For strangers rise up against me, and ruthless men seek my life—men with no regard for God. Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB For strangers have risen up against me. Violent men have sought after my soul. They haven’t set God before them. Selah.
- KJV For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
- NKJV For strangers have risen up against me, And oppressors have sought after my life; They have not set God before them. Selah
- NASB For strangers have risen against me And violent men have sought my life; They have not set God before them. Selah
- NLT For strangers are attacking me; violent people are trying to kill me. They care nothing for God. Interlude
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
Violent strangers seek David's life because they have no regard for God. It traces hostility against the godly to the enemies' disregard of God.
Overview
David names his threat: ruthless men pursuing his soul who do not set God before them. Their godlessness fuels their violence. The verse acknowledges real danger while implicitly contrasting David's God-centered life with his foes' practical atheism.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 86:14The arrogant rise against me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, with no regard for You.
- Ps 36:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
- John 16:3They will do these things because they have not known the Father or Me.
- Ps 53:4Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon God.
- Ps 40:14May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.
- Ps 22:16For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
- Ps 16:8I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
- Job 19:13–15He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
- Ps 59:3–5See how they lie in wait for me. Fierce men conspire against me for no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.
- Matt 27:20–23But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.
- Ps 69:8I have become a stranger to my brothers and a foreigner to my mother’s sons,
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 54:3 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.