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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.
Psalms 86:14 · New King James Version
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.
  • KJV 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.
  • BSB The arrogant rise against me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, with no regard for You.
  • 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 have risen up against me. Violent men have sought after my soul. They haven’t 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 don’t call on Yahweh?
  • Ps 36:1For the Chief Musician. By David, the servant of Yahweh. An inner sanctuary is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: “There is no fear of God before his eyes.”
  • 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.
  • Matt 27:1–2Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
  • Ezek 9:9Then he said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perversion; for they say, ‘Yahweh has forsaken the land, and Yahweh doesn’t see.’
  • Ps 10:11He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it.”
  • Ps 119:69The proud have smeared a lie upon me. With my whole heart, I will keep your precepts.
  • Ps 119:51The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don’t swerve from your law.
  • 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.’”
  • 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.
  • Acts 4:27–28“For truly, in this city against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
  • 2 Sam 17:14Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For Yahweh had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that Yahweh might bring evil on Absalom.
  • Ps 119:85The proud have dug pits for me, contrary to your law.
  • Ps 10:13Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account?”
  • 2 Sam 16:20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel what we shall do.”
  • Ps 36:11Don’t let the foot of pride come against me. Don’t let the hand of the wicked drive me away.
  • Ps 10:4The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God.
  • 2 Sam 15:1–12After this, Absalom prepared a chariot and horses for himself, and fifty men to run before him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 86:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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.