For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire together,
Parallel Translations
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For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire together,
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For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
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For mine enemies speak concerning me, and they that watch for my soul take counsel together,
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Psalms 71:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 31:13 For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, while they conspire together against me, they plot to take away my life.
- Psalms 56:6 They conspire and lurk, watching my steps. They are eager to take my life.
- Psalms 83:3 They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones.
- Psalms 37:32-33 The wicked watch the righteous, and seek to kill him. Yahweh will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
- Jeremiah 20:10 For I have heard the defaming of many, “Terror on every side! Denounce, and we will denounce him!” say all my familiar friends, those who watch for my fall. “Perhaps he will be persuaded, and we will prevail against him, and we will take our revenge on him.”
- Matthew 26:3-4 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas. They took counsel together that they might take Jesus by deceit, and kill him.
- 1 Samuel 19:11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house, to watch him, and to kill him in the morning. Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you don’t save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
- 2 Samuel 17:1-14 Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me now choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David tonight. I will come on him while he is weary and exhausted, and will make him afraid. All the people who are with him will flee. I will strike the king only, and I will bring back all the people to you. The man whom you seek is as if all returned. All the people shall be in peace.” The saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel. Then Absalom said, “Now call Hushai the Archite also, and let’s hear likewise what he says.” When Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom spoke to him, saying, “Ahithophel has spoken like this. Shall we do what he says? If not, speak up.” Hushai said to Absalom, “The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good.” Hushai said moreover, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are fierce in their minds, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Your father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is now hidden in some pit, or in some other place. It will happen, when some of them have fallen at the first, that whoever hears it will say, ‘There is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom!’ Even he who is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and those who are with him are valiant men. But I counsel that all Israel be gathered together to you, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that you go to battle in your own person. So we will come on him in some place where he will be found, and we will light on him as the dew falls on the ground, then we will not leave so much as one of him and of all the men who are with him. Moreover, if he has gone into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there isn’t one small stone found there.” Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Yahweh might bring evil on Absalom.
- Psalms 2:2 The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
- Psalms 10:9 He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush. He lies in wait to catch the helpless. He catches the helpless when he draws him in his net.
- Proverbs 1:11 If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lay in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.
- 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 (11 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 10. For my enemies have said of me, etc.…
10. For my enemies have said of me, etc. He pleads, as an argument with God to show him mercy, the additional circumstance, that the wicked took greater license in cruelly persecuting him, from the belief which they entertained that he was rejected and abandoned of God. The basest of men, as we all know, become more bold and audacious, when, in tormenting the innocent, they imagine that this is a matter in which they have not to deal with God at all. Not only are they encouraged by the hope of escaping unpunished; but they also boast that all comes to pass according to their wishes, when no obstacle presents itself to restrain their wicked desires. What happened to David at that time is almost the ordinary experience of the children of God; namely, that the wicked, when once they come to believe that it is by the will of God that his people are exposed to them for a prey, give themselves uncontrolled license in doing them mischief. Measuring the favor of God only by what is the present condition of men, they conceive that all whom he suffers to be afflicted are despised, forsaken, and cast off by him. Such being their persuasion, they encourage and stimulate one another to practice every thing harassing and injurious against them, as persons who have none to undertake and avenge their cause. But this wanton and insulting procedure on their part ought to encourage our hearts, since the glory of God requires that the promises which he has so frequently made of succouring the poor and afflicted should be actually performed. The ungodly may flatter themselves with the hope of obtaining pardon from him; but this foolish imagination does not by any means lessen the criminality of their conduct. On the contrary, they do a double injury to God, by taking away from him that which especially belongs to him.
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 71:10 For mine enemies speak against me; and…
Psa 71:10 For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
Ver. 10. For mine enemies] Who, rather than their lives, would bereave me of mine; these would double murder me, first by detraction, and then by deadly practice.
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 Lay wait for my soul, or watch it, that…
Lay wait for my soul, or watch it, that they may find occasion to destroy it, and that it may not escape their hands.
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 For mine enemies speak against, me,.... Or "say unto…
For mine enemies speak against, me,.... Or "say unto me" (y) what is expressed in the following verse, "God hath forsaken him"; and so these words are a reason of the above petitions: or "mine enemies speak to me"; or "of me" (z); not good, but evil, and so the Targum paraphrases it,
"for mine enemies speak evil against me;''
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or concerning me. David had his enemies, and many, as Ahithophel, and others, who spake against him to the people, and thereby drew many with them into rebellion against him; and particularly Shimei spoke against him, and cursed him, calling him a bloody man, a man of Belial, Sa2 16:7;
and they that lay wait for my soul; or "life"; that laid snares for him; or lay in ambush, and sought for an opportunity to take away his life: or "they that keep my soul", or "life" (a); that were his bodyguards that were about his person for the preservation of him; and so the Targum seems to understand it;
take counsel together; lay schemes and form plots how to destroy him, as Ahithophel did, Sa2 16:20.
(y) "dixerunt mihi", Montanus. (z) "De me loquuti sunt, vel loquuntur", Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Gejerus, Michaelis. (a) "custodientes animam meam", Pagninus, Montanus; "custodiebant", V. L.
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 10. Lay wait for my soul] They seek…
Verse 10. Lay wait for my soul] They seek to destroy my life.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For mine enemies speak against me - That is,…
For mine enemies speak against me - That is, they said substantially, as it is stated in Psa 71:11, that God had forsaken him, and that therefore, they would arise and punish him, or treat him as an outcast from God.
And they that lay wait for my soul - For my life; or, to take my life. The margin here - as the Hebrew - is, “watch,” or “observe.” The “watchers for my life;” that is, they who watch for an opportunity to take my life, or to destroy me.
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Take counsel together - About the best means of accomplishing their object.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. against me] R.V. concerning me. Cp. Psa_3:2; Psa_41:5.…
10. against me] R.V. concerning me. Cp. Psa_3:2; Psa_41:5. What they say follows in Psa_71:11.
they that lay wait for my soul] Or, they that watch for my life.
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For mine enemies speak against me. The psalmist"s weakness…
For mine enemies speak against me. The psalmist"s weakness encourages his enemies to make their attacks. They begin by speaking against him calumniating him, (2Sa_15:3, 2Sa_15:4) and shortly they will proceed to acts. And they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together; or, "they that watch for my soul" (Revised Version).
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. 10. For mine enemies speak against me. Dogs…
Ver. 10. For mine enemies speak against me. Dogs howl over a dying lion. When David's arm was able to chastise his foes, they were yet impudent enough to slander him, and he fears that now they will take fresh license in the hour of his weakness. The text most properly means that his enemies had said that God would forsake him; and, therefore, he is the more earnest that the Lord's faithful dealings may give them the lie.
And they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together. The psalmist had enemies, and these were most malicious; seeking his utter destruction, they were very persevering, and staid long upon the watch; to this they added cunning, for they lay in ambush to surprise him, and take him at a disadvantage; and all this they did with the utmost unanimity and deliberation, neither spoiling their design by want of prudence, nor marring its accomplishment by a lack of unity. The Lord our God is our only and all sufficient resort from every form of persecution.
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None.
None.
Psalms 71:11*
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 watch for my life
watch for my life
It is implied that they are watching for an opportunity to take his life. The euphemism "to take a life" means to kill. AT: "watch for an opportunity to take my life" or "wait for an opportunity to kill me" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Euphemism)
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They say
This can be translated to make explicit that they are talking about him. AT: "They say about me" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
pursue and take him
"follow him when he runs away, and kill him"
translationWords
adversary
life
forsake
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 71:10 In their plotting, the psalmist’s enemies take counsel…
71:10 In their plotting, the psalmist’s enemies take counsel and scheme together (2:2; 21:11; 31:13; 35:4; 63:9-10).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.