָזָק ("stronger") and who גֹּזֵל ("rob, plunder") them. This is a theology of divine reversal: God sides with the powerless against the powerful.

The Treachery of False Friends (vv. 11-16)

¹¹ Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about. ¹² They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul. ¹³ Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered. ¹⁴ I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother. ¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing. ¹⁶ Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.

¹¹ Witnesses of violence rise up; they question me about things I do not know. ¹² They repay me evil for good -- bereavement for my soul. ¹³ But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I afflicted my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my own breast. ¹⁴ I went about as though grieving for my friend, for my brother; I bowed down in mourning, like one who grieves for his mother. ¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together; they gathered against me -- strikers whom I did not know -- they tore at me without ceasing. ¹⁶ With godless mockers at a feast, they gnashed their teeth against me.

Notes

The second cycle of the psalm introduces the theme of personal betrayal. The עֵדֵי חָמָס ("witnesses of violence") in verse 11 are not merely inaccurate witnesses but malicious ones -- their testimony is characterized by חָמָס ("violence, injustice"). They interrogate David about matters he has no knowledge of, a profoundly disorienting experience for the accused.

Verse 12 states the agonizing core: יְשַׁלְּמוּנִי רָעָה תַּחַת טוֹבָה ("they repay me evil in place of good"). The result is שְׁכוֹל לְנַפְשִׁי ("bereavement for my soul"). The word שְׁכוֹל specifically refers to the bereavement of a parent who has lost children -- one of the most devastating forms of grief in Israelite culture. David's betrayal feels like the death of his own offspring.

Verses 13-14 contrast David's past kindness with the enemies' present cruelty. When they were sick, David לְבוּשִׁי שָׂק ("clothed himself in sackcloth") -- the rough garment of mourning and penance. He עִנֵּיתִי בַצּוֹם נַפְשִׁי ("afflicted his soul with fasting"), the language used for the Day of Atonement observance (Leviticus 16:29). The puzzling phrase וּתְפִלָּתִי עַל חֵיקִי תָשׁוּב ("my prayer returned to my own breast") has been interpreted in two ways: either his prayers went unanswered (they came back to him without reaching God) or he prayed with head bowed low, his prayer falling upon his own chest as he wept. Both readings convey deep, sincere intercession. In verse 14, David treated these people כְּרֵעַ כְּאָח ("as a friend, as a brother") and mourned for them as one mourns אֵם ("a mother") -- the most intimate grief imaginable.

Verse 15 reveals the bitter reversal. When David צָלַע ("stumbled, limped"), these same people שָׂמְחוּ וְנֶאֱסָפוּ ("rejoiced and gathered together"). The נֵכִים ("strikers, assailants") are people David did not even recognize -- strangers joined the mob. They קָרְעוּ וְלֹא דָמּוּ ("tore at me and did not cease"). The verb קָרַע ("to tear") may refer to tearing his reputation apart with slander, or it may evoke the image of animals tearing at prey.

Verse 16 is textually difficult. בְּחַנְפֵי לַעֲגֵי מָעוֹג is obscure; it likely means something like "among profane mockers of a cake/feast" -- parasites and scoffers who mock at dinner parties. The image is of cruel, godless entertainment at David's expense. They חָרֹק עָלַי שִׁנֵּימוֹ ("gnash their teeth against me"), an expression of rage and contempt found frequently in the Psalms (Psalms 37:12, Psalms 112:10).

Plea for Rescue (vv. 17-21)

¹⁷ How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. ¹⁸ Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people. ¹⁹ Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice. ²⁰ For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land. ²¹ They gape at me and say, "Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!"

¹⁷ O Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my life from their destruction, my only life from the young lions. ¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among a mighty throng I will praise you. ¹⁹ Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me, or those who hate me without cause wink the eye. ²⁰ For they do not speak peace, but against the quiet ones of the land they devise words of deceit. ²¹ They open wide their mouths against me and say, "Aha! Aha! Our eyes have seen it!"

Notes

The cry כַּמָּה תִּרְאֶה ("how long will you look on?") in verse 17 is an accusation as much as a question. God is watching but not acting -- he sees the injustice but seems passive. The word שֹׁאֵיהֶם ("their destruction/ravages") echoes the שׁוֹאָה of verse 8. David asks God to rescue יְחִידָתִי ("my only one"), a term used for "my precious life" or "my only life" -- literally "my solitary one," the same word used of Isaac as Abraham's "only" son (Genesis 22:2). The כְּפִירִים ("young lions") are the enemies at their most predatory.

Verse 18 is the second vow of praise, now located in the public assembly. The קָהָל רָב ("great assembly") and עַם עָצוּם ("mighty people/throng") indicate that David's praise will not be private but congregational. The word for "praise" here is הָלַל, the root of "hallelujah."

Verse 19 contains the language that Jesus explicitly applies to himself. שֹׂנְאַי חִנָּם ("those who hate me without cause") is cited in John 15:25, where Jesus says, "But this is to fulfill the word written in their Law: 'They hated me without cause.'" The verb יִקְרְצוּ עָיִן ("wink the eye") describes a malicious, conspiratorial gesture -- a knowing look exchanged between enemies who are plotting together (Proverbs 6:13, Proverbs 10:10).

Verse 20 provides the reason for David's alarm: they do not speak שָׁלוֹם ("peace") but plot against רִגְעֵי אֶרֶץ ("the quiet ones of the land") -- peaceful, unassuming people who are simply minding their own lives. The enemies' specialty is דִּבְרֵי מִרְמוֹת ("words of deceit"), elaborate deceptions crafted to destroy.

Verse 21 captures the enemies' gloating cry: הֶאָח הֶאָח ("Aha! Aha!"), an exclamation of triumph and malicious satisfaction. They claim רָאֲתָה עֵינֵינוּ ("our eyes have seen it!") -- they believe they have witnessed David's downfall and are celebrating prematurely.

Appeal for Vindication (vv. 22-28)

²² O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me. ²³ Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord! ²⁴ Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God, and do not let them gloat over me. ²⁵ Let them not say in their hearts, "Aha, just what we wanted!" Let them not say, "We have swallowed him up!" ²⁶ May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach. ²⁷ May those who favor my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, "Exalted be the LORD who delights in His servant's well-being." ²⁸ Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.

²² You have seen, O LORD -- do not be silent. O Lord, do not be far from me. ²³ Rouse yourself and awake for my justice, my God and my Lord, for my cause! ²⁴ Judge me according to your righteousness, O LORD my God, and do not let them rejoice over me. ²⁵ Do not let them say in their hearts, "Aha! Our desire!" Do not let them say, "We have swallowed him up!" ²⁶ Let those who rejoice at my calamity be put to shame and confounded together; let those who magnify themselves against me be clothed with shame and disgrace. ²⁷ Let those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and be glad; let them say continually, "Great is the LORD, who delights in the well-being of his servant!" ²⁸ Then my tongue will speak of your righteousness, of your praise all the day long.

Notes

The final cycle turns the enemies' gloating back on them. In verse 22, David answers their claim "our eyes have seen it" with רָאִיתָה יְהוָה ("you have seen, O LORD"). The enemies saw what they wanted to see; God sees what is truly there. Two pleas follow: אַל תֶּחֱרַשׁ ("do not be silent") and אַל תִּרְחַק ("do not be far") -- the same fear expressed at the psalm's opening.

Verse 23 uses the bold language of rousing God from apparent sleep: הָעִירָה וְהָקִיצָה ("rouse yourself and awake!"). This is anthropomorphic language that expresses the psalmist's sense of God's inaction, not a literal belief that God sleeps (see Psalms 121:4). The terms מִשְׁפָּטִי ("my justice") and רִיבִי ("my cause/dispute") return to the courtroom language of verse 1 -- the legal case that frames the entire psalm.

Verse 24 contains the heart of David's appeal: שָׁפְטֵנִי כְצִדְקְךָ ("judge me according to your righteousness"). David does not claim personal perfection; he asks to be judged by God's standard of justice, confident that God's צֶדֶק ("righteousness") will distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. This is not self-righteousness but an appeal to divine justice.

Verse 25 echoes the enemies' הֶאָח ("Aha!") from verse 21, and adds נַפְשֵׁנוּ ("our desire" -- literally "our soul"). The verb בִּלַּעֲנוּהוּ ("we have swallowed him up") is a vivid image of total destruction, as if the enemies had consumed David entirely.

Verse 26 applies the "clothing" metaphor to the enemies: they are to be יִלְבְּשׁוּ בֹשֶׁת וּכְלִמָּה ("clothed with shame and disgrace"). Just as a garment covers the whole person, so their humiliation should be total and visible.

Verse 27 turns from enemies to allies. Those who חֲפֵצֵי צִדְקִי ("delight in my vindication") -- those who want to see justice done -- are to יָרֹנּוּ וְיִשְׂמְחוּ ("shout for joy and be glad"). Their continual refrain is יִגְדַּל יְהוָה הֶחָפֵץ שְׁלוֹם עַבְדּוֹ ("Great is the LORD, who delights in the well-being of his servant"). The word שָׁלוֹם ("well-being, peace, wholeness") here encompasses not just safety but total flourishing. God is not indifferent to his servant's welfare; he actively delights in it.

The psalm closes in verse 28 with the third vow of praise: וּלְשׁוֹנִי תֶּהְגֶּה צִדְקֶךָ ("my tongue will speak of your righteousness"). The verb הָגָה ("to murmur, to meditate, to speak") is the same verb used in Psalms 1:2 for meditating on the Torah -- it suggests not casual speech but continuous, deep, devoted reflection. David's tongue will proclaim God's צֶדֶק ("righteousness") and תְּהִלָּה ("praise") כָּל הַיּוֹם ("all the day long"). The psalm that began with a cry for help ends with a life given entirely to the praise of God's justice.