Text -- Psalms 35:1-22 (NET)

Psalm 35

35:1 By David. O Lord, fight those who fight with me! Attack those who attack me! 35:2 Grab your small shield and large shield, and rise up to help me! 35:3 Use your spear and lance against those who chase me! Assure me with these words: “I am your deliverer!” 35:4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated! May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed! 35:5 May they be like wind-driven chaff, as the Lord’s angel attacks them! 35:6 May their path be dark and slippery, as the Lord’s angel chases them! 35:7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me and dug a pit to trap me. 35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! Let the net they hid catch them! Let them fall into destruction! 35:9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord and be happy because of his deliverance. 35:10 With all my strength I will say, “O Lord, who can compare to you? You rescue the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” 35:11 Violent men perjure themselves, and falsely accuse me. 35:12 They repay me evil for the good I have done; I am overwhelmed with sorrow. 35:13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, and refrained from eating food. (If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) 35:14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother. I bowed down in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother. 35:15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together; they gathered together to ambush me. They tore at me without stopping to rest. 35:16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly, and tried to bite me. 35:17 O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this? Rescue me from their destructive attacks; guard my life from the young lions! 35:18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly; I will praise you before a large crowd of people! 35:19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason gloat over me! Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes! 35:20 For they do not try to make peace with others, but plan ways to deceive those who are unsuspecting. 35:21 They are ready to devour me; they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!” 35:22 But you take notice, Lord! O Lord, do not remain far away from me!

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 35:1

¹ sn Psalm 35. The author, who faces ruthless enemies who seek his life for no reason, begs the Lord to fight his battles for him and to vindicate him by annihilating his adversaries.

² tn Or “contend.”

NET Notes: Psa 35:2

¹ tn Two different types of shields are mentioned here. See also Ezek 38:4. Many modern translations render the first term (translated here “small shield”) as “buckler” (cf. NASB “buckler and shield”; the order is often reversed in the translation, apparently for stylistic reasons: cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “shield and buckler”). The English term “buckler,” referring to a small round shield held on the arm to protect the upper body, is unfamiliar to many modern readers, so the term “small shield” was used in the present translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Psa 35:3

¹ tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.

² tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”

³ tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”

NET Notes: Psa 35:4

¹ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies. See also the distinct jussive form in v. 6.

NET Notes: Psa 35:5

¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. See v. 4.

² sn See the mention of the Lord’s angel in Ps 34:7.

³ tn Heb “as the Lord’s angel pushes [them].”

NET Notes: Psa 35:6

¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive, indicating this is a prayer.

NET Notes: Psa 35:7

¹ tc Heb “for without cause they hid for me a pit of their net, without cause they dug for my life.” It appears that the words “pit” and “net” have been transposed. “Net” goes with the verb “hid” in the first line (see v. 8, as well as Pss 9:15; 31:4), while “pit” goes with the verb “dug” in the second line (see Ps 7:15).

NET Notes: Psa 35:8

¹ tn Heb “let destruction [which] he does not know come to him.” The singular is used of the enemy in v. 8, probably in a representative or collective sense. The psalmist has more than one enemy, as vv. 1-7 make clear.

² tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.

NET Notes: Psa 35:9

¹ tn Heb “then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and be happy in his deliverance.”

NET Notes: Psa 35:10

¹ tn Heb “all my bones will say.”

² tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.

³ tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.

⁴ tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.

NET Notes: Psa 35:11

¹ tn Heb “witnesses of violence rise up.”

² tn Heb “[that] which I do not know they ask me.”

NET Notes: Psa 35:12

¹ tn Heb “they repay me evil instead of good.”

² tn Heb “[there is] bereavement to my soul.”

NET Notes: Psa 35:13

¹ tn Heb “as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.” Sackcloth was worn by mourners. When the psalmist’s enemies were sick, he was sorry for their misfortune and mourned for them.

² sn Fasting was also a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities, such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

³ tn Heb “and my prayer upon my chest will return.” One could translate, “but my prayer was returning upon my chest,” but the use of the imperfect verbal form sets this line apart from the preceding and following lines (vv. 13a, 14), which use the perfect to describe the psalmist’s past actions.

NET Notes: Psa 35:14

¹ tn Heb “like a friend, like a brother to me I walked about.”

² sn I bowed down. Bowing down was a posture for mourning. See Ps 38:6.

³ tn Heb “like mourning for a mother [in] sorrow I bowed down.”

NET Notes: Psa 35:15

¹ tn Heb “they gathered together against me, stricken [ones], and I did not know.” The Hebrew form נֵכִים (nekhim, “stricken ones” ?) is problematic. Some suggest an emendation to נָכְרִים[כְ] (kÿnokhÿrim, “foreigners”) or “like foreigners,” which would fit with what follows, “[like] foreigners that I do not recognize.” Perhaps the form should be read as a Qal active participle, נֹכִים (nokhim, “ones who strike”) from the verbal root נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike”). The Qal of this verb is unattested in biblical Hebrew, but the peal (basic) stem appears in Old Aramaic (J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 114; DNWSI 1:730.) In this case one might translate, “attackers gathered together against me though I was not aware of it” (cf. NASB “smiters”; NEB, NRSV “ruffians”; NIV “attackers”).

² tn Heb “they tore and did not keep quiet.” By using the verb “tear,” the psalmist likens his enemies to a wild animal (see Hos 13:8). In v. 17 he compares them to hungry young lions.

NET Notes: Psa 35:16

¹ tc The MT reads “as profane [ones] of mockers of food,” which is nonsensical. The present translation assumes (1) an emendation of בְּחַנְפֵי (bÿkhanfey, “as profane men”) to בְּחַנְפִי (bekhanfiy, “when I tripped”; preposition + Qal infinitive construct from II חָנַף [“limp”] + first common singular pronominal suffix) and (2) an emendation of לַעֲגֵי מָעוֹג (la’agey ma’og, “mockers of food”) to עָגוּ[ם]לַעְגָּ (la’gam ’agu, “[with] taunting they taunted”; masculine plural noun with enclitic mem + Qal perfect third common plural from לַּעַג [la’ag, “taunt”]).

² tn Heb “gnashing at me with their teeth.” The infinitive absolute adds a complementary action – they gnashed with their teeth as they taunted.

NET Notes: Psa 35:17

¹ tn Heb “O Lord, how long will you see?”

² tn Heb “bring back, restore.”

³ tn Or “my life.”

⁴ tn Heb “my only one.” The psalmist may mean that his life is precious, or that he feels isolated and alone (see Ps 22:20). The verb “guard” is supplied in the translation, because the verb “rescue” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).

NET Notes: Psa 35:18

¹ sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Ps 22:25.

² tn Heb “among numerous people.”

NET Notes: Psa 35:19

¹ tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Ps 38:19).

² tn Heb “rejoice.”

³ tn Heb “[do not let] those who hate me without cause pinch [i.e., wink] an eye.” The negative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (see the preceding line). In the Book of Proverbs “winking an eye” is associated with deceit and trickery (see 6:13; 10:10; 16:30).

NET Notes: Psa 35:20

¹ tn Heb “for they do not speak peace.”

² tn Heb “but against the quiet ones of the land words of deceit they plan.” The imperfect verbal forms in v. 20 highlight their characteristic behavior.

NET Notes: Psa 35:21

¹ tn Heb “and they cause their mouth to be wide against me.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the generalizing mood of the previous verse. For other examples of this use of the prefixed verbal form with vav consecutive, see GKC 329 §111.t.

² tn Heb “our eye sees.” Apparently this is an idiom meaning to “look in triumph” or “gloat over” (see Ps 54:7).

NET Notes: Psa 35:22

¹ tn Heb “you see, O Lord.” There is a deliberate play on words. In v. 21 the enemies say, “our eye sees,” but the psalmist is confident that the Lord “sees” as well, so he appeals to him for help (see also v. 17).