King James Version

Psalm 35

Psalm 35 is David's prayer for God to defend him against people who hated him without a cause. He asks the LORD to "fight against them that fight against me," remembers how he mourned for these same people when they were sick, and promises to praise God in the great congregation when he is vindicated.

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Psalm 35 (KJV)

Fight against them that fight against me v. 1-10

¹Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

²Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.

³Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

⁴Let 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.

⁵Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them.

⁶Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.

⁷For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.

⁸Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.

⁹And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.

¹⁰All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?

Evil rewarded for good v. 11-18

¹¹False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.

¹²They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.

¹³But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

¹⁴I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.

¹⁵But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:

¹⁶With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

¹⁷Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.

¹⁸I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.

Awake to my cause, and I will praise thee v. 19-28

¹⁹Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.

²⁰For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.

²¹Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

²²This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.

²³Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.

²⁴Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.

²⁵Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.

²⁶Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.

²⁷Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

²⁸And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

What Psalm 35 means

David opens with courtroom and battlefield language at once. Plead my cause is a legal plea, and the shield, buckler and spear are a soldier's gear. He asks God to be both his advocate and his defender, and to say to his soul, I am thy salvation.

The psalm is one of the imprecatory psalms, prayers that ask God to bring harm on enemies. David asks that they be as chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD chasing them, and that the net they hid for him would catch them instead. He takes the matter to God rather than taking revenge with his own hand.

The middle section explains why the betrayal hurts. When these people were sick, David wore sackcloth, fasted, and mourned for them as for a friend or brother. They paid him back with false witness, mockery and gnashing of teeth, and in his adversity they gathered together and rejoiced.

Each section ends in praise. My soul shall be joyful in the LORD (verse 9), I will give thee thanks in the great congregation (verse 18), and my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness all the day long (verse 28). David prays for justice, but he expects to end up worshipping.

Christians often read Psalm 35 alongside Jesus' words in John 15:25, "They hated me without a cause," which echoes the phrase hate me without a cause in this psalm (verse 19) and in Psalm 69:4. Many also read its prayers for judgment together with the New Testament command to leave vengeance to God and to pray for enemies.

Background and context

The superscription calls it a Psalm of David. The psalm does not name a specific event; it is traditionally read against the years when David was hunted and slandered, such as his flight from Saul.

It sits in Book I of the Psalms (Psalms 1-41), where most of the psalms carry David's name.

Key verses

Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
Psalm 35:1 · KJV

All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
Psalm 35:10 · KJV

Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Psalm 35:27 · KJV

Cross references

John 15:25 Jesus says the word is fulfilled, They hated me without a cause (compare verse 19)But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
Psalm 69:4 The same complaint of being hated without a causeThey that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
Psalm 34:7 The angel of the LORD, who chases enemies in verses 5-6, encamps around the faithfulThe angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Psalm 7:15 The man who digs a pit and falls into it, like the hidden net of verse 8He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
Romans 12:19 Avenge not yourselves: vengeance belongs to the LordDearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Matthew 5:44 Jesus commands love and prayer for enemiesBut I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

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Common questions

What is the main message of Psalm 35?

David asks God to defend him against people who repaid his kindness with hatred, and he promises to praise God when he is vindicated. It is a prayer that hands the fight over to God.

Who wrote Psalm 35?

Its superscription calls it a Psalm of David. It does not name the occasion, though it is often linked to the years David was pursued and slandered.

Is Psalm 35 an imprecatory psalm?

Yes. Like Psalms 69 and 109, it asks God to bring judgment on enemies. David leaves the judgment to God rather than acting on it himself.

Where is Psalm 35 quoted in the New Testament?

In John 15:25 Jesus says, "They hated me without a cause," echoing the phrase hate me without a cause in Psalm 35:19 and Psalm 69:4.