Psalms · 28 verses
Psalms 35
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
David asks the LORD to arrive with shield, buckler, spear, and javelin, while his own bones prepare to shout; meanwhile his enemies have laid nets, dug pits, and somehow turned into jesters gnashing their teeth at a feast.
Nets, pits, and a speaking skeletonvv. 1–10
The prayer opens like a summons to an armed rescuer. David asks the LORD to drive away those who pursue him, even by the wonderfully slippery route of a dark and slick path. His enemies have set traps without cause, and the hoped-for reversal is satisfyingly mechanical: the hidden net catches its hiders. Then David’s soul rejoices, and all his bones join in the praise.
Kindness returned as teethvv. 11–18
The opponents now appear as hostile witnesses, making charges David does not know. Their evil is set against his former care: when they were ill, he wore sackcloth, fasted, and mourned them as friend, brother, or mother. The grim little exchange ends with his prayers returning unanswered, while his enemies gather in glee, slander without ceasing, and behave like festive jesters with their teeth out. David asks how long the LORD will watch, then promises thanks in the great assembly if rescue comes.
The appeal and the final chorusvv. 19–28
The enemies are not merely hostile; they devise deceitful schemes against quiet people, gape at David, and announce their supposed triumph with an “Aha.” David answers with repeated summonses: the LORD has seen, must not be silent, and must rise to his defense. He asks that the plotters be clothed in shame, while those who favor his vindication are invited into a much happier chorus. His own tongue will keep the music going all day.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Ps 35:1Of David. Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
Ps 35:2Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid.
Ps 35:3Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
Ps 35:4May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded.
Ps 35:5May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away.
Ps 35:6May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues.
Ps 35:7For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
Ps 35:8May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.
Ps 35:9Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and exult in His salvation.
Ps 35:10All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?”
Ps 35:11Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
Ps 35:12They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.
Ps 35:13Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
Ps 35:14I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother.
Ps 35:15But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
Ps 35:16Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.
Ps 35:17How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.
Ps 35:18Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.
Ps 35:19Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.
Ps 35:20For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land.
Ps 35:21They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
Ps 35:22O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.
Ps 35:23Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!
Ps 35:24Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God, and do not let them gloat over me.
Ps 35:25Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
Ps 35:26May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.
Ps 35:27May those who favor my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “Exalted be the LORD who delights in His servant’s well-being.”
Ps 35:28Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 334 passages were voted onto 28 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 1Psalms 43:1Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.
- 1Jeremiah 51:36Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.
- 1Psalms 119:154Defend my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word.
- 1Isaiah 49:25Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.
- 1Proverbs 23:11for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
- 1Proverbs 22:23for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.
- 1Lamentations 3:58You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.
- 1Acts 5:39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
- 11 Samuel 24:15May the LORD be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”
- 1Exodus 14:25He caused their chariot wheels to wobble, so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”
- 13Psalms 69:10–11I wept and fasted, but it brought me reproach.
- 27Jeremiah 32:40–41I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.
- 1Micah 7:9Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.
- 4Psalms 70:2–3May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.
- 27Psalms 149:4For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the afflicted with salvation.
- 1Nehemiah 4:20Wherever you hear the sound of the horn, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”
Onward