Psalm 35:20

Psalm 35:20, in plain English

David's enemies aren't interested in peace; they're plotting deceit against those who are simply trying to live quietly and not bother anyone.

Why it's here

This shows the unprovoked nature of their attack. David and others like him are peaceful, minding their own business, and these people are actively scheming against them. The cruelty is gratuitous.

Who's speaking

David, exposing his enemies' nature

Where it sits in the story

Scripture warns repeatedly about people who stir up conflict unnecessarily. Proverbs says a stirrer-up of strife separates close friends; Jesus talks about peacemakers. This psalm exposes the reality that evil often targets the innocent simply because they're vulnerable.

The scholarly reading

The psalmist characterizes his enemies as fundamentally opposed to peace, devising treacherous schemes against the peaceful inhabitants of the land.

Language and setting

The conclusive verse shifts focus from personal persecution to a broader indictment. The phrase דִּבְּרוּ־שָׁלוֹם (dibbru-shalom, 'they speak peace') suggests deceptive diplomacy—the concealment of hostile intent beneath placid speech. The מִשְׁמְרוֹת מִרְמָה (mishmerot mirma, 'schemes of deceit') emphasizes premeditation. The phrase אֶל־קִשְׁרֵי קֶרֶץ אָרֶץ (el kishreyQkérez kérets aretz)—possibly 'against those who are quiet in the land'—suggests targeting the peacefully disposed. This closes the psalm by universalizing the psalmist's plight: he represents any innocent person victimized by the fundamentally deceitful.

Voice

The psalmist, now speaking with the voice of wisdom and spiritual perception about the nature of evil.

Significance

This final characterization establishes a pattern whereby the wicked are defined by their intrinsic opposition to divine shalom (peace, wholeness, justice). This principle extends throughout biblical wisdom literature and prophetic critique, reaching its culmination in the New Testament's portrayal of Satan as fundamentally opposed to truth and peace, thereby making the psalmist's personal struggle emblematic of the cosmic conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.

18Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.

19Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.

20For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land.

21They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”

22O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.

Read all of Psalm 35 — David asks God to pick up shield and spear against his enemies. When you can't fight for yourself, you ask the Warrior to fight for you.