Psalms 35:11
in Psalms 35Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Unrighteous witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I know not.
KJV
False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
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This verse in Psalms 35
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe person of Christ is introduced here, denounced and falsely accused at the tribunal of the chief priests when there rose up evil witnesses against him, and they repaid evil things for good and bereavement for his soul. They were called sons of God but …
This site's exposition
Hostile witnesses come forward
on Psalms 35:11-16
The charges are ones he knows nothing about, and the return for his good is evil. He had worn sackcloth for these men when they were ill, fasted, and mourned as a man mourns a brother or his mother. When he stumbled, they gathered in glee and gnashed their teeth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let then our Head say, "False witnesses did rise up, they laid to My charge things that I knew not" [Psalm 35:11]. But let us say to our Head, Lord, what knew Thou not? Did Thou indeed know not anything? Did You not know the hearts of them that charged You? Did You not foresee their deceits? Did You not give Yourself into their hands knowingly? Had You not come that You might suffer by them? What then knew Thou not? He knew not sin, and thereby He knew not sin, not by not judging, but by not committing. There are phrases of this kind also in daily use, as when you say of any one, He knows not to stand, that is, he does not stand; and, He knows not to do good, because he does not good; and, He knows not to do ill, because he does not ill....What knew not Christ so much, as to blaspheme? Thereof was He called in question by His persecutors, and because He spoke truth, He was judged to have spoken blasphemy. [Matthew 26:65] But by whom? By them of whom it follows, "They rewarded Me evil for good, and barrenness to My Soul" [Psalm 35:12]. I gave unto them fruitfulness, they rewarded Me barrenness; I gave life, they death; I honour, they dishonour; I medicine, they wounds; and in all these which they rewarded Me, was truly barrenness. This barrenness in the tree He cursed, when seeking fruit He found none. [Matthew 21:19] Leaves there were, and fruit there was not: words there were, and deeds there were not. See of words abundance, and of deeds barrenness. "Thou that preachest a man should not steal, stealest: thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, committest adultery." [Romans 2:21-22] Such were they who charged Christ with things that He knew not.
When Saul under the influence of envy, remember, suspected him of plotting a coup and for that reason maintained a state of war, the slanderers (whom he calls false "witnesses") took occasion not to desist from spreading calumny against him. Some of these were Doeg, …
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Witnesses rising up." This is the second principal part. Above, the Psalmist asked for the repulse of the wicked; here he assigns the cause. And first, he pursues their malice; second, he asks for divine assistance, at "Lord, when will you look?" Regarding the first, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When Saul would have David attainted of treason, in order to his being outlawed, perhaps he did it with the formalities of a legal prosecution, produced witnesses who swore some treasonable words or overt acts against him, and he being not present to clear himself (or, if he was, it was all the same), Saul adjudged him a traitor.
False witnesses did rise up,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
"False witnesses did rise up." This is the old device of the ungodly, and we must not wonder if it be used against us as against our Master. To please Saul, there were always men to be found mean enough to impeach David. "they laid to my charge things that I knew not." He had not even a thought of sedition; he was loyal even to excess; yet they accused him of conspiring against the Lord's anointed. He was not only innocent, but ignorant of the fault alleged.
"False witnesses did rise up." This is the old device of the ungodly, and we must not wonder if it be used against us as against our Master. To please Saul, there were always men to be found mean enough to impeach David. "they laid to my charge things that I knew not." He had not even a thought of sedition; he was loyal even to excess; yet they accused him of conspiring against the Lord's anointed. He was not only innocent, but ignorant of the fault alleged.
False witnesses did rise up - There is no doubt that several of this kind were found to depose against the life of David; and we know that the wicked Jews employed such against the life of Christ. See Mat 26:59, Mat 26:60. They laid to my charge things that I knew not - They produced the most unfounded charges; things of which I had never before heard.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
False witnesses did rise up - Margin, “witnesses of wrong.” The Hebrew is, “witnesses of “violence,”” חמס châmâs. That is, they were persons who, in what they said of me, were guilty of injustice and wrong. Their conduct was injurious to me as an act of “violence” would be. They laid to my charge - Margin, as in Hebrew: “they asked me.” The word “asked” here seems to be used in the sense of “demand;” that is, they demanded an “answer” to what was said. The usage appears to have been derived from courts, where the forms of trial may have been in the way of question and answer - the mode of accusation having been in the form of “asking” how a thing was, or whether it was so; and the defense being regarded as an “answer” to such an inquiry. Hence, it is synonymous with our expression of laying to the charge of anyone; or of accusing anyone. Things that I knew not - Of which I had no knowledge; which never came into my mind. What those charges were the psalmist does not specify; but it is not uncommon for a good man to be falsely accused, and we are certain that such things occurred in the life of David.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְ֭קוּמוּן | yekumun | they rise up ! | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עֵדֵ֣י | ʾedei | witnesses of | H5707 → | 70 times |
| חָמָ֑ס | chamas | violence | H2555 → | 60 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָ֝דַ֗עְתִּי | yada'ti | I know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| יִשְׁאָלֽוּנִי׃ | yishaluni | they ask me | H7592 → | 171 times |
יְ֭קוּמוּןthey rise up !
yekumunH6965 →628 times
עֵדֵ֣יwitnesses of
ʾedeiH5707 →70 times
חָמָ֑סviolence
chamasH2555 →60 times
אֲשֶׁ֥ר[that] which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָ֝דַ֗עְתִּיI know
yada'tiH3045 →945 times
יִשְׁאָלֽוּנִי׃they ask me
yishaluniH7592 →171 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 27:12Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
it leads to
- Psalms 31:8
You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
- Matthew 26:59–60
Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- Psalms 41:11
By this I know that You delight in me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
- Psalms 35:25
Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
- Acts 6:11–13
Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”
- Psalms 31:8
Through
Acts 6:13where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.
it leads to
- Acts 6:11
Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”
- Acts 21:28
crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and…
- Acts 6:11
Through
1 Samuel 25:10But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
it leads to
- Judges 9:28
Then Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerubbaal, and is not Zebul his officer? You are to…
- Judges 9:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 35; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Athanasius, EXPOSITION ON PSALM 35; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 35:6 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.