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Psalm 59:3
For, behold, they lie in wait for my soul. The mighty gather themselves together against me, not for my disobedience, nor for my sin, LORD.
1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, my God. Set me on high from those who rise up against me.
2Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Save me from the bloodthirsty men.
3For, behold, they lie in wait for my soul. The mighty gather themselves together against me, not for my disobedience, nor for my sin, LORD.
4I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Rise up, behold, and help me!
5You, LORD God of Armies, the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish the nations. Show no mercy to the wicked traitors. Selah.
Notice
Men lying in wait for David's life make his claim of innocence urgent: he brings an undeserved threat before YHWH.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do you notice about David addressing YHWH while describing men gathered against him?
Write on thisWhere, if anywhere, have you assumed that being harmed must mean someone has done wrong?
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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 56:6They conspire and lurk, watching my steps. They are eager to take my life.Both prayers describe enemies watching and waiting for a chance to take the speaker's life.
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 speakers face mighty enemies and insist that the hostility against them has no just cause.
1 Samuel 24:11Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe and didn’t kill you, know and see that …David's appeal over the cut robe shares the psalm's protest: someone hunts his life despite his innocence toward that person.
Daniel 6:7All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the local governors, the counselors and the governors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute …Powerful men gather in the psalm; officials consult together in Daniel to establish a decree carrying a death sentence.
Psalm 10:9He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush. He lies in wait to catch the helpless. He catches the helpless when he draws him in his net.Both passages describe an ambush, with an attacker lying in wait to seize another person.
John 15:25But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’Jesus names hatred without cause, sharing the psalm's concern with hostility that the sufferer has done nothing to deserve.
Proverbs 12:6The words of the wicked are about lying in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.Lying in wait links the passages, exposing the lethal intent behind the enemies' plans.
Psalm 94:21They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.Both passages describe enemies gathering together against a person's life despite that person's innocence.
Micah 7:2The godly man has perished out of the earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net.Both describe people lying in wait for others' lives, with Micah portraying such violence as widespread.
1 Samuel 19:1Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David.Saul's order to kill David names the lethal hostility described in the psalm's heading and prayer.
1 Samuel 24:17He said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have done good to me, whereas I have done evil to you.Saul's admission that David has done him good agrees with David's protest that he has not deserved this hostility.
1 Samuel 26:18He said, “Why does my lord pursue his servant? For what have I done? What evil is in my hand?David questions why he is pursued, matching the psalm's protest that his own wrongdoing has not caused the attack.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. fear for the future.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
David appeals to YHWH while powerful men threaten his life. Asking God for protection does not require accepting blame for another person's violence.
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).