Psalms 38:12

They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
seek	מְבַקְשֵׁ֬י me.vak.Shei	H1245	to search out (by any method · verb, piel active participle, masculine plural construct
life	נַפְשִׁ֗י naf.Shi	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
snares	וַיְנַקְשׁ֤וּ vay.nak.Shu	H5367	to entrap (with a noose) · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
seek	וְדֹרְשֵׁ֣י ve.do.re.Shei	H1875	properly · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
hurt	רָ֭עָתִי Ra.'a.ti	H7451	bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
speak	דִּבְּר֣וּ di.be.Ru	H1696	perhaps properly · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person common plural
things	הַוּ֑וֹת ha.Vot	H1942	by implication · noun, common feminine plural absolute
imagine	יֶהְגּֽוּ yeh.Gu	H1897	to murmur (in pleasure or anger) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
deceits	וּ֝מִרְמ֗וֹת u.mir.Mot	H4820	fraud · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural absolute
day	הַיּ֥וֹם hai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Samuel 17:1-3 Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:
Psalms 35:20 For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
Psalms 54:3 For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
Psalms 140:5 The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me. Selah.
2 Samuel 16:7-8 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:
Psalms 35:4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
Psalms 64:2-5 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
Psalms 119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 38:12–end

In these verses, I. David complains of the power and malice of his enemies, who, it should seem, not only took occasion from the weakness of his body and the trouble of his mind to insult over him, but took advantage thence to do him a mischief. He has a great deal to say against them, which he humbly offers as a reason why God should appear for him, as Psa 25:19, Consider my enemies. 1. "They are very spiteful and cruel: They seek my hurt; nay, they seek after my life," Psa 38:12. That life which was so precious in the sight of the Lord and all good men was aimed at, as if it had been forfeited, or a public nuisance. Such is the enmity of the serpent's seed against the seed of the woman; it…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 38:12

seek after my life-- (Sa1 20:1; Sa1 22:23).

John Gill on Psalms 38:12

They also that seek after my life,.... His avowed and implacable enemies, whom nothing would satisfy but the taking away of his life: these came too near him; for these, he says, lay snares for me, as Satan does for the souls of men, as the Jews did for Christ, and as wicked men do for the saints, Psalm 124:7; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things; to the injury of his character and reputation: and imagine deceits all the day long; contrive artful schemes to deceive; see Psalm 35:20.

John Calvin on Psalms 38:11-14

Psalm 38:11-14 11. My friends and my companions stand away from my sore; and my kinsfolk stand afar off. 12. They also that sought for my life have laid snares for me; and they that sought after my hurt have talked of treachery, and imagine deceit daily. 13. But I, as a deaf man, hear not; and am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. 14. And I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. 11 My friends and my companions stand away from my sore Here David enumerates other circumstances to show the aggravated character of his misery, that he might excite the compassion of God. One of these is, that he finds no help or solace among men. In saying that his friends stan…

The Church Fathers

People who cling to evil thoughts do not stand for truth but for falsehood. They do not stand for righteousness but for iniquity, because their tongue learns to speak lies. They have done evil, never pausing so that they could repent. Persevering with delight in wicked actions, they run to them without even looking back. They even tread underfoot the commandment about neighbors, and instead of loving them, they plot evil against them. As the ancient saint testifies, "Those who plot evil against me have spoken lies and plan treachery all day long."
— Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 9:4

"They also that sought after my soul were preparing violence against me" [Psalm 38:12]. It is now plain who "sought after His soul;" viz. those who had not His soul, in that they were not in His Body. They who were "seeking after His soul," were far removed from His soul; but they were "seeking it" to destroy it. For His soul may be "sought after" in a right way also. For in another passage He finds fault with some persons, saying, "There is no man to care for My soul." He finds fault with some for not seeking after His soul; and again, with others for seeking after it. Who is he that seeks after His soul in the right way? He who imitates His sufferings. Who are they that sought after His soul in the wrong way? Even those who "prepared violence against Him," and crucified Him.
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 38

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Character Of The Wicked · Conspiring against God’s people — Conspiring against God’s people
Conviction · OF SIN — OF SIN
Deceit · General references — General references
Homicide · 24:22; — 24:22;
Slander · Saints exposed to — Saints exposed to

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 38:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 38:12–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 38:12

John Gill on Psalms 38:12

John Calvin on Psalms 38:11-14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 38:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 38:12–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 38:12

John Gill on Psalms 38:12

John Calvin on Psalms 38:11-14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 38:9-14

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 38:9-12

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 38:12