Psalms 56:6
in Psalms 56They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps while they wait to take my life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, They mark my steps, Even as they have waited for my soul.
KJV
They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.
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This verse in Psalms 56
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThey gather themselves together,.... And meet in some one place, to contrive ways and means to do hurt, and then assemble together again to put them in execution; as did the Jews with respect to Christ, Mat 26:
This site's exposition
All day long they twist my words
on Psalms 56:5-6
They twist my words, says verse 5, and the wrong is done with speech. Verse 6 adds four verbs, conspire, lurk, watch and wait. Verse 8 answers that watching with a watch of God's own, an account taken of every wandering.
This site's exposition
they watch my steps
Four verbs describe men who work by ambush. Charles Spurgeon read the gathering and hiding as cowardice, men who wait until the odds are heavy before they strike. Their patience serves the aim named last, his life.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"They shall sojourn, and shall hide" [Psalm 56:6]. To sojourn is to be in a strange land. Sojourners is a term used of those then that live in a country not their own. Every man in this life is a foreigner: in which life ye see that with flesh we are covered round, through which flesh the heart cannot be seen. Therefore the Apostle saith, "Do not before the time judge anything, until the Lord come, and He shall enlighten the hidden things of darkness, and shall manifest the thoughts of the heart; and then praise shall be to each one from God." Before that this be done, in this sojourning of fleshly life every one carrieth his own heart, and every heart to every other heart is shut. Furthermore, those men of whom the counsels are against this man for evil, "shall sojourn, and shall hide:" because in this foreign abode they are, and carry flesh, they hide guile in heart; whatsoever of evil they think, they hide. Wherefore? Because as yet this life is a foreign one. Let them hide; that shall appear which they hide, and they too will not be hidden. There is also in this hidden thing another interpretation, which perchance will be more approved of. For out of those men that have been put afar off from holy men, there creep in certain false brethren, and they cause worse tribulations to the Body of Christ; because they are not altogether avoided as if entirely aliens. ...Not even those men nevertheless let us fear, brethren: "I will not fear what flesh doeth to me." Even if they sojourn, even if they go in, even if they feign, even if they hide, flesh they are: do thou in the Lord hope, nothing to thee shall flesh do. But he bringeth in tribulation, bringeth in treading down. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
): " They hide themselves; they industriously cover their designs, that they may the more effectually prosecute and pursue them. They hide themselves as a lion in his den, that they may mark my steps;" that is, "they observe every thing I say and do with a critical eye, that they may have something to accuse me of" (thus Christ's enemies watched him, Luke xx.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
They gather themselves together. Firebrands burn the fiercer for being pushed together. They are afraid to meet the good man till their numbers place terrible odds against him. Come out, ye cowards, man to man, and fight the old hero! No, ye wait till ye are assembled like thieves in bands, and even then ye waylay the man. There in nothing brave about you. They hide themselves. In ambuscade they wait their opportunity. Men of malice are men of cowardice. He who dares not meet his man on the king's highway, writes himself down a villain.
They gather themselves together. Firebrands burn the fiercer for being pushed together. They are afraid to meet the good man till their numbers place terrible odds against him. Come out, ye cowards, man to man, and fight the old hero! No, ye wait till ye are assembled like thieves in bands, and even then ye waylay the man. There in nothing brave about you. They hide themselves. In ambuscade they wait their opportunity. Men of malice are men of cowardice. He who dares not meet his man on the king's highway, writes himself down a villain. Constantly are the reputations of good men assailed with deep laid schemes, and diabolical plots, in which the anonymous enemies stab in the dark. They mark my steps, as hunters mark the trail of their game, and so track them. Malicious men are frequently very sharp sighted to detect the failings, or supposed failings, of the righteous. Spies and mouchards are not all in the pay of earthly governments, some of them will have wages to take in red hot coin from one who himself is more subtle than all the beasts of the field. When they wait for my soul. Nothing less than his life would content them, only his present and eternal ruin could altogether glut them. The good man is no fool, he sees that he has enemies, and that they are many and crafty; he sees also his own danger, and then he shows his wisdom by spreading the whole case before the Lord, and putting himself under divine protection.
They gather themselves together - They form cabals; have secret meetings and consultations how they may most effectually destroy me, under the pretense of justice and safety to the state. They hide themselves - They do all secretly. They mark my steps - They are constantly at my heels. They wait for my soul - They lie in wait for my life. Our translators have missed the meaning of נפש nephesh and ψυχε, - which generally signify the animal life, not the immortal spirit, - more than any other words in the Old or New Testament.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They gather themselves together - That is, they do not attack me singly, but they unite their forces; they combine against me. They hide themselves - They lurk in ambush. They do not come upon me openly, but they conceal themselves in places where they cannot be seen, that they may spring upon me suddenly. They mark my steps - They watch me whatever I do. They keep a spy upon me, so that I can never be sure that I am not observed. When they wait for my soul - As they watch for my life; or, as they watch for opportunities to take away my life. I am never secure; I know not at what time, or in what manner, they may spring upon me. This would apply to David when he fled to Achish, king of Gath; when he was driven away by him; and when he was watched and pursued by Saul and his followers as he fled into the wilderness. 1Sa 21:1-15; 22.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יָג֤וּרוּ׀ | yaguru | they stir up trouble | H1481 → | 97 times |
| יִצְפּ֗וֹנוּ | yitzponu | they lie hidden | H6845 → | 32 times |
| הֵ֭מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| עֲקֵבַ֣י | ʾakevai | heels my | H6119 → | 14 times |
| יִשְׁמֹ֑רוּ | yishmoru | they watch for | H8104 → | 468 times |
| כַּ֝אֲשֶׁ֗ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| קִוּ֥וּ | kivu | they have waited for | H6960 → | 49 times |
| נַפְשִֽׁי׃ | nafshi | life my | H5315 → | 754 times |
יָג֤וּרוּ׀they stir up trouble
yaguruH1481 →97 times
יִצְפּ֗וֹנוּthey lie hidden
yitzponuH6845 →32 times
הֵ֭מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
עֲקֵבַ֣יheels my
ʾakevaiH6119 →14 times
יִשְׁמֹ֑רוּthey watch for
yishmoruH8104 →468 times
כַּ֝אֲשֶׁ֗רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
קִוּ֥וּthey have waited for
kivuH6960 →49 times
נַפְשִֽׁי׃life my
nafshiH5315 →754 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 59:3See how they lie in wait for me. Fierce men conspire against me for no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 69:4
Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs of my head; many are those who would destroy me— my enemies for no reason. Though I did not steal, I must repay.
- 1 Samuel 24:11
See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. See and know that there is no evil or rebellion…
- Proverbs 12:6
The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.
- John 15:25
But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’
- Psalms 69:4
Through
Psalms 140:2who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long.
it leads to
- Psalms 36:4
Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
- Psalms 64:5–6
They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.
- Psalms 36:4
Through
Luke 20:20So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of…
it leads to
- Luke 11:54
waiting to catch Him in something He might say.
- Matthew 22:15–22
Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words.
- Luke 11:54
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 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, On the Psalms, Psalm 56; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.