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Psalm 27:12
Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty.
10When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
11Teach me your way, LORD. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.
12Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty.
13I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
14Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD.
Notice
False witnesses threaten more than reputation here: their words carry cruelty, and the plea exposes the fear of being handed over to their desires.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does “breathe out cruelty” suggest about the threat behind these false accusations?
Write on thisWhat would asking God for protection sound like in a situation where truth is being twisted?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 41:2The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive. He shall be blessed on the earth, and he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies.Psalm 27 asks God to withhold the speaker from his adversaries; Psalm 41 speaks of God refusing to surrender someone to enemies.
Psalm 31:8You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large place.Both passages concern escape from an enemy’s control, with Psalm 27 asking for protection and Psalm 31 recounting it.
Matthew 26:59–60Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death,False testimony serves hostile purposes in both passages, with Matthew naming Jesus as the target of a plot seeking his death.
Psalm 35:11Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about.Both psalms describe witnesses rising against the speaker, making accusation a direct part of the threat he faces.
Psalm 41:11By this I know that you delight in me, because my enemy doesn’t triumph over me.Both passages look to God concerning an enemy’s success: one asks for protection, while the other recognizes that the enemy has not triumphed.
Acts 6:11–13Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”Both passages describe hostile accusations, with Acts showing men induced to make a charge of blasphemy.
Proverbs 6:19a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.Both texts name a false witness, identifying speech that presents lies as testimony against another person.
Deuteronomy 19:16If an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,Both passages describe a witness rising against someone, with Deuteronomy specifying testimony that accuses the person of wrongdoing.
Acts 9:1But Saul, still breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priestBoth passages use breathing to describe hostility: the adversaries breathe cruelty, while Saul breathes threats and slaughter against the Lord’s disciples.
Exodus 20:16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.Exodus forbids false testimony against a neighbor, the same wrong the speaker in Psalm 27 reports suffering.
Job 16:11God delivers me to the ungodly, and casts me into the hands of the wicked.Psalm 27 asks God not to hand the speaker over; Job laments that God has delivered him into wicked hands.
1 Samuel 26:19Now therefore, please let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is so that the LORD has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering. …Both passages describe a speaker under human hostility, though Samuel concerns being driven out and Psalm 27 names false witnesses.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. fear for the future.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The danger remains real at the end of the plea. Still, the speaker appeals to God as the one who can prevent an enemy’s triumph.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).