Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty.
- KJV Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
- NKJV Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.
- NASB Do not turn me over to the desire of my enemies, For false witnesses have risen against me, And the violent witness.
- NLT Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I’ve never done; with every breath they threaten me with violence.
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
David prays not to be handed over to adversaries who bring false accusations and cruelty. It appeals to God's justice against slander and malice.
Overview
False witnesses 'breathing out cruelty' threaten David's life and reputation, and he entrusts his cause to God rather than retaliating. The scene anticipates the unjust accusations brought against Christ, who likewise committed Himself to the righteous Judge. Believers facing slander can take refuge in God's vindication.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 31:8You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
- Matt 26:59–60Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- Ps 41:11By this I know that You delight in me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.
- Acts 6:11–13Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”
- Ps 35:11Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
- Ps 35:25Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
- Acts 9:1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest
- 2 Sam 16:7–8And as he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you worthless man of bloodshed!
- Exod 20:16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Ps 38:16For I said, “Let them not gloat over me—those who taunt me when my foot slips.”
- 1 Sam 26:19Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’
- Ps 140:8Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not promote their evil plans, lest they be exalted. Selah
- Ps 41:2The LORD will protect and preserve him; He will bless him in the land and refuse to surrender him to the will of his foes.
- 1 Sam 22:9–10But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with Saul’s servants, answered: “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob.
- Acts 26:11I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
- Ps 25:19Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with vicious hatred.
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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 27:12 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
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