Bible Study Psalms 35
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Psalms 35 · WEB

Contend, O Lord, Against My Enemies

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

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Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.
2Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help.
3Brandish the spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Tell my soul, "I am your salvation."
4Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.
5Let them be as chaff before the wind, Yahweh's angel driving them on.
6Let their way be dark and slippery, Yahweh's angel pursuing them.
7For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.
8Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction.
9My soul shall be joyful in Yahweh. It shall rejoice in his salvation.
10All my bones shall say, "Yahweh, who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him; yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?"
11Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me of things that I don't know about.
12They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.
13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own heart.
14I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.
15But in my adversity, they rejoiced and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn't know it. They tore at me, and didn't stop.
16Like the ungodly mockers in feasts, they gnashed their teeth at me.
17Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, my precious life from the lions.
18I will give you thanks in the great assembly. I will praise you among many people.
19Don't let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let those who hate me without cause wink their eye.
20For they don't speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, "Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!"
22You have seen it, Yahweh. Don't keep silent. Lord, don't be far from me.
23Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!
24Vindicate me, Yahweh my God, according to your righteousness. Don't let them rejoice over me.
25Don't let them say in their heart, "Aha! Just what we wanted!" Don't let them say, "We have swallowed him up."
26Let them be disappointed and be confounded together who rejoice at my hurt. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.
27Let them shout for joy and be glad who favor my righteous cause. Yes, let them say continually, "Yahweh be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!"
28My tongue shall talk of your righteousness and of your praise all day long.
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Summary

Psalm 35 is one of the strongest imprecatory (curse) psalms in the Psalter — David calls on God to fight his enemies like a warrior, to scatter them like chaff, to let their traps catch themselves. The painful irony at the heart of the psalm is that these enemies are people David mourned for when they were sick, yet who now rejoice at his calamity. The psalm moves from urgent petition to confidence that God will vindicate, closing with a vow of praise. It belongs to the tradition of praying against unjust enemies and leaving judgment to God rather than acting in revenge.

Themes

  • Imprecatory prayer — calling on God to fight and judge
  • The injustice of enemies who repay good with evil
  • The ingratitude of those David mourned over in their suffering
  • God as the divine warrior who fights on behalf of the vulnerable
  • Vow of praise as the intended conclusion when God vindicates

Key verses

  • Ps 35:1 — “Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.”
  • Ps 35:10 — “Who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him?”
  • Ps 35:27-28 — “Let them say continually, 'Yahweh be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!'”

Context & background

Imprecatory psalms (Psalms 7, 35, 58, 59, 69, 83, 109, 137, 139) contain calls for God's judgment on enemies and have challenged Christian readers seeking reconciliation with Jesus's "love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44). The key is the prayer itself: David does not take revenge; he brings his hurt, outrage, and sense of injustice to God and asks God to act. This is actually the opposite of taking personal vengeance — it is transferring justice to God. Verse 19 — "those who hate me without cause" — is quoted in John 15:25 by Jesus, applying it to his own situation of unjust hatred, making this psalm one of many that finds its fullest expression in Christ.

Cross-references

  • Hebrews 10:30-31 — it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God — v. 4-8's punishment
  • John 15:25 — "they hated me without cause" — Jesus quotes v. 19 about his own enemies
  • Psalm 69 — the parallel imprecatory psalm David uses for his unjust treatment
  • Revelation 6:10 — the martyrs cry "how long, O Lord?" — v. 17's question from the suffering church
  • Romans 12:19 — "vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord" — the theological justification for imprecation

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What had David done for his enemies when they were sick (vv. 13-14), and how do they treat him in his adversity?

  2. Observe

    What does David ask God to do for those who favor his righteous cause (v. 27)?

  3. Interpret

    How should Christians read imprecatory psalms alongside Jesus's "love your enemies"?

  4. Interpret

    What does asking God to "contend for me" (v. 1) reveal about the renunciation of personal revenge?

  5. Apply

    How should believers process the painful experience of being mistreated by someone they had previously cared for?

  6. Apply

    How does a vow of future praise (v. 28) change the posture of a prayer for justice?

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