then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust. Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
- KJV Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.
- NKJV Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; Yes, let him trample my life to the earth, And lay my honor in the dust. Selah
- NASB Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; And let him trample my life to the ground And lay my glory in the dust. Selah
- NLT then let my enemies capture me. Let them trample me into the ground and drag my honor in the dust. 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
David is willing to suffer defeat and disgrace if he is in fact guilty. He stakes his very life on the truth of his innocence.
Overview
David completes his oath by accepting the worst consequences should he be lying: let the enemy overtake and humiliate him. Such an appeal shows how seriously he takes truth and how fully he trusts God's just verdict. 'Selah' marks a pause to weigh the gravity of placing one's life under God's righteous scrutiny.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Mal 4:3Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Ps 3:2Many say of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah
- Jer 17:13O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.
- Ps 44:5Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.
- Ps 49:12But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
- Isa 10:6I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.
- Job 40:12–13Look on every proud man and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand.
- Hab 3:13You went forth for the salvation of Your people, to save Your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked and stripped him from head to toe. Selah
- Job 31:5–10If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,
- Isa 63:3“I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained.
- Zech 10:5They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
- Job 31:38–40if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together,
- Job 16:15I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my horn in the dust.
- Ps 60:12With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.
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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 7:5 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.