Psalm 35:5

Psalm 35:5, in plain English

David pictures his enemies becoming as insubstantial as chaff blown away by wind, scattered by God's angel—utterly powerless and dispersed.

Why it's here

Chaff was the useless husks separated from grain. To David's listeners, this image would convey complete insignificance and separation from anything valuable. The angel of the LORD represents God's active, powerful presence.

Who's speaking

David, continuing to pray the fate of his enemies

Where it sits in the story

The angel of the LORD appears throughout the Old Testament as God's messenger and warrior—at the exodus, at Gideon's call, protecting Jerusalem. This is God's power made visible and personal.

The scholarly reading

The psalmist envisions his enemies dispersed like weightless chaff as God's angel actively drives them away.

Language and setting

The comparison to מֹץ (motz, 'chaff') evokes the winnowing metaphor common in prophetic judgment literature—the insubstantial nature of the wicked when confronted by divine force. The introduction of מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה (malakh YHWH, 'angel of the LORD') represents a particular manifestation of divine action. In biblical angelology, this figure often functions as God's executor of judgment, as in the narrative of the exodus plagues or the destruction of Sennacherib's forces.

Voice

The psalmist, articulating his vision of divine vindication through angelic intervention.

Significance

This participates in a broader biblical pattern of angelic agency in divine judgment, evident in Genesis 19 (Sodom's destruction), 2 Kings 19:35 (Assyrian army's decimation), and developed further in apocalyptic literature. The angel functions as God's instrument for executing justice where human resistance proves inadequate.

3Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”

4May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded.

5May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away.

6May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues.

7For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.

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.