O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
Parallel translations
- WEB God, the proud have risen up against me. A company of violent men have sought after my soul, and they don’t hold regard for you before them.
- BSB The arrogant rise against me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, with no regard for You.
- NKJV O God, the proud have risen against me, And a mob of violent men have sought my life, And have not set You before them.
- NASB ¶God, arrogant men have risen up against me, And a gang of violent men have sought my life, And they have not set You before them.
- NLT O God, insolent people rise up against me; a violent gang is trying to kill me. You mean nothing to them.
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
Proud and violent men rise against David, men who disregard God. The threat of the godless drives him to seek the Lord.
Overview
David describes ruthless enemies who have no regard for God, contrasting their arrogance with his humble dependence. Their disregard for God marks the root of their hostility. This conflict between the godless and the trusting servant points to the opposition Christ faced and the trials His followers endure.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Ps 54:3For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
- Ps 14:4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.
- Ps 36:1The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
- Matt 26:3–4Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
- Matt 27:1–2When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
- Ezek 9:9Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.
- Ps 10:11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
- Ps 119:69The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
- Ps 119:51The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.
- Ezek 8:12Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.
- Ps 140:5The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.
- Acts 4:27–28For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
- 2 Sam 17:14And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.
- Ps 119:85The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.
- Ps 10:13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
- 2 Sam 16:20Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
- Ps 36:11Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.
- Ps 10:4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
- 2 Sam 15:1–12And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 86:14 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.