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Psalm 35:13
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.
11Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about.
12They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.
13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.
14I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.
15But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it. They tore at me, and didn’t cease.
Notice
Sackcloth and fasting mark the care David once gave those who now harm him, making their betrayal harder to bear because their suffering had mattered to him.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
When has your care for someone in distress later made their betrayal harder to bear?
Write on thisWhat remains unclear to you in the image of prayer returning into David’s own bosom?
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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 69:10–11When I wept and I fasted, that was to my reproach.Both passages describe fasting in grief within an account of receiving reproach or harm from others.
Matthew 6:16“Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most …Fasting appears in both passages, with David describing his grief and Jesus warning against fasting for public approval.
Job 30:25Didn’t I weep for him who was in trouble? Wasn’t my soul grieved for the needy?David and Job both recall grieving over another person’s suffering.
Matthew 5:44But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,David recalls praying during the sickness of those who now harm him; Jesus commands prayer for those who mistreat you.
Leviticus 16:31It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.Both texts speak of afflicting the soul, though David describes personal grief and Leviticus commands an enduring observance.
Isaiah 58:5Is this the fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to humble his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under …Both passages mention fasting, humbling the soul, and sackcloth; Isaiah questions whether these outward acts constitute an acceptable fast.
Leviticus 16:29“It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no kind of work, whether …Afflicting the soul appears in both texts, in David’s response to sickness and in a commanded observance with cessation from work.
Matthew 10:13If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you.Both use the language of something returning to its source, though David’s returning prayer is less clear than Jesus’ returning peace.
Daniel 9:3I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.David and Daniel both describe prayer accompanied by fasting and sackcloth.
Leviticus 23:27“However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall afflict yourselves and you shall …Both mention self-affliction, though David responds to others’ sickness while Leviticus prescribes it for the day of atonement.
Leviticus 23:32It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep …Self-denial is their shared thread: David describes fasting, while Leviticus commands self-denial during a Sabbath of solemn rest.
Isaiah 58:3‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’ “Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, …Both speak of fasting and afflicting the soul; Isaiah also names oppression practiced by those who fast.
Where this verse fits
Broken friendship. injustice and anger. forgiving someone.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Prayer for someone who has hurt you can coexist with an honest account of that hurt before God; David remembers his compassion while naming their cruelty.
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).