Without cause my enemies hunted me like a bird.
Parallel translations
- WEB They have chased me relentlessly like a bird, those who are my enemies without cause.
- KJV Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.
- NKJV My enemies without cause Hunted me down like a bird.
- NASB My enemies without reason Hunted me down like a bird;
- NLT My enemies, whom I have never harmed, hunted me down like a bird.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
His enemies have hunted him relentlessly without cause.
Overview
The poet, perhaps speaking for the faithful remnant or the city, describes being chased like a hunted bird by groundless foes. The phrase 'enemies without cause' marks the injustice of the persecution. This experience is taken up messianically of Christ, who said 'They hated me without a cause' (Ps. 69:4; John 15:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 35:19Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.
- Ps 35:7For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
- Jer 38:4–6Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”
- 1 Sam 24:10–15Behold, this day you have seen with your own eyes that the LORD delivered you into my hand in the cave. I was told to kill you, but I spared you and said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my lord, since he is the LORD’s anointed.’
- 1 Sam 25:28–29Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live.
- Ps 69:4Those 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.
- Jer 37:15–16The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
- Ps 109:3They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
- John 15:25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’
- Ps 119:161Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart fears only Your word.
- 1 Sam 26:18–20And he continued, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done? What evil is in my hand?
- Ps 11:1For the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!
- Jer 37:18Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people, that you have put me in prison?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The weeping over a ruined city and the steadfast mercies that are new every morning point to the man of sorrows who wept over Jerusalem and whose mercy rises new from the grave.
How Lamentations 3:52 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.