Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
Parallel Translations
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Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
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Let 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.
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Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion that seek after my soul; let them be turned back and be abashed that devise my hurt.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Psalms 35:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 70:2-3 Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul. Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. Let them be turned because of their shame who say, “Aha! Aha!”
- Psalms 35:26 Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.
- Jeremiah 46:5 Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and are turned backward. Their mighty ones are beaten down, have fled in haste, and don’t look back. Terror is on every side,” says Yahweh.
- Psalms 38:12 They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.
- Psalms 31:17-18 Let me not be disappointed, Yahweh, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol. Let the lying lips be mute, which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt.
- Psalms 129:5 Let them be disappointed and turned backward, all those who hate Zion.
- Psalms 40:14-15 Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt. Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, “Aha! Aha!”
- Psalms 71:24 My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me.
- 1 Samuel 23:23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with certainty, and I will go with you. It shall happen, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
- 1 Kings 19:10 He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
- Isaiah 37:29 Because of your raging against me, and because your arrogance has come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in your nose and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came.
- Ezekiel 13:19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to kill the souls who should not die, and to save the souls alive who should not live, by your lying to my people who listen to lies.’
- John 18:6 When therefore he said to them, “I am he,” they went backward, and fell to the ground.
- Matthew 27:1 Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 4. Let those who seek my soul be confounded.…
4. Let those who seek my soul be confounded. David now calls upon God to take vengeance upon his enemies; and he asks not only that he would disappoint and destroy their designs, but also that he would recompense them according to their deserts. In the first place, he desires that they may be confounded and put to shame in seeing their expectation and desire fail; and then he proceeds farther, desiring that while they imagine themselves to be firmly established, and deeply rooted, they may be like chaff or stubble. As the chaff is driven with the wind, so also he desires, that, being disquieted by the secret impulse of the angel of the Lord, they may never have rest. The imprecation which follows is even more dreadful, and it is this: that wherever they go they may meet with darkness and slippery places; and that in their doubt and perplexity the angel of the Lord would pursue them. In fine, whatever they devise, and to whatever side they turn, he prays that all their counsels and enterprises may come to a disastrous termination. When he desires that they may be driven by the angel of the Lord, we learn from this that the reason why the ungodly are troubled, though no man pursues them, is, that God smites them with a spirit of amazement, and distracts them with such fears that they tremble and are troubled.
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.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 35:4 Let them be confounded and put to…
Psa 35:4 Let 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.
Ver. 4. Let them be confounded and put to shame] Here David beginneth his imprecations; which yet non maledicens dixit sed vaticinantis more praedixit, saith Theodoret, he doth not utter as cursing, but as prophesying rather. If we shall at any time take upon us thus to imprecate (as we may in some cases), we must see to it, first, that our cause be good. Secondly, that we do it not out of private revenge; but merely for the glory of God. Thirdly, ut ne voculam quidem nisi nobis praeeunte Dei, non carnis, spiritu effundamus, that we utter not a syllable this way but by the guidance of God’s good Spirit.
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 Confounded, i.e. frustrated in their wicked designs and hopes…
Confounded, i.e. frustrated in their wicked designs and hopes against me. Concerning this, and the like, and following imprecations, which may seem strange and severe, it must be considered,
1. That they did not proceed from any passionate or revengeful spirit in David towards his enemies, (from which how free he was, appears not only from his own words here, Psa 35:12-14, but from the whole course of his life, and the frequent instances mentioned in his history of his meek and merciful carriage to his enemies when they were in his power,) but from his zeal for God, and for piety and justice, to which they showed themselves to be constant and implacable adversaries, and by the direction of the prophetical Spirit of God wherewith he was endued, which Spirit did exactly know the condition of his enemies, and that those against whom they are levelled were hardened and incurable.
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2. That they contain nothing but a prayer to God, that he would accomplish his own threatenings, and execute his own law of retaliation, of eye for eye, and tooth for tooth, and so bring upon them the evils which they designed against him; which also was of great and good use, both to glorify God’s justice, and to warn and reform other sinners by the terror of their example.
3. That they may be taken only for predictions, as hath been observed before upon the like occasion. Turned back; either,
1. Stopped or hindered in the execution of their wicked design. Or rather,
2. (which is more suitable to the context) discomfited and put to flight, as this phrase is frequently used, as Psa 9:3; 70:2; 78:9; Isa 42:17; Jer 46:5,21.
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 Let them be confounded, and put to shame, that…
Let them be confounded, and put to shame, that seek after my soul,.... This petition, and what follows, which seem to be by way of imprecation, are to be considered as prophecies of what would be, and as expressions of faith that so it should be; and are not to be drawn into examples, and to be imitated by private persons; nor are they contrary to those evangelical rules, which require men to love their enemies, and pray for them; to give place to wrath, and not meditate vengeance, nor take it: and so it was with David's enemies. Saul, who hunted after his soul or life, to take it away, was filled with shame and confusion, when David, having cut off the skirt of his garment, held it up to him; by which he was convinced that his life was in his hands, and he did not take it away, though he was seeking after his: and so it will fare with the enemies of Christ, the Jews; who sought to take away his life and did take it away, when they shall see him come in the clouds of heaven, whom they have pierced; and in like manner will it be with the enemies of all his people, whom nothing will content but their lives, when they shall see the lambs they have worried and butchered on Christ's right hand, and they on the left; and to the sheep said, Come, ye blessed; and to them, Go, ye cursed, Mat 25:34;
let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt; as Saul did David's, even when he made the most specious show of affection and respect unto him, as well as when he more openly persecuted him; and more than once was he turned back with shame, and departed home; see Sa1 24:22. The Jews, that came to apprehend Christ, together with the Roman soldiers, and who had devised and intended his hurt, went backward, and fell to the ground with shame and confusion, when, having asked them who they sought, and they had replied, told them he was the person; and how often has it been, that when wicked men have devised, deceitful matters against the members of Christ, that their counsel has been carried headlong, they have not been able to perform their enterprises; a hook has been put into their nose, and a bridle in their jaws, and they have been turned back the way they came, with shame and disgrace.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. Let then be confounded] Let none of…
Verse 4. Let then be confounded] Let none of their projects or devices against me succeed. Blast all their designs.
The imprecations in these verses against enemies are all legitimate. They are not against the souls or eternal welfare of those sinners, but against their schemes and plans for destroying the life of an innocent man; and the holiest Christian may offer up such prayers against his adversaries. If a man aim a blow at another with a design to take away his life, and the blow would infallibly be mortal if it took place, and the person about to be slain see that by breaking the arm of his adversary he may prevent his own death, and thus save his enemy from actual murder; it is his duty to prevent this double evil by breaking the arm of the blood-thirsty man. It is on this principle that David prays against his adversaries in the first eight verses of this Psalm.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 35:4. Let them be confounded — That is,…
Psa 35:4. Let them be confounded — That is, frustrated and disappointed in their wicked designs and hopes against me. Or, they shall be disappointed: for this and the following verses, to Psa 35:9, may be considered as a prediction of the ruin and destruction which were about to come on the enemies of David, and on those of the Messiah and his church. Accordingly, Dr. Waterland renders them all in the future, whereas our translation by putting them in the optative mood, has given them too much the appearance of imprecations, dictated by an implacable and revengeful spirit: Let them be turned back, or, they shall be turned back, that is, stopped, or hindered in their wicked designs, or discomfited and put to flight.
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 Let them be confounded - That is, Let them,…
Let them be confounded - That is, Let them, through Thy gracious interposition in my behalf, be so entirely overcome and subdued that they shall be “ashamed” that they ever made the effort to destroy me; let them see so manifestly that God is on my side that they will be covered with confusion for having opposed one who was so entirely the object of the divine protection and care. See Psa 6:10, note; Psa 25:2-3, notes. Compare the notes at Job 6:20.
That seek after my soul - My life. That seek to destroy me.
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Let them be turned back - In their attempts to pursue me. Do thou interpose and turn them back.
And brought to confusion - Put to shame; or made ashamed - as they are who are disappointed and thwarted in their schemes.
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 (Compare Psa 9:17).
(Compare Psa 9:17).
devise my hurt--purpose for evil to me.
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 4. Hitherto David’s call has been for divine interference,…
4. Hitherto David’s call has been for divine interference, now he prays directly against his enemies.
Confounded… put to shame—Two words nearly synonymous, though the latter is more intensive. They denote the utter perplexity and reproach which should follow the defeat of their plans.
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Turned back and brought to confusion—They shall suddenly retreat in dismay when they see God has arisen in defence of his servant.
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 4. Ashamed and dishonoured he they that seek my…
4. Ashamed and dishonoured he they that seek my life;
Turned back and confounded be they that devise my hurt.
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For that seek my life (or, soul) cp. 1Sa_20:1; &c. Let them be disappointed in their aim, repulsed with ignominy in their attack. Cp. Psa_35:26; Psa_40:14; Psa_6:10.
4–6. Prayer for the repulse and rout of his enemies. No doubt the language might be entirely figurative, but it is more naturally explained if a literal fulfilment was at least a possibility.
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 (4) Confounded.—Comp. Psa_35:26.
(4) Confounded.—Comp. Psa_35:26.
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 Let them be confounded and put to shame that…
Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul. It appears from this that David"s life is being sought, which only happened at two periods in his career:
(1) when he was a fugitive from Saul; (1Sa 19:15-26:4) and
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(2) during the rebellion of Absalom. (2Sa 15:13-18:8)
The psalm therefore belongs to one or other of those periods, most probably to the former. (see the introductory paragraph, and note the resemblance between this passage and 1Sa_20:1 1Sa_22:23) Let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt. Imprecations closely resembling these occur frequently in the Davidical psalms, (see ver. 26; Psa_40:14 Psa_70:2 Psa_71:13) and amount to a sort of commonplace, to be used whenever the machinations of his enemies against him are the subject that occupies his thought.
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 Ver. 4. Let them be confounded and put to…
Ver. 4. Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul. There is nothing malicious here, the slandered man simply craves for justice, and the petition is natural and justifiable. Guided by God's good spirit the psalmist foretells the everlasting confusion of all the haters of the righteous. Shameful disappointment shall be the portion of the enemies of the gospel, nor would the most tender hearted Christian have it otherwise: viewing sinners as men, we love them and seek their good, but regarding them as enemies of God, we cannot think of them with anything but detestation, and a loyal desire for the confusion of their devices. No loyal subject can wish well to rebels. Squeamish sentimentality may object to the strong language here used, but in their hearts all good men wish confusion to mischief makers.
Ver. 4. Let them be confounded and put to shame. Here David begins his imprecations, which yet, saith Theodoret, he doth not utter as cursing, but as prophesying rather. If we shall at any time take upon us thus to imprecate (as we may in some cases), we must see to it, first, that our cause be good; secondly, that we do it not out of private revenge, but merely for the glory of God; thirdly, that we utter not a syllable this way, but by the guidance of God's good Spirit. John Trapp.
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Ver. 4-8,26. How are we to account for such prayers for vengeance? We find them chiefly in four Psalms, the seventh, thirty-fifth, sixty-ninth, and one hundred and ninth, and the imprecations in these form a terrible climax. In the last no less than thirty anathemas have been counted. Are these the mere outbursts of passionate and unsanctified feeling, or are they the legitimate expression of a righteous indignation? Are they to be excused as being animated by the "spirit of Elias"? a spirit not unholy indeed, but far removed from the meekness and gentleness of Christ; or are they the stereotyped forms in which the spirit of devotion may utter itself? Are they Jewish only, or may they be Christian also? An uninstructed fastidiousness, as it is well known, has made many persons recoil from reading these Psalms at all. Many have found their lips falter when they have been called to join in using them in the congregation, and have either uttered them with bated breath and doubting heart, or have interpreted them in a sense widely at variance with the letter. Some have tried to reconcile them with a more enlightened conscience, by regarding such words not as the expression of a wish, but as the utterance of a prediction; but the Hebrew optative which is distinct enough from the simple future, absolutely forbids this expedient. Others again would see in them expressions which may lawfully be used in the soul's wrestling against spiritual enemies. And finally, some would defend them as utterances of righteous zeal for God's honour, and remind us that if we do not sympathise with such zeal, it may be not because our religion is more pure, but because our hearts are colder.
Now the real source of the difficulty lies in our not observing and bearing in mind the essential difference between the Old Testament and the New. The older dispensation was in every sense a sterner one than the new. The spirit of Elias, though not an evil spirit, was not the spirit of Christ. "The Son of Man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Lu 9:56. And through him his disciples are made partakers of the same spirit. But this was not the spirit of the older economy. The Jewish nation had been trained in a sterner school. It had been steeled and hardened by the discipline which had pledged it to a war of extermination with idolaters; and however necessary such a discipline might be, it would not tend to foster the gentler virtues; it is conceivable how even a righteous man, under it, feeling it to be his bounden duty to root out evil wherever he saw it, and identifying, as he did, his own enemies with the enemies of Jehovah, might use language which to us appears unnecessarily vindictive. To men so trained and taught, what we call "religious toleration, "was a thing not only wrong, but absolutely inconceivable.
It may be quite true that we find revenge forbidden as directly in the Old Testament as in the New, as, for instance, in Le 19:18, "Thou shalt not avenge, "etc., though even there is a limitation, "against the children of thy people." And it may be no less true that we find instances of imprecation in the New; as when St. Paul says 2Ti 4:14, "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works, "or when he exclaims Ac 23:3, "God will smite thee, thou whited wall; "or, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema." But even these expressions are very different from the varied, deliberate, carefully constructed, detailed anathemas of the Psalms. And our Lord's denunciations, to which Hengstenberg refers, are in no way parallel. They are not curses upon individuals, but in fact solemn utterances of the great truth, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." But after all, whatever may be said of particular passages, the general tone which runs through the two covenants, is unquestionably different. To deny this is not to honour Moses, but to dishonour Christ. Mt 5:43 19:8. On the other hand, we must not forget that these imprecations are not the passionate longings for personal revenge. The singer undoubtedly sees in his enemies the enemies of God and his church. They that are not with him are against God. And because the zeal of God's house even consumes him, he prays that all the doers of iniquity may be rooted out. The indignation therefore is righteous, though it may appear to us wrongly directed, or excessive in its utterance.
Once more, the very fact that a dark cloud hid God's judgment in the world to come from the view of the Old Testament saints, may be alleged in excuse of this their desire to see him take vengeance on his enemies here. How deeply this problem of God's righteousness exercised their minds is abundantly evident from numerous places in the Psalms. They longed to see that righteousness manifested. It could be manifested, they thought, only in the evident exaltation of the righteous, and the evident destruction of the wicked here. Hence, with their eye always fixed on temporal recompense, they could even wish and pray for the destruction of the ungodly. The awful things of the world to come were to a great extent hid from their eyes. Could they have seen these, then surely their prayer would have been not, "Let the angel of the Lord persecute them, ""Blot them out of thy book; "but rather with him who hung upon the cross; "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Ver. 4,8,26. David was about as devoid of vindictiveness as any public character who can well be named. His conduct in relation to Saul, from first to last displayed a singularly noble spirit, far removed from anything like the lust of vengeance; and the meekness with which he endured the bitter reproaches of Shimei, bore witness to the same spirit after his accession to the throne. ...When David's whole career is intelligently and fairly reviewed, it leaves on the mind the impression of a man possessed of as meek and placable a temper as was ever associated with so great strength of will, and such strong passions. Even in the heats of sudden resentment, he was not apt to be hurried into deeds of revenge. Such being the case, it would certainly have been a strange and unaccountable thing if he had shown himself less the master of his own spirit in poems composed in seasons of retirement and communion with God, especially since these very poems express a keen sense of the heinousness of the sin that has been laid to his charge. He can affirm regarding his implacable enemies, "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. I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother." Ps 35:13-14. "O Lord, my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands; if I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy): let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth." Ps 7:3-5. Surely one ought to think twice before putting on the imprecations an interpretation which would make them utterly incongruous with these appeals, uttered almost in the same breath. William Binnie, D.D.
Ver. 4. The everlasting confusion of the devil.
Psalms 35:5*
Ver. 4-8,26. See Psalms on "Ps 35:4" for further information.
Ver. 4-8,26. See Psalms on "Ps 35:4" for further information.
Ver. 4-8,26. See Psalms on "Ps 35:4" for further information.
Ver. 4-8,26. See Psalms on "Ps 35:4" for further information.
Ver. 4,8,26. See Psalms on "Ps 35:4" for further information.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 May those who seek my life be shamed and…
May those who seek my life be shamed and dishonored
This can be stated in active form. AT: "May Yahweh shame and dishonor those who seek my life" (See: Active or Passive)
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May those
"I desire that"
who seek my life
Here "seek my life" means they desire to kill the writer. The writer is represented by his "life." AT: "who are trying to kill me" (See: Metaphor and Synecdoche)
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and confounded
This can be stated in active form. AT: "May Yahweh turn back and confound those who plan to harm me" (See: Active or Passive)
be turned back
"be turned back" here is a metaphor for being unable to accomplish their goal. AT: "be unsuccessful" (See: Metaphor)
confounded
"confused"
as chaff before the wind
The writer's enemies are spoken of as if they are chaff that is easily blown away. AT: "blown away by the wind like chaff" (See: Simile)
their way
Here "their way" refers to their lives. AT: "their lives" (See: Metonymy)
dark and slippery
This refers to a way that is hidden and dangerous. AT: "hidden and full of dangers" (See: Metaphor)
chases them
This refers to the angel of Yahweh being opposed to the writer's enemies. AT: "works against them" or "opposes them" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
life
shame
dishonor
turn
chaff
angel
darkness
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 35:4-10 The psalmist longs for the Lord’s salvation. The…
35:4-10 The psalmist longs for the Lord’s salvation. The language seems vindictive, but it arises from a desire for justice and for the Lord to care for the needy and oppressed.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.