I am in favor of peace; but when I speak, they want war.
Parallel translations
- WEB I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.
- KJV I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.
- NKJV I am for peace; But when I speak, they are for war.
- NASB I am for peace, but when I speak, They are for war.
- NLT I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war!
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
He is for peace, but when he speaks they are for war. A peacemaker can meet hostility from those bent on conflict.
Overview
The psalmist identifies himself wholly with peace ('I am for peace'), yet his very words provoke others to war. The contrast exposes the wickedness of those who reject reconciliation. This experience anticipates Christ, who came preaching peace yet was met with opposition, and who calls His people to be peacemakers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 5:9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
- Ps 109:4In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.
- Ps 34:14Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
- Heb 12:14Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
- Rom 12:18If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.
- Ps 35:20For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land.
- Eph 2:14–17For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility
- 2 Sam 20:19I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel, but you are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”
- 1 Sam 26:2–4So Saul, accompanied by three thousand chosen men of Israel, went down to the Wilderness of Ziph to search for David there.
- 1 Sam 24:9–11and said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’?
- Ps 55:20My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 120:7 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.