For my enemies speak against me, and those who lie in wait for my life conspire,
Parallel translations
- WEB For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire together,
- KJV For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
- NKJV For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,
- NASB For my enemies have spoken against me; And those who watch for my life have consulted together,
- NLT For my enemies are whispering against me. They are plotting together to kill me.
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 psalmist's enemies talk against him and conspire together to take his life. It laments the plotting of those who seek his harm.
Overview
The psalmist reports that his foes speak against him and those who watch for his life take counsel together. Even in old age he faces conspiring enemies. This experience of being plotted against connects with the suffering righteous one throughout Scripture, ultimately Christ, against whom his enemies conspired, yet whom God vindicated.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 31:13For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
- Ps 83:3With cunning they scheme against Your people and conspire against those You cherish,
- Ps 56:6They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps while they wait to take my life.
- Jer 20:10For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that we may prevail against him and take our vengeance upon him.”
- Ps 37:32–33Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
- Matt 26:3–4At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,
- 1 Sam 19:11Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!”
- 2 Sam 17:1–14Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.
- Matt 27:1When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.
- Ps 2:2The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
- Prov 1:11If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
- Ps 10:9He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.
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 71:10 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.