Psalms 35:4
in Psalms 35May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let them be put to shame and brought to dishonor that seek after my soul: Let them be turned back and confounded that devise my hurt.
KJV
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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This verse in Psalms 35
Commentary
11 notes on this verseLet 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.
This site's exposition
be disgraced and put to shame
on Psalms 35:4-8
David asks that the men who seek his life be shamed, driven like chaff, and chased by the angel of the LORD. Verses 7 and 8 ask that the net and the pit they hid take those who dug them. The ground he gives is that they had no cause.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And what follows? "Let them be confounded and put to shame, that seek after my soul" (ver. 4): for to this end they seek after it, to destroy it. For I would that they would seek it for good! for in another Psalm he blameth this in men, that there was none who would seek after his soul: "Refuge failed me: there was none that would seek after my soul." Who is this that saith, "There was none that would seek after my soul"? Is it haply He, of whom so long before it was predicted, "They pierced My Hands and My Feet, they numbered all My Bones, they stared and looked upon Me, they have parted My Garments among them, and cast lots for My Vesture"? Now all these things were done before their eyes, and there was none who would seek after His Soul. ...Many have been confounded to their health: many, put to shame, have passed over from the persecution of Christ to the society of His members with devoted piety; and this would not have been, had they not been confounded and put to shame. Therefore he wished well to them. ...Let them not go before, but follow; let them not give counsel, but take it. For Peter would go before the Lord, when the Lord spake of His future Passion: he would to Him as it were give counsel for His health. The sick man to the Saviour give counsel for His health! And what said he to the Lord, affirming that His future Passion? "Be it far from Thee, Lord. Be gracious to Thyself. This shall not be to Thee." He would go before that the Lord might follow; and what said He? "Get thee behind Me, Satan." By going before thou art Satan, by following thou wilt be a disciple. The same then is said to these also, "Let them be turned back and brought to confusion that think evil against me." For when they have begun to follow after, now they will not think evil against me, but desire my good.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Consequently, when he says, "Let them be confounded," he treats the condemnation of those who harm. And first, he asks for their condemnation. Second, he adduces a comparison, at "let them be as dust," etc. Regarding the first, he asks for two things in condemnation …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), that is, his life, no less would satisfy their bloody minds; they aimed to disquiet his spirit and put that into disorder. Nor was it a sudden passion against him that they harboured, but inveterate malice: They devised his hurt, laid their heads together, and set their wits on work, not only to do him a mischief, but to find out ways and means to ruin him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Their way shall be dark and slippery, darkness and slipperiness (so the margin reads it); the way of sinners is so, for they walk in darkness and in continual danger of falling into sin, into hell; and it will prove so at last, for their foot shall slide in due time, Deut. xxxii. But this is not the worst of it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
"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.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
"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.
"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.
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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. 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.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֵבֹ֣שׁוּ | yevoshu | may they be ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| וְיִכָּלְמוּ֮ | veyikalmu | and they may be humiliated | H3637 → | 38 times |
| מְבַקְשֵׁ֪י | mevakshei | [those who] seek | H1245 → | 225 times |
| נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | nafshi | <of> life my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| יִסֹּ֣גוּ | yisogu | may they be turned back | H5472 → | 14 times |
| אָח֣וֹר | ʾachor | backwards | H268 → | 41 times |
| וְיַחְפְּר֑וּ | veyachperu | and may they be abashed | H2659 → | 17 times |
| חֹ֝שְׁבֵ֗י | choshevei | [those who] plot | H2803 → | 124 times |
| רָעָתִֽי׃ | raati | <of> harm my | H7451 → | 662 times |
יֵבֹ֣שׁוּmay they be ashamed
yevoshuH954 →127 times
וְיִכָּלְמוּ֮and they may be humiliated
veyikalmuH3637 →38 times
מְבַקְשֵׁ֪י[those who] seek
mevaksheiH1245 →225 times
נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י<of> life my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
יִסֹּ֣גוּmay they be turned back
yisoguH5472 →14 times
אָח֣וֹרbackwards
ʾachorH268 →41 times
וְיַחְפְּר֑וּand may they be abashed
veyachperuH2659 →17 times
חֹ֝שְׁבֵ֗י[those who] plot
chosheveiH2803 →124 times
רָעָתִֽי׃<of> harm my
raatiH7451 →662 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 35:26May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.
it leads to
- Psalms 38:16
For I said, “Let them not gloat over me— those who taunt me when my foot slips.”
- Job 8:22
Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
- Job 19:5
If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and use my disgrace against me,
- Psalms 38:16
Through
Psalms 38:12Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.
it leads to
- Psalms 35:20
For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land.
- 2 Samuel 17:1–3
Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.
- Psalms 140:5
The proud hide a snare for me; the cords of their net are spread along the path, and lures are set out for me. Selah
- Psalms 35:20
Through
Jeremiah 46:5Why am I seeing this? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back; terror is on every side!” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:25
Do not go out to the fields; do not walk the road. For the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.
- Jeremiah 49:29
They will take their tents and flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. They will take their camels for themselves. They will shout to them: ‘Terror is on every side!’
- Jeremiah 6:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Psalms
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, On the Psalms - Psalm 35; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.