They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who will see them?”
Parallel translations
- WEB They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, “Who will see them?”
- KJV They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?
- BSB They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.
- NASB They make firm for themselves an evil purpose; They talk of setting snares secretly; They say, “Who can see them?”
- NLT They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps in secret. “Who will ever notice?” they ask.
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
The wicked strengthen one another in evil and plot traps, confident no one sees them. It reveals the self-deceiving secrecy of sin.
Overview
Here the evildoers encourage each other in their plans and lay hidden snares, asking 'Who will see them?' Their question betrays a denial of God's all-seeing presence. Scripture insists nothing is hidden from God, before whom all hearts are exposed and to whom all must give account.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 140:5The proud have hidden a snare for me, they have spread the cords of a net by the path. They have set traps for me. Selah.
- Ps 10:11He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it.”
- Ezek 8:12Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery? For they say, ‘Yahweh doesn’t see us. Yahweh has forsaken the land.’”
- Job 22:13You say, ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?
- Ps 59:7Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, “For”, they say, “who hears us?”
- Ps 94:7They say, “Yah will not see, neither will Jacob’s God consider.”
- Isa 41:6Everyone helps his neighbor. They say to their brothers, “Be strong!”
- 1 Sam 23:19–23Then the Ziphites came up to Saul to Gibeah, saying, “Doesn’t David hide himself with us in the strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of the desert?
- Ps 124:7Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare. The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
- Exod 15:9The enemy said, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the plunder. My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
- Num 22:6Please come now therefore curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall prevail, that we may strike them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
- Prov 1:11–14If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lay in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.
- Matt 26:3–4Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas.
- Rev 11:10Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
- Matt 23:15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much of a son of Gehenna as yourselves.
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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 64:5 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.