Psalm 109:3 kjv
They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.
Psalm 109:3 nkjv
They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause.
Psalm 109:3 niv
With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause.
Psalm 109:3 esv
They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
Psalm 109:3 nlt
They surround me with hateful words
and fight against me for no reason.
Psalm 109 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Psa 35:7 | For without cause they hid their net for me... | Undeserved enmity |
| Psa 35:19 | Let not those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause... | Enmity without reason |
| Psa 69:4 | More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause... | Numerical superiority of baseless hatred |
| Psa 119:161 | Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words. | Persecution of the righteous |
| Lam 3:52 | I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause. | Hunting down the innocent |
| Jer 18:20 | Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them. Yet they have dug a pit for my soul. | Return good with evil |
| John 15:25 | But [this happened] that the word that is written in their Law might be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.' | Prophetic fulfillment in Christ |
| Ps 22:16 | For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and my feet. | Enemies surrounding Christ |
| Ps 59:7 | Behold, they bellow with their mouth; swords are in their lips— for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?” | Malicious words like weapons |
| Ps 64:3 | who sharpen their tongue like a sword, aim bitter words like arrows, | Tongue as a weapon |
| Ps 140:3 | They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's; poison of vipers is under their lips. | Words full of venom |
| Prov 10:18 | The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. | Deceitful and hateful speech |
| Matt 5:11 | Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. | Blessings in undeserved revilement |
| 1 Pet 3:16 | ...but have a good conscience, so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. | Slander against the good |
| 1 Pet 2:23 | When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. | Christ's response to verbal attack |
| Matt 26:59-60 | Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. | False testimony against Jesus |
| Luke 23:2 | And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” | Unjust accusations against Christ |
| Isa 53:3 | He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. | Christ's rejection and hatred |
| Job 2:4 | Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.” | Unprovoked malice of evil |
| Rom 8:36 | As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” | Suffering of God's people |
| Eph 4:31 | Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. | Rejecting malicious words |
Psalm 109 verses
Psalm 109 3 Meaning
Psalm 109:3 describes the intense, unprovoked hostility faced by the Psalmist. His adversaries launched a relentless campaign of malicious speech, words fueled by deep animosity. They engaged him in a fierce, aggressive confrontation without any justifiable reason or provocation from his side. This verse paints a picture of undeserved suffering, where verbal attacks become a form of warfare, encompassing the victim.
Psalm 109 3 Context
Psalm 109 is a deeply personal lament and imprecatory psalm, often attributed to King David. It is marked by the Psalmist's fervent plea to God for deliverance from cruel and deceitful adversaries who have relentlessly slandered him. The chapter begins with the Psalmist's direct address to God, emphasizing his profound need for divine intervention due to the unjust persecution. Verse 3 immediately sets the scene of this oppression, highlighting the nature of the attack: verbal assault stemming from hatred, executed without provocation. The entire Psalm reflects David's personal anguish, possibly from experiences with individuals like Doeg, Ahithophel, or King Saul, who persecuted him despite his innocence. In a broader Messianic interpretation, it finds a powerful echo in the suffering of Jesus, particularly his betrayal by Judas (v. 8, often cited by Peter in Acts 1:20) and the false accusations leading to His crucifixion. The context is one of intense personal suffering, cries for divine justice, and a strong conviction of personal righteousness in the face of malice.
Psalm 109 3 Word analysis
- They (הֵם, hem): A simple plural pronoun referring to the unspecified adversaries or enemies of the Psalmist mentioned in verse 2 as "the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful." This indicates a collective, pervasive opposition.
- surrounded me (סָבַב, savav): The Hebrew verb is savav, meaning "to turn, go around, encompass, surround." The Piel perfect conjugation here signifies an intensive, completed action, indicating that the encirclement is total and pervasive. It's not just a single verbal attack, but a sustained siege by hostile words, creating a suffocating environment for the victim. It implies being hemmed in or besieged by these verbal assaults.
- with words (בְּדִבְרֵי, b'divrey): The prefix b means "with" or "by means of." Divrey is the construct plural of davar, which broadly means "word," "matter," "thing," or "deed." Here, in construct with "hatred," it distinctly refers to utterances – speech, pronouncements, accusations. It emphasizes that the chosen weapon is verbal.
- of hatred (שִׂנְאָה, sin'ah): This noun denotes strong animosity, hostility, or enmity. Its use specifies the underlying motivation for the verbal assault – it's not accidental or misunderstanding, but deliberate malice and ill-will. The words are imbued with this intense negative emotion.
- and fought (וַיִּלָּחֲמוּ, vayyilachamu): This is a waw-conversive imperfect (often functioning as a preterite) from the verb lacham, "to fight" or "to make war." This active verb shows that their words were not mere slander but an act of war, an aggressive, combative engagement. It transforms the concept of speaking into a violent confrontation, an act of hostile combat. This is not passive; it is an active assault.
- against me (בִּי, bi): The preposition b ("against" or "on") with the first-person singular suffix i ("me"). It explicitly identifies the Psalmist as the target of this verbal combat.
- without cause (חִנָּם, chinam): This crucial adverb signifies "gratuitously," "for no reason," "undeservedly," or "without a cause." It emphasizes the utter injustice and innocence of the victim. There was no provocation, no reason given by the Psalmist to warrant such an attack. This highlights the malevolent nature of the attackers, acting solely out of malice rather than any justifiable grievance. This specific phrase is prophetically quoted in the New Testament regarding Jesus Christ (John 15:25).
Psalm 109 3 Bonus section
- The term "without cause" (chinam) in this verse and others (Ps 35:7, 19; 69:4) establishes a strong link to the biblical theme of the righteous suffering innocently. It points to a pervasive evil in the world that persecutes without provocation.
- The psychological impact of being "surrounded" by words of hatred can be deeply demoralizing, akin to a spiritual or emotional siege. This reflects the reality that verbal abuse can be as damaging, if not more, than physical assault.
- The prophetic resonance of "without cause" to Christ's passion (Jn 15:25) is pivotal, showing how David's personal laments often foreshadowed the greater suffering of the ultimate "Man of Sorrows" (Isa 53:3), solidifying the Messianic interpretation of the Psalms.
- This verse contrasts sharply with the expectation of loving one's neighbor. The intense hatred shown by the Psalmist's enemies stands against God's law to love.
Psalm 109 3 Commentary
Psalm 109:3 powerfully articulates the suffering of the righteous in the face of malevolent verbal attacks. The Psalmist's enemies did not merely whisper accusations; they "surrounded" him, indicating an overwhelming and suffocating onslaught of hostile words. These "words of hatred" were not random utterances but deliberate, calculated expressions of deep-seated malice, transforming speech into a weapon of war. The phrase "they fought against me" underscores the aggressive, confrontational nature of their communication, implying that verbal abuse was their battleground. Crucially, this assault was "without cause," highlighting the profound injustice suffered by the Psalmist. His tormentors acted purely out of spite, lacking any legitimate reason for their enmity. This unjust suffering resonates deeply within biblical narratives, pointing not only to David's personal trials but preeminently to the unprovoked and undeserved persecution of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. His passion was marked by false testimonies and malicious words spoken against Him, culminating in a death He did not earn. This verse thus speaks to the universal experience of being slandered or attacked without reason, assuring us that God understands and records such injustices, and that He is ultimately the one who will judge the malicious actions of men. It reminds believers of the powerful spiritual warfare often waged through words and the importance of prayer when facing such opposition.