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Psalm 38:19

But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous.

17For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me.
18For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin.
19But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20They who give evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
21Don’t forsake me, LORD. My God, don’t be far from me.
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← Psalm 38:18Psalm 38:20 →
Notice

Enemies who are “vigorous and many” stand against a speaker already near collapse, making the weight of undeserved hatred plain.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What difference do you notice between the speaker’s failing strength and his enemies’ vigor?

Write on this

How might admitting your own wrong coexist with naming someone else’s treatment of you as unjust?

Write on this
Connect

Where else Scripture says this

9 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 35:19Don’t let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let those who hate me without a cause wink their eyes.Both psalms name hatred without cause, with Psalm 35 asking that these enemies be denied the pleasure of triumph.
John 15:18–25If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.Both texts speak of being hated; Jesus tells his disciples that the world’s hatred reached him before reaching them.
Matthew 10:22You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.Both texts describe widespread hatred, though Matthew names allegiance to Jesus as the reason his followers will face it.
Psalm 25:19Consider my enemies, for they are many. They hate me with cruel hatred.Both speakers face many enemies; Psalm 38 names their vigor, while Psalm 25 names the cruelty of their hatred.
Psalm 69:4Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. I have to restore …Both psalms describe enemies who are numerous and strong, and both speakers say the hatred against them has no cause.
1 Peter 2:19For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of conscience toward God.Undeserved suffering links these texts: the psalm names hatred without reason, and Peter speaks of enduring unjust pain because of conscience toward God.
Genesis 37:4His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to him.Both texts name hatred from others; Genesis identifies Joseph’s brothers and connects their hatred with their father’s greater love for him.
Psalm 9:13Have mercy on me, LORD. See my affliction by those who hate me, and lift me up from the gates of death,Both speakers suffer hostility from people who hate them, and Psalm 9 asks the LORD to see that affliction and show mercy.
Acts 4:25–28who by the mouth of your servant David, said, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?The shared thread is hostility involving many people: the psalm names numerous enemies, while Acts speaks of raging nations and plotting peoples.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. work conflict. family conflict.

What the Bible says about anger →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray Psalm 38:19 aloud about one instance of unfair treatment

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Encouragement

Confessing sin does not mean accepting every accusation as deserved. Here, the same person who admits his sin names hatred against him as without reason.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 38:19. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 38 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

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).