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35. Psalm 35

1 Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
   fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and armor;
   arise and come to my aid.
3 Brandish spear and javelin Or and block the way
   against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
   “I am your salvation.”

    4 May those who seek my life
   be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
   be turned back in dismay.
5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
   with the angel of the LORD driving them away;
6 may their path be dark and slippery,
   with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

    7 Since they hid their net for me without cause
   and without cause dug a pit for me,
8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—
   may the net they hid entangle them,
   may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
   and delight in his salvation.
10 My whole being will exclaim,
   “Who is like you, LORD?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
   the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

    11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
   they question me on things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good
   and leave me like one bereaved.
13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
   and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
    14 I went about mourning
   as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
   as though weeping for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
   assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
   They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; Septuagint; Hebrew may mean Like an ungodly circle of mockers,
   they gnashed their teeth at me.

    17 How long, Lord, will you look on?
   Rescue me from their ravages,
   my precious life from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
   among the throngs I will praise you.
19 Do not let those gloat over me
   who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
   maliciously wink the eye.
20 They do not speak peaceably,
   but devise false accusations
   against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!
   With our own eyes we have seen it.”

    22 LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent.
   Do not be far from me, Lord.
23 Awake, and rise to my defense!
   Contend for me, my God and Lord.
24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God;
   do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
   or say, “We have swallowed him up.”

    26 May all who gloat over my distress
   be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
   be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 May those who delight in my vindication
   shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The LORD be exalted,
   who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

    28 My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
   your praises all day long.

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8. Let confusion of which he is not aware come upon him. David again prays that God would cause to return upon the head of his enemies the mischief which they had directed against a just and an inoffensive man. The change from the plural to the singular number, even when the same subject, is spoken of, is, we know, a thing very common among the Hebrews. Accordingly, what is here said of one man is applicable to all David’s enemies in general, unless, perhaps, we are rather inclined to suppose that allusion is here made to Saul or some one of his nobles. But as it is certain that the prayer which he here offers against Saul as the head extends to the whole body, in other words, to all his followers, 707707     “Qu’il fait yci contre Saul comme le chef, s’estend a tout le corps, c’est a dire, tous ses adherens.” — Fr. it matters little in which way we understand it. The Hebrew word שואה, shoah, sometimes signifies confusion, and sometimes destruction; and, therefore, many translate it, Let destruction, or desolation, or ruin, come upon him. The other rendering, however, seems more suitable, for he immediately adds, Let his own net which he hath hidden catch him, let him fall into it with confusion The way in which others render it, Let him fall into destruction itself, is certainly forced and unnatural. But the meaning of the clause will be brought out very suitable if it is viewed as a prayer of David, that as the wicked settle down like wine upon the lees, in present enjoyments, and fear nothing, as if they were placed beyond the reach of all danger, some calamity which they think not of may suddenly come upon them like a tempest, and overwhelm them. It never for a moment occurs to them as at all possible that their stratagems and craft, their wicked practices, and all the snares which they lay for the good and the simple, turn to the destruction of themselves who have devised them. David, therefore, very properly desires that they may fall with confusion into the nets which they have laid; in other words, that they may be filled with amazement and terror when they are suddenly and unexpectedly visited with calamity. The more unbounded and extravagant the exultation of men is, through their vainly and foolishly imagining that they shall escape unpunished, the more are they filled with amazement and fear when calamity suddenly overtakes them. I have, however, no doubt that David here refers to some strange and extraordinary calamity. Let confusion, then, of which he thinks not, come upon him; that is to say, when he shall have persuaded himself that all goes well with him, and promised himself peace in his deceitful fascinations, then let unwonted terror strike him to the heart, and let him feel by his tumultuous fear that he is caught in his own snares.
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