Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t draw me away with the wicked, with the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.
- KJV Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
- NKJV Do not take me away with the wicked And with the workers of iniquity, Who speak peace to their neighbors, But evil is in their hearts.
- NASB Do not drag me away with the wicked And with those who practice injustice, Who speak peace with their neighbors, While evil is in their hearts.
- NLT Do not drag me away with the wicked— with those who do evil— those who speak friendly words to their neighbors while planning evil in their hearts.
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 pleads not to be dragged off with the wicked who speak peace while harboring malice. It asks God to distinguish him from hypocrites.
Overview
The wicked here are marked by deceitful friendliness masking evil intent, and David fears sharing their judgment. He longs to be separated from such treachery. The verse exposes the danger of hidden sin and points to the searching judgment of God, who knows every heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
- Ps 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Ps 26:9Do not take my soul away with sinners, or my life with men of bloodshed,
- Jer 9:8–9Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- Mic 3:5This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their mouths:
- Ps 62:4They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah
- Matt 25:41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Prov 26:23–26Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.
- Ps 7:14Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.
- Ps 10:14But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
- Ps 36:4Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
- Matt 22:15–18Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words.
- Num 16:26And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
- Ps 10:7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.
- Matt 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Ps 52:1For the choirmaster. A Maskil of David. After Doeg the Edomite went to Saul and told him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.” Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The loving devotion of God endures all day long.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 28:3 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.