Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
Parallel translations
- WEB Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall.
- BSB lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes rejoice when I fall.
- NKJV Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
- NASB And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
- NLT Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
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 fears his enemy boasting of victory and his foes rejoicing at his fall. David's concern is for God's honor as well as his own deliverance.
Overview
David's plea is sharpened by the prospect of his enemies gloating over his defeat. His vindication and God's reputation are intertwined, for the enemy's triumph would seem to deny God's faithfulness. This appeal to God's own honor is a frequent and fitting ground for prayer in the Psalms.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 25:2O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
- Jer 1:19And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
- Prov 12:3A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
- Ps 62:6He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
- Lam 1:16For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.
- Josh 7:9For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
- Ps 38:16For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.
- Ps 55:22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
- Ps 10:11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
- Ps 35:25Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
- Ps 9:19Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
- Ps 121:1–3I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
- Ps 62:2He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
- Ezek 35:12–15And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
- Ps 112:6Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
- Ps 35:19Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
Resources, by level
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 13:4 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.