They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!” Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning.
Parallel Translations
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They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!” Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning.
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They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.
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(64-7) They search out iniquities, they have accomplished a diligent search; even in the inward thought of every one, and the deep heart.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Psalms 64:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt. Who can know it? “I, Yahweh, search the mind. I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
- Matthew 26:59 Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death;
- Psalms 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue.
- Isaiah 29:15 Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from Yahweh, and whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”
- Daniel 6:4-5 Then the presidents and the local governors sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion or fault, because he was faithful. There wasn’t any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, “We won’t find any occasion against this Daniel, unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
- 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
- Psalms 35:11 Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about.
- Proverbs 20:5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.
- John 18:29-30 Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered him, “If this man weren’t an evildoer, we wouldn’t have delivered him up to you.”
- 1 Samuel 24:9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to men’s words, saying, ‘Behold, David seeks to harm you?’
- 1 Samuel 25:10 Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants who break away from their masters these days.
- 1 Samuel 22:9 Then Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, answered and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
- Psalms 49:11 Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.
- John 19:7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain There is no way so secret and subtle to…
There is no way so secret and subtle to do hurt, which they invented not for his destruction.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 64:6 They search out iniquities; they accomplish a…
Psa 64:6 They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward [thought] of every one [of them], and the heart, [is] deep.
Ver. 6. They search out iniquities] Abstrusissima quaeque exquisierunt; they search the devil’s skull for new inventions; who is ready enough to lend them his seven heads to plot and his ten horns to push at good people. How wittily wicked was Saul to destroy David, if he could have done it! See his counsel to the Ziphites, 1Sa 23:22.
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They accomplish a diligent search] Heb. a search searched, i.e. They seek out all occasions, they try all tricks, they do all that can be done to undo me. Whereunto he fitly subjoineth this epiphonema by way of exclamation, Adeo intimum viri et cor profundum est, So deep is the inward part and heart of man (for so I read it)! so deep and fathomless, so deceitful, and desperately wicked.
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 They search out iniquities; they study diligently and constantly…
They search out iniquities; they study diligently and constantly to find out either matter, which they may lay to my charge, or new ways and means of doing me mischief.
They accomplish a diligent search; they have long and accurately searched, till at last they have ripened and perfected their thoughts, and found out a very cunning and deep plot. Or, they say, We have accomplished our accurate search. By long searching we have at last found what we desired. The heart is deep; mine enemies are not only cruel and malicious, but also very cunning, both to contrive and conceal, and to execute their plots.
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 They search out iniquities,.... The Targum adds,
They search out iniquities,.... The Targum adds,
"to destroy the just.''
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Either occasions against them, by charging them with sin and hiring false witnesses against them, as did the enemies both of David and Christ; they sought for proper time and opportunity of committing the iniquities they were bent upon, and even searched for new sins, being inventors of evil things, Rom 1:30;
they accomplish a diligent search; diligently searched out the perfect man, and found him; and also false witnesses against him, and carried their point; which was especially true with respect to Christ;
both the inward thought of everyone of them, and the heart, is deep; being full of cunning, craftiness and wickedness, so as not to be searched out and fully known; see Psa 5:9.
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 Iniquities - They study diligently, to find new ways…
Iniquities - They study diligently, to find new ways of doing mischief. Deep - Cunning, both to contrive and conceal, and to execute their plots.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. They search out iniquities; they accomplish a…
Verse 6. They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search] The word חפש chaphash, which is used three times, as a noun and a verb, in this sentence, signifies to strip off the clothes. "They investigate iniquities; they perfectly investigate an investigation." Most energetically translated by the old Psalter: Thai ransaked wickednesses: thai failled ransakand in ransaking. To ransack signifies to search every corner, to examine things part by part, to turn over every leaf, to leave no hole or cranny unexplored. But the word investigate fully expresses the meaning of the term, as it comes either from in, taken privately, and vestire, to clothe, stripping the man bare, that he may be exposed to all shame, and be the more easily wounded; or from the word investigo, which may be derived from in, intensive, and vestigium, the footstep or track of man or beast. A metaphor from hunting the stag; as the slot, or mark of his foot, is diligently sought out, in order to find whither he is gone, and whether he is old or young, for huntsmen can determine the age by the slot. Tuberville, in his Treatise on Hunting, gives rules to form this judgment, To this the next verse seems to refer.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain They search out iniquities - They search deep; they…
They search out iniquities - They search deep; they examine plans; they rack their invention to accomplish it. The original word - חפשׂ châphaś - is a word which is used to denote the act of exploring - as when one searches for treasure, or for anything that is hidden or lost - implying a deep and close attention of the mind to the subject. So here they examined every plan, or every way which was suggested to them, by which they could hope to accomplish their purpose.
They accomplish - This would be better translated by rendering it, “We have perfected it!” That is, We have found it out; it is complete; meaning that they had found a plan to their liking. It is the language of self-congratulatlon.
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A diligent search - Or rather, “The search is a deep search.” In other words, “The plan is a consummate plan; it is just to our mind; it is exactly what we have sought to find.” This, too, is language of self-congratulation and satisfaction at the plan which they had thought of, and which was so exactly to their mind.
Both the inward thought - literally, the inside; that is, the hidden design.
And the heart - The plan formed in the heart; the secret purpose.
Is deep - A deep-laid scheme; a plan that indicates profound thought; a purpose that is the result of consummate sagacity. This is the language of the author of the psalm. He admitted that there had been great talent and skill in the formation of the plan. Hence, it was that he cried so earnestly to God.
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 This is further evinced by their diligent efforts and…
This is further evinced by their diligent efforts and deeply laid schemes.
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 6. They search out iniquities—Mentally, and with great labour,…
6. They search out iniquities—Mentally, and with great labour, they work out plans for accomplishing wicked ends, as Psa_58:2.
They accomplish a diligent search—Literally, they have accomplished a search searched out; that is, an exhaustive investigation. But the verb accomplished (ended, finished) may be taken in the first person plural, as a soliloquy of the conspirators, thus: We have finished a plot thoroughly wrought out! which gives dramatic effect.
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Both the inward thought—The word “inward,” here, is the same as “inward part,” Psa_5:9, and is here synonymous with heart, the seat of thought and affection. The inward part of a man, even the heart, is deep. This is the reflection of David after reviewing the conduct of his enemies. See Jer_17:9-10; Psa_19:12; Psa_139:23-24. The preparations of his enemies are ended. The crisis has come. It is now time for God to work.
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 6. They plan deeds of iniquity; We have perfected…
6. They plan deeds of iniquity; We have perfected (say they) a consummate plan;
And each man’s innermost thought and heart is deep.
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The form of the verb is anomalous, and it is uncertain whether it is meant for the first person, or, as A.V. takes it, the third person, ‘they accomplish.’ The first person is however more graphic and forcible. For a similar abrupt introduction of the persons spoken of as speakers, see Psa_59:7. The various reading they have hidden is improbable. They conceal their thoughts deep in their own hearts, but in vain! God explores the lowest depths and most tortuous labyrinths of the human heart (Jer_17:9-10). Cp. with this and the preceding verse Isa_29:15, “Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from Jehovah, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?” and the sarcastic words of Mic_7:3, “Both hands are set to that which is evil to do it well.”
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 (6) They search out iniquities—i.e., they plan wicked schemes.
(6) They search out iniquities—i.e., they plan wicked schemes.
They accomplish a diligent search.—See margin, which indicates the difficulty in this clause. The versions and some MSS. also suggest a corruption of the tent. Read “They have completed their subtle measures” (literally, the planned plan).
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 They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search;…
They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search; rather, they devise iniquities. We have accomplished (they say) a well devised device. So modern critics generally (Hengstenberg, Kay, Cheyne, Canon Cook, Revised Version). Both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. Therefore the righteous man is in great danger from them, unless God interpose.
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. 6. They search out iniquities. Diligently they consider,…
Ver. 6. They search out iniquities. Diligently they consider, invent, devise, and seek for wicked plans to wreak their malice. These are no common villains, but explorers in iniquity, inventors and concoctors of evil. Sad indeed it is that to ruin a good man the evil disposed will often show as much avidity as if they were searching after treasure. The Inquisition could display instruments of torture, revealing as much skill as the machinery of our modern exhibitions. The deep places of history, manifesting most the skill of the human mind, are those in which revenge has arranged diplomacy, and used intrigue to compass its diabolical purposes.
They accomplish a diligent search. Their design is perfected, consummated, and brought into working order. They cry "Eureka; "they have sought and found the sure method of vengeance. Exquisite are the refinements of malice! hell's craft furnishes inspiration to the artistes who fashion deceit. Earth and the places under it are ransacked for the material of war, and profound skill turns all to account.
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Both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. No superficial wit is theirs; but sagacity, sharpened by practice and keen hatred. Wicked men have frequently the craft to hasten slowly, to please in order to ruin, to flatter that ere long they may devour, to bow the knee that they may ultimately crush beneath their foot. He who deals with the serpent's seed has good need of the wisdom which is from above: the generation of vipers twist and turn, wind and wiggle, yet evermore they are set upon their purpose, and go the nearest way to it when they wander round about. Alas! how dangerous is the believer's condition, and how readily may he be overcome if left to himself. This is the complaint of reason and the moan of unbelief. When faith comes in, we see that even in all this the saints are still secure, for they are all in the hands of God.
Ver. 6. They search out iniquities, etc. It is a sign that malice boils up to a great height in men's hearts, when they are so active to find matter against their neighbours. Love would rather not see or hear of others' failings; or if it doth and must, busieth itself in healing and reforming them to the utmost of its power. John Milward(--1684), in "Morning Exercises."
Ver. 6. (two first clauses). The fault hunter; his motive, his character, his pretences, and his punishment.
Psalms 64:7*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 64:6 The enemies create a perfect plan to harm…
64:6 The enemies create a perfect plan to harm the innocent without getting caught. • Human beings will sink to unthinkable depths with evil words, acts, or plans (83:3; see Jer 17:9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.