It is not an enemy who taunts me— I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me— I could have hidden from them.
Parallel translations
- WEB For it was not an enemy who insulted me, then I could have endured it. Neither was it he who hated me who raised himself up against me, then I would have hidden myself from him.
- KJV For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
- BSB For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide.
- NKJV For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him.
- NASB ¶For it is not an enemy who taunts me, Then I could endure it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him.
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 says he could have borne the insult had it come from an open enemy. It begins the painful theme of betrayal by a friend.
Overview
The deepest wound is not from a known foe, which David could have endured or avoided, but from someone close. He distinguishes ordinary hostility from the sharper pain of treachery. This sets up the lament over a betraying companion that prefigures Christ's betrayal by Judas (John 13:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 41:9Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate bread with me, has lifted up his heel against me.
- John 13:18I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’
- Matt 26:21–23As they were eating, he said, “Most certainly I tell you that one of you will betray me.”
- Ps 35:26Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.
- John 18:2–3Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.
- Isa 10:15Should an ax brag against him who chops with it? Should a saw exalt itself above him who saws with it? As if a rod should lift those who lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up someone who is not wood.
- Ps 38:16For I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me, or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips.”
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 55:12 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
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.