Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
Parallel translations
- WEB Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about.
- KJV False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
- NKJV Fierce witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know.
- NASB Malicious witnesses rise up; They ask me things that I do not know.
- NLT Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
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
False witnesses rise up against David, questioning him about things he knows nothing of.
Overview
David laments the injustice of malicious witnesses accusing him falsely. The legal language highlights the wrongful nature of his persecution. Such false accusation anticipates Christ, against whom false witnesses testified at his trial.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 27:12Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
- Matt 26:59–60Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- Acts 6:13where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.
- 1 Sam 24:9and said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’?
- Acts 24:5–6We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
- 1 Sam 25:10But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
- Acts 24:12–13Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 35:11 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.