Psalms 69:10-11(v13)When I wept and I fasted, that was to my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
John 10:32(v12)Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
Jeremiah 18:20(v12)Should evil be recompensed for good? For they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn…
Job 30:25(v13)Didn’t I weep for him who was in trouble? Wasn’t my soul grieved for the needy?
Psalms 38:20(v12)They who render evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
Show all 27 cross-references
Proverbs 17:13(v12)Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
Matthew 5:44(v13)But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and…
Luke 23:21-23(v12)but they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify him!” He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has this man done? I have found no…
Psalms 109:3-5(v12)They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. In return for my love, they are my adversaries;…
Leviticus 16:31(v13)It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.
1 Samuel 20:31-33(v12)For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you will not be established, nor will your kingdom. Therefore now send and bring him to…
Isaiah 58:5(v13)Is this the fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to humble his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth…
Matthew 10:13(v13)If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you.
Luke 19:41-42(v14)When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But…
Genesis 24:67(v14)Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife. He loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his…
1 Samuel 19:4-5(v12)Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Don’t let the king sin against his servant, against David; because he…
1 Samuel 19:15(v12)Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.”
1 Samuel 22:13-14(v12)Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread, and a sword, and have…
2 Samuel 1:11-12(v14)Then David took hold on his clothes, and tore them; and all the men who were with him did likewise. They mourned, wept, and fasted until…
Luke 10:6(v13)If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
Romans 12:14-15(v13)Bless those who persecute you; bless, and don’t curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
Leviticus 16:29(v13)“It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no…
2 Samuel 1:17-27(v14)David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son (and he commanded them to teach the children of Judah the song of…
1 Kings 21:27-29(v13)When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.…
Psalms 38:6(v14)I am in pain and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long.
Isaiah 58:3(v13)‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’ “Behold, in the day of your fast…
Matthew 9:14-15(v13)Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?” Jesus said to them,…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn v1212. They render me evil for good. David again…
12. They render me evil for good. David again shows that the malice of his enemies was of a very aggravated character, because they not only oppressed him wrongfully, seeing he was innocent, and had given them no occasion of offense, but also because even those who had received much enjoyment and many favors from him, recompensed him in a very strange and ungrateful manner. Such disgraceful conduct wounds the feelings of good men very severely, and seems quite intolerable. But it is an inexpressibly great consolation when we can testify before God, that we have attempted by every means in our power to soothe the minds of our enemies, and to bow them to gentleness, although, notwithstanding, they are hurried on by insatiable cruelty in desiring our hurt; for God will not suffer this barbarous and brutal ingratitude to pass unpunished. Their cruelty is farther expressed when it is said that they endeavored to bereave (for so it is properly in the Hebrew “Ont tasch, de rendre orpheline car il y a ainsi proprement en Hebrieu.” — Fr.
“When the Orientals,” says Boothroyd, “pray seriously in grief, they hide their face in their bosom: and to this custom the Psalmist here alludes. Rabbi Levi, Dathe, and others, explain it in like manner.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv12–13To have taken from me all comfort and brought…
To have taken from me all comfort and brought me into despair.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Psa 35:12 They rewarded me evil for good [to]…
Psa 35:12 They rewarded me evil for good [to] the spoiling of my soul.
Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good] To render good for evil is divine, good for good is human, evil for evil is brutish; but evil for good is devilish.
Read full note →
To the spoiling of my soul] i.e. To the depriving me of that life which I have so often hazarded to save theirs. Intentant caedem (Kimchi). Or, this their devilish dealing with me, erat mihi quasi mors amarum, was as bitter as death to me.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv12–14For good; for the good offices which did to…
For good; for the good offices which did to divers of them when I had favour and power in Saul’s court and camp.
To the spoiling of my soul, i.e. to the stripping of my person of all my comforts and hopes, and of my life itself.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv12–14They rewarded me evil for good,.... For the good…
They rewarded me evil for good,.... For the good David did in killing Goliath, and slaying his ten thousands of the Philistines, and thereby saving his king and country, Saul and his courtiers envied him, and sought to slay him: so our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the good he did to the Jews, by healing their bodies of diseases, and preaching the Gospel to them for the benefit of their souls, was rewarded with reproaches and persecutions, and at last with the shameful death of the cross; and in like manner are his people used; but this is an evil that shall not go unpunished; see Pro 17:13. It is added,
to the spoiling of my soul; or "to the bereaving of it" (t); causing it to be fatherless; that is, to the bereaving it of its joy, peace, and comfort; so fatherless is put for comfortless, Joh 14:18; or to the taking away of his soul, which being separated from the body, its companion is left alone, as one that is fatherless.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn v13Returned - Although my fastings and prayers did them…
Returned - Although my fastings and prayers did them no good.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Verse 12. To the spoiling of my soul] To…
Verse 12. To the spoiling of my soul] To destroy my life; so נפש nephesh should be translated in a multitude of places, where our translators have used the word soul.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv13–14Psa 35:13. When they were sick — Or in…
Psa 35:13. When they were sick — Or in any other great misery; my clothing was sackcloth — Which was the habit of mourners. I humbled — Hebrew, I afflicted, my soul with fasting — And with compassion and fervent prayers for them; and, or but, my prayer returned into mine own bosom — My fastings and prayers did them no good, neither abated their malice, nor prevailed with God for them, so far as I desired; but returned to me without success, like a gift sent to an uncivil person, who disdainfully rejects it, and returns it to the giver. But this clause may be rendered, And my prayer in my bosom returned; that is, I daily and frequently repeated my prayers for them, and that not only in public, when I joined with others, but also in secret, between God and my own soul; and that with a sincere and hearty affection. For what is done secretly, and affectionately, is said to be done in the bosom. Others render it, My prayer rested, or, settled in my bosom — That is, “I never was without a prayer for them in my breast.” So Mudge.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv12–14They rewarded me evil for good - They recompensed,…
They rewarded me evil for good - They recompensed, or returned evil instead of good. The manner in which they did it he states in the following verses.
To the spoiling of my soul - Margin, “depriving.” The Hebrew word means “the being forsaken,” or “abandoned.” The idea is, that owing to this conduct he was forsaken or abandoned by all in whom he might have put confidence.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Though they rendered evil for good, he showed a…
Though they rendered evil for good, he showed a tender sympathy in their affliction.
spoiling--literally, "bereavement." The usual modes of showing grief are made, as figures, to express his sorrow.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv12–1412. Spoiling of my soul—Bereaving “my soul.” The word…
12. Spoiling of my soul—Bereaving “my soul.” The word is used only of the bereavement of a mother of her children, or a wild beast of her young.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv12–1412. They rewarded &c.] Better, as R.V., they reward.…
12. They rewarded &c.] Better, as R.V., they reward. As in the preceding verse he speaks of what is still going on. His enemies are guilty of the basest ingratitude. Cp. Psa_38:20; Psa_109:5; Pro_17:13. Saul confessed that he had treated David thus (1Sa_24:17 ff.).
to the spoiling of my soul] Render as R.V., to the bereaving of my soul: or perhaps, it is bereavement to my soul. Such conduct makes him feel as desolate as the childless mother.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv12–14(12) To the spoiling of my soul.—Literally, desolation to…
(12) To the spoiling of my soul.—Literally, desolation to my soul. We may paraphrase,
“They rewarded me evil for good,
Read full note →
Which to me was desolation.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv12–14They rewarded me evil for good (comp. ver. 13).…
They rewarded me evil for good (comp. ver. 13). Among those who slandered him were persons with whose troubles he had sympathized, and for whom he had prayed with fasting when they were sick. His worst persecutor, Saul, admitted the charge here made. "Thou art more righteous than I," he said; "for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil". (1Sa_24:17) To the spoiling of my soul; or, the desolating of my soul. The result of his enemies" machinations against him was to make him a fugitive and a wanderer, to separate him from the friend whom he tenderly loved, from his wife, his parents, and the greater part of his acquaintance.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv12–14Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good. This…
Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good. This is devilish; but men have learned the lesson well of the old Destroyer, and practise it most perfectly. To the spoiling of my soul. They robbed him of comfort, and even would have taken his life had it not been for special rescues from the hand of God. The wicked would strip the righteous naked to their very soul: they know no pity. There are only such limits to human malice as God himself may see fit to place.
Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good. For the good David did in killing Goliath, and slaying his ten thousands of Philistines, and thereby saving his king and country, Saul and his courtiers envied him, and sought to slay him: so our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the good he did to the Jews, by healing their bodies of diseases, and preaching the gospel to them for the benefit of their souls, was rewarded with reproaches and persecutions, and at last with the shameful death of the cross; and in like manner are his people used, but this is an evil that shall not go unpunished: see Pr 17:13. John Gill.
Read full note →
Ver. 12. To the spoiling of my soul. They robbed not his body of goods but his soul of consolation. They bereaved his soul (that is the word), like a widow who loses her children in whom she delighted and found succour. They were not content with injuring his estate, but they were for ruining the man himself by their undeserved malice, they attacked him in name and reputation, which were as dear to him as his sons and daughters, or even as his soul. It is evermore an injury to the soul to be attacked with slander, it puts a man into a warring attitude, endangers his peace of mind, imperils his enjoyment of quiet contemplation, and tends to interrupt his communion with God. Thus the spiritual nature is despoiled and suffers bereavement. C. H. S.
Ver. 12. How a soul may be robbed.
Psalms 35:13*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv13–14I humbled my soul with fasting.
Psa_35:13
I humbled my soul with fasting.
Read full note →
The duty of fasting
So said David. All Gods faithful children, under every dispensation, have observed the same rule. So must each one now say, who hopes for the highest degree of blessedness hereafter. Can none, then, be saved without fasting? I have heard people sometimes ask. This question might be answered by another: Can any be saved without praying? The same authority has commanded the observance of both. But fasting is an unpleasant duty; and those who wish to escape from it, while they readily grant that it was practised by the Jews, deny that it is binding upon Christians. Did not our Lord fast forty days and forty nights, thus setting us an example of subduing the flesh to the Spirit, that in this way His godly monitions may be more perfectly obeyed? Do not the apostles tell us that they were in fastings often? Do they not enjoin it upon Christians to give themselves to fasting and prayer? This may all be true, answers an objector, but why not leave it to each one to discharge this duty when he feels disposed, and why celebrate the fast of Lent, which sprung Up, perhaps, during the dark ages of the world? In reply to the first question, I would merely say that if we wait until we feel in a humour to fast, we shall never fast at all. Hence the wisdom of the Church in appointing stated seasons (or it, when we are bound to attend to it, or prove ourselves unworthy and disobedient children. Our Saviour said to His disciples (Mat_9:15). And from the earliest ages of the Church directions concerning this observance are found. But while it is expected of all to keep the fasts of the Church, all cannot observe them alike. The sick, or such as are just recovering their health, may not be able, perhaps, to abstain from food; and they who are obliged to toil hard for their daily bread, require more to sustain their strength than those whose lives are less active. But all should deny themselves in some way. (John H. Norton.)
My prayer returned into mine own bosom.--
The benefits of prayer
The ancient garments were loose and flowing, and fell in a hollow fold upon the bosom; into which fold were often put articles of use, or value, for the convenience of carriage; and especially when presents were made, they were frequently deposited there. By his prayer returning into his own bosom, therefore, David meant, that though it failed to bring the desired benefit to those for whom it was delivered, it should turn to his own recompense and advantage. Such is the case, more or less, with all the acts of kindness rendered to our neighbour; they conduce not only to his benefit but our own. Ye who take delight in the well-being of others, and make it a business in your life to minister thereto, know well the value of this grace to your own hearts; it is a perpetual source of consolation and satisfaction. And even if you fail in pleasing those whom you seek to please, or in benefiting those whom you seek to benefit; still the good to yourself is not lost; there is joy in the endeavour, independent of the result. The pious act to which the text alludes was the fruit of love, of the most disinterested and holy affection. David was surrounded with bitter and violent enemies, who daily sought his life; and the manner in which he expresses himself respecting them reminds us strongly of Davids Lord. He lifted up his heart in supplication to the mercy-seat; he did all that in him lay. But his prayer was not granted, as neither was the prayer of Jesus for the reckless Jew. From this remarkable instance before us, I am led to speak of the value of intercessory prayer, of prayer for our brethren, and for all our fellow-creatures. God has ordained it (1Ti_2:1). We know not what may be dependent upon our prayers. What good they may bring to them for whom we pray. And assuredly they bring much good to us.
I. The prayer for superiors of every kind begets in us that spirit of obedience, which God has commanded, and which God will bless.
II. Children pray for parents. Who can tell the benefits which they themselves derive from this duty? On the other hand, the parent prays for the child. The child is wayward and wanton: the parent prays for correction and amendment; but they do not always come. But the supplication is not without its fruit, in blessed peace of mind from knowing that he has done his best: that his child was not ruined by his neglect to pray for him. And so--
III. for all relatives. The principle of mutual love is kept alive thereby.
IV. But perhaps the most observable instance of all is that wherewith the text is connected, the supplication for enemies. This is a peculiar exercise of faith: this requires a greater struggle in the inner man, to obtain the mastery over our own self-love; and to make us desire with godly sincerity the good of those who have injured us, and to entreat the Lord for it, as for our own favour and blessing. This is indeed a victory of the Spirit of grace; and the Lord honours it with a signal reward, and makes it productive of vast benefit to our souls. Such was the Lords own example. Let us also herein follow our Lord. (J. Slade, M. A.)
The remunerative power of charity
The psalmist is speaking of the ungrateful returns which he received from his enemies for many acts of kindness. When they were in trouble and sickness, he did not fail to intercede with God on their behalf: he prayed for them, and put on sackcloth, and fasted; whereas, he goes on to say, in mine adversity they rejoiced, etc. Were, then, his prayers all thrown away? Not so; he was persuaded that they would return into his own bosom; that the prayers, that is, which should be fruitless in regard to those for whom they were presented, should certainly produce good to him by whom they had been offered. Now, we do not think that sufficient attention is paid to the various modes in which what is done for others, returns, as it were, to the doer, gust as though God regarded it as a loan, and would not permit it to remain long in his hands--for we hardly know the philanthropic deed in regard of which we may not prove the high probability, if not the certainty, that he who performs it gains an abundant requital, even if you suppose him not moved by the purest motive, or not bringing into account the recompenses of eternity. The interests of the several classes in a community, nay, of the various members of the vast human family, are so bound up one with the other, that it is scarcely possible for an individual benefit to fail to be a general; and if the good which is wrought in an isolated quarter cannot remain there, but must propagate itself over wide districts, we may easily believe that God, who orders and appoints all things so that they work His own ends, causes much of this reflected good to fall on the party with whom it originated; and thus he who fasted and humbled himself in sackcloth finds that his prayer hath returned into his own bosom. If I support infirmaries for children, I take the best means of preventing our being hereafter burdened with sickly and dependent families; disease is corrected, and the injuries are repaired in childhood which entail on us, if neglected, a crowd of miserable objects; and what I give to the pining infant I more than receive back from the vigorous man. If I support hospitals for the reception of those who must otherwise perish unregarded, what do I but take measures to continue to his family the industrious father, on whom it hangs for subsistence, and whose death would make it a pensioner on benevolence? Then surely what I give will, in all probability, return into mine own bosom, if it prove instrumental in preserving a useful member to the community, and prevent fresh demands upon charity. Neither does this take into account what ought not to be omitted--that there is a direct tendency in hospitals and infirmaries to the nourishing in the poor kindly feelings towards the rich; and he can know little of the mutual dependence of the several ranks in society, who does not know that money employed on the procuring this result is money at interest, and not money sunk. But let us now consider more particularly the ease in which the motive to benevolence is such as God approves--man acting from a principle of love to the Saviour, who has declared that He counts as done to Himself what is done for His sake to the least of His brethren. We believe that even in the present life the remunerating power will have a greater sphere of exercise in this case than in any other. It is to be observed, that though a Christian will be ready, with St. Paul, to do good unto all men, he will study with the same apostle to do good, especially to those that are of the household of faith; and if his charities bring him mostly into association with those who are serving the same Lord, and if, though he neglect not the temporal, he is chiefly instrumental in supplying the spiritual wants of the destitute, it is very evident that there will be that returned to him in the prayers and blessings of those whom he succours, which there would not be if the objects of his benevolence were all at enmity with God. But if we may contend that what we have called the remunerating power of charity is already in operation, who can doubt that hereafter, when we reach the time and scene, which are specially appointed for the Divine retributions, it will be proved to the letter that our gifts and our deeds have returned into our own bosoms. When we read that even a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple shell not lose its reward, we are taught that God takes account of the minutest acts of Christian benevolence, and designs them a recompense, so that as not even the least can escape His observation, not even the least shall be without retribution. He annexes rewards to our actions to show His graciousness, and to animate to obedience; and, with this as the base, He may justly be expected to leave no service unrequited, and yet at the same time to requite in proportion to the action. But with all the reasons there may be for expecting the most exact retributions, who can doubt that the righteous will hereafter be amazed and overcome, as the strict connection is shown them between what they did and what they enjoy? (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v13when they were sick
when they were sick
The word "they" refers to the "unrighteous witnesses" (Psalms 35:11).
Read full note →
I wore sackcloth
"I showed that I was sad"
with my head bowed on my chest
This was a symbol of prayer. "with my head bent down in prayer" (See: Symbolic Action)
in grief as for my brother
The writer was as sad as if his own brother had died. AT: "grieving as if my own brother was ill" (See: Simile)
I bent down in mourning as for my mother
The writer mourned as if his own mother had died. AT: "I mourned as if my own mother had died" (See: Simile)
I bent down
This was a symbol of pain and suffering. (See: Symbolic Action)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On v12 12. They render me evil for good. David again…
12. They render me evil for good. David again shows that the malice of his enemies was of a very aggravated character, because they not only oppressed him wrongfully, seeing he was innocent, and had given them no occasion of offense, but also because even those who had received much enjoyment and many favors from him, recompensed him in a very strange and ungrateful manner. Such disgraceful conduct wounds the feelings of good men very severely, and seems quite intolerable. But it is an inexpressibly great consolation when we can testify before God, that we have attempted by every means in our power to soothe the minds of our enemies, and to bow them to gentleness, although, notwithstanding, they are hurried on by insatiable cruelty in desiring our hurt; for God will not suffer this barbarous and brutal ingratitude to pass unpunished. Their cruelty is farther expressed when it is said that they endeavored to bereave (for so it is properly in the Hebrew “Ont tasch, de rendre orpheline car il y a ainsi proprement en Hebrieu.” — Fr.
“When the Orientals,” says Boothroyd, “pray seriously in grief, they hide their face in their bosom: and to this custom the Psalmist here alludes. Rabbi Levi, Dathe, and others, explain it in like manner.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv12–13 To have taken from me all comfort and brought…
To have taken from me all comfort and brought me into despair.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Psa 35:12 They rewarded me evil for good [to]…
Psa 35:12 They rewarded me evil for good [to] the spoiling of my soul.
Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good] To render good for evil is divine, good for good is human, evil for evil is brutish; but evil for good is devilish.
Read full note →
To the spoiling of my soul] i.e. To the depriving me of that life which I have so often hazarded to save theirs. Intentant caedem (Kimchi). Or, this their devilish dealing with me, erat mihi quasi mors amarum, was as bitter as death to me.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv12–14 For good; for the good offices which did to…
For good; for the good offices which did to divers of them when I had favour and power in Saul’s court and camp.
To the spoiling of my soul, i.e. to the stripping of my person of all my comforts and hopes, and of my life itself.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv12–14 They rewarded me evil for good,.... For the good…
They rewarded me evil for good,.... For the good David did in killing Goliath, and slaying his ten thousands of the Philistines, and thereby saving his king and country, Saul and his courtiers envied him, and sought to slay him: so our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the good he did to the Jews, by healing their bodies of diseases, and preaching the Gospel to them for the benefit of their souls, was rewarded with reproaches and persecutions, and at last with the shameful death of the cross; and in like manner are his people used; but this is an evil that shall not go unpunished; see Pro 17:13. It is added,
to the spoiling of my soul; or "to the bereaving of it" (t); causing it to be fatherless; that is, to the bereaving it of its joy, peace, and comfort; so fatherless is put for comfortless, Joh 14:18; or to the taking away of his soul, which being separated from the body, its companion is left alone, as one that is fatherless.
Read full note →
(t) "orbitatem", Montanus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v13 Returned - Although my fastings and prayers did them…
Returned - Although my fastings and prayers did them no good.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Verse 12. To the spoiling of my soul] To…
Verse 12. To the spoiling of my soul] To destroy my life; so נפש nephesh should be translated in a multitude of places, where our translators have used the word soul.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv13–14 Psa 35:13. When they were sick — Or in…
Psa 35:13. When they were sick — Or in any other great misery; my clothing was sackcloth — Which was the habit of mourners. I humbled — Hebrew, I afflicted, my soul with fasting — And with compassion and fervent prayers for them; and, or but, my prayer returned into mine own bosom — My fastings and prayers did them no good, neither abated their malice, nor prevailed with God for them, so far as I desired; but returned to me without success, like a gift sent to an uncivil person, who disdainfully rejects it, and returns it to the giver. But this clause may be rendered, And my prayer in my bosom returned; that is, I daily and frequently repeated my prayers for them, and that not only in public, when I joined with others, but also in secret, between God and my own soul; and that with a sincere and hearty affection. For what is done secretly, and affectionately, is said to be done in the bosom. Others render it, My prayer rested, or, settled in my bosom — That is, “I never was without a prayer for them in my breast.” So Mudge.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv12–14 They rewarded me evil for good - They recompensed,…
They rewarded me evil for good - They recompensed, or returned evil instead of good. The manner in which they did it he states in the following verses.
To the spoiling of my soul - Margin, “depriving.” The Hebrew word means “the being forsaken,” or “abandoned.” The idea is, that owing to this conduct he was forsaken or abandoned by all in whom he might have put confidence.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Though they rendered evil for good, he showed a…
Though they rendered evil for good, he showed a tender sympathy in their affliction.
spoiling--literally, "bereavement." The usual modes of showing grief are made, as figures, to express his sorrow.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv12–14 12. Spoiling of my soul—Bereaving “my soul.” The word…
12. Spoiling of my soul—Bereaving “my soul.” The word is used only of the bereavement of a mother of her children, or a wild beast of her young.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv12–14 12. They rewarded &c.] Better, as R.V., they reward.…
12. They rewarded &c.] Better, as R.V., they reward. As in the preceding verse he speaks of what is still going on. His enemies are guilty of the basest ingratitude. Cp. Psa_38:20; Psa_109:5; Pro_17:13. Saul confessed that he had treated David thus (1Sa_24:17 ff.).
to the spoiling of my soul] Render as R.V., to the bereaving of my soul: or perhaps, it is bereavement to my soul. Such conduct makes him feel as desolate as the childless mother.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv12–14 (12) To the spoiling of my soul.—Literally, desolation to…
(12) To the spoiling of my soul.—Literally, desolation to my soul. We may paraphrase,
“They rewarded me evil for good,
Read full note →
Which to me was desolation.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv12–14 They rewarded me evil for good (comp. ver. 13).…
They rewarded me evil for good (comp. ver. 13). Among those who slandered him were persons with whose troubles he had sympathized, and for whom he had prayed with fasting when they were sick. His worst persecutor, Saul, admitted the charge here made. "Thou art more righteous than I," he said; "for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil". (1Sa_24:17) To the spoiling of my soul; or, the desolating of my soul. The result of his enemies" machinations against him was to make him a fugitive and a wanderer, to separate him from the friend whom he tenderly loved, from his wife, his parents, and the greater part of his acquaintance.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good. This…
Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good. This is devilish; but men have learned the lesson well of the old Destroyer, and practise it most perfectly. To the spoiling of my soul. They robbed him of comfort, and even would have taken his life had it not been for special rescues from the hand of God. The wicked would strip the righteous naked to their very soul: they know no pity. There are only such limits to human malice as God himself may see fit to place.
Ver. 12. They rewarded me evil for good. For the good David did in killing Goliath, and slaying his ten thousands of Philistines, and thereby saving his king and country, Saul and his courtiers envied him, and sought to slay him: so our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the good he did to the Jews, by healing their bodies of diseases, and preaching the gospel to them for the benefit of their souls, was rewarded with reproaches and persecutions, and at last with the shameful death of the cross; and in like manner are his people used, but this is an evil that shall not go unpunished: see Pr 17:13. John Gill.
Read full note →
Ver. 12. To the spoiling of my soul. They robbed not his body of goods but his soul of consolation. They bereaved his soul (that is the word), like a widow who loses her children in whom she delighted and found succour. They were not content with injuring his estate, but they were for ruining the man himself by their undeserved malice, they attacked him in name and reputation, which were as dear to him as his sons and daughters, or even as his soul. It is evermore an injury to the soul to be attacked with slander, it puts a man into a warring attitude, endangers his peace of mind, imperils his enjoyment of quiet contemplation, and tends to interrupt his communion with God. Thus the spiritual nature is despoiled and suffers bereavement. C. H. S.
Ver. 12. How a soul may be robbed.
Psalms 35:13*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv13–14 I humbled my soul with fasting.
Psa_35:13
I humbled my soul with fasting.
Read full note →
The duty of fasting
So said David. All Gods faithful children, under every dispensation, have observed the same rule. So must each one now say, who hopes for the highest degree of blessedness hereafter. Can none, then, be saved without fasting? I have heard people sometimes ask. This question might be answered by another: Can any be saved without praying? The same authority has commanded the observance of both. But fasting is an unpleasant duty; and those who wish to escape from it, while they readily grant that it was practised by the Jews, deny that it is binding upon Christians. Did not our Lord fast forty days and forty nights, thus setting us an example of subduing the flesh to the Spirit, that in this way His godly monitions may be more perfectly obeyed? Do not the apostles tell us that they were in fastings often? Do they not enjoin it upon Christians to give themselves to fasting and prayer? This may all be true, answers an objector, but why not leave it to each one to discharge this duty when he feels disposed, and why celebrate the fast of Lent, which sprung Up, perhaps, during the dark ages of the world? In reply to the first question, I would merely say that if we wait until we feel in a humour to fast, we shall never fast at all. Hence the wisdom of the Church in appointing stated seasons (or it, when we are bound to attend to it, or prove ourselves unworthy and disobedient children. Our Saviour said to His disciples (Mat_9:15). And from the earliest ages of the Church directions concerning this observance are found. But while it is expected of all to keep the fasts of the Church, all cannot observe them alike. The sick, or such as are just recovering their health, may not be able, perhaps, to abstain from food; and they who are obliged to toil hard for their daily bread, require more to sustain their strength than those whose lives are less active. But all should deny themselves in some way. (John H. Norton.)
My prayer returned into mine own bosom.--
The benefits of prayer
The ancient garments were loose and flowing, and fell in a hollow fold upon the bosom; into which fold were often put articles of use, or value, for the convenience of carriage; and especially when presents were made, they were frequently deposited there. By his prayer returning into his own bosom, therefore, David meant, that though it failed to bring the desired benefit to those for whom it was delivered, it should turn to his own recompense and advantage. Such is the case, more or less, with all the acts of kindness rendered to our neighbour; they conduce not only to his benefit but our own. Ye who take delight in the well-being of others, and make it a business in your life to minister thereto, know well the value of this grace to your own hearts; it is a perpetual source of consolation and satisfaction. And even if you fail in pleasing those whom you seek to please, or in benefiting those whom you seek to benefit; still the good to yourself is not lost; there is joy in the endeavour, independent of the result. The pious act to which the text alludes was the fruit of love, of the most disinterested and holy affection. David was surrounded with bitter and violent enemies, who daily sought his life; and the manner in which he expresses himself respecting them reminds us strongly of Davids Lord. He lifted up his heart in supplication to the mercy-seat; he did all that in him lay. But his prayer was not granted, as neither was the prayer of Jesus for the reckless Jew. From this remarkable instance before us, I am led to speak of the value of intercessory prayer, of prayer for our brethren, and for all our fellow-creatures. God has ordained it (1Ti_2:1). We know not what may be dependent upon our prayers. What good they may bring to them for whom we pray. And assuredly they bring much good to us.
I. The prayer for superiors of every kind begets in us that spirit of obedience, which God has commanded, and which God will bless.
II. Children pray for parents. Who can tell the benefits which they themselves derive from this duty? On the other hand, the parent prays for the child. The child is wayward and wanton: the parent prays for correction and amendment; but they do not always come. But the supplication is not without its fruit, in blessed peace of mind from knowing that he has done his best: that his child was not ruined by his neglect to pray for him. And so--
III. for all relatives. The principle of mutual love is kept alive thereby.
IV. But perhaps the most observable instance of all is that wherewith the text is connected, the supplication for enemies. This is a peculiar exercise of faith: this requires a greater struggle in the inner man, to obtain the mastery over our own self-love; and to make us desire with godly sincerity the good of those who have injured us, and to entreat the Lord for it, as for our own favour and blessing. This is indeed a victory of the Spirit of grace; and the Lord honours it with a signal reward, and makes it productive of vast benefit to our souls. Such was the Lords own example. Let us also herein follow our Lord. (J. Slade, M. A.)
The remunerative power of charity
The psalmist is speaking of the ungrateful returns which he received from his enemies for many acts of kindness. When they were in trouble and sickness, he did not fail to intercede with God on their behalf: he prayed for them, and put on sackcloth, and fasted; whereas, he goes on to say, in mine adversity they rejoiced, etc. Were, then, his prayers all thrown away? Not so; he was persuaded that they would return into his own bosom; that the prayers, that is, which should be fruitless in regard to those for whom they were presented, should certainly produce good to him by whom they had been offered. Now, we do not think that sufficient attention is paid to the various modes in which what is done for others, returns, as it were, to the doer, gust as though God regarded it as a loan, and would not permit it to remain long in his hands--for we hardly know the philanthropic deed in regard of which we may not prove the high probability, if not the certainty, that he who performs it gains an abundant requital, even if you suppose him not moved by the purest motive, or not bringing into account the recompenses of eternity. The interests of the several classes in a community, nay, of the various members of the vast human family, are so bound up one with the other, that it is scarcely possible for an individual benefit to fail to be a general; and if the good which is wrought in an isolated quarter cannot remain there, but must propagate itself over wide districts, we may easily believe that God, who orders and appoints all things so that they work His own ends, causes much of this reflected good to fall on the party with whom it originated; and thus he who fasted and humbled himself in sackcloth finds that his prayer hath returned into his own bosom. If I support infirmaries for children, I take the best means of preventing our being hereafter burdened with sickly and dependent families; disease is corrected, and the injuries are repaired in childhood which entail on us, if neglected, a crowd of miserable objects; and what I give to the pining infant I more than receive back from the vigorous man. If I support hospitals for the reception of those who must otherwise perish unregarded, what do I but take measures to continue to his family the industrious father, on whom it hangs for subsistence, and whose death would make it a pensioner on benevolence? Then surely what I give will, in all probability, return into mine own bosom, if it prove instrumental in preserving a useful member to the community, and prevent fresh demands upon charity. Neither does this take into account what ought not to be omitted--that there is a direct tendency in hospitals and infirmaries to the nourishing in the poor kindly feelings towards the rich; and he can know little of the mutual dependence of the several ranks in society, who does not know that money employed on the procuring this result is money at interest, and not money sunk. But let us now consider more particularly the ease in which the motive to benevolence is such as God approves--man acting from a principle of love to the Saviour, who has declared that He counts as done to Himself what is done for His sake to the least of His brethren. We believe that even in the present life the remunerating power will have a greater sphere of exercise in this case than in any other. It is to be observed, that though a Christian will be ready, with St. Paul, to do good unto all men, he will study with the same apostle to do good, especially to those that are of the household of faith; and if his charities bring him mostly into association with those who are serving the same Lord, and if, though he neglect not the temporal, he is chiefly instrumental in supplying the spiritual wants of the destitute, it is very evident that there will be that returned to him in the prayers and blessings of those whom he succours, which there would not be if the objects of his benevolence were all at enmity with God. But if we may contend that what we have called the remunerating power of charity is already in operation, who can doubt that hereafter, when we reach the time and scene, which are specially appointed for the Divine retributions, it will be proved to the letter that our gifts and our deeds have returned into our own bosoms. When we read that even a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple shell not lose its reward, we are taught that God takes account of the minutest acts of Christian benevolence, and designs them a recompense, so that as not even the least can escape His observation, not even the least shall be without retribution. He annexes rewards to our actions to show His graciousness, and to animate to obedience; and, with this as the base, He may justly be expected to leave no service unrequited, and yet at the same time to requite in proportion to the action. But with all the reasons there may be for expecting the most exact retributions, who can doubt that the righteous will hereafter be amazed and overcome, as the strict connection is shown them between what they did and what they enjoy? (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v13 when they were sick
when they were sick
The word "they" refers to the "unrighteous witnesses" (Psalms 35:11).
Read full note →
I wore sackcloth
"I showed that I was sad"
with my head bowed on my chest
This was a symbol of prayer. "with my head bent down in prayer" (See: Symbolic Action)
in grief as for my brother
The writer was as sad as if his own brother had died. AT: "grieving as if my own brother was ill" (See: Simile)
I bent down in mourning as for my mother
The writer mourned as if his own mother had died. AT: "I mourned as if my own mother had died" (See: Simile)
I bent down
This was a symbol of pain and suffering. (See: Symbolic Action)
translationWords
sackcloth
fast
bow
mourn
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.