Read
Psalm 64:4
to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.
2Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;
3who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,
4to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.
5They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, “Who will see them?”
6They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!” Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning.
Notice
The ambush turns deadly words into a hidden attack, exposing how vulnerable innocent people can be when others speak without fear.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does the image of an ambush reveal about the harm words can cause?
Write on thisWhere have you seen innocent people become targets of words spoken from hiding?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
11 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 55:19God, who is enthroned forever, will hear and answer them. Selah. They never change and don’t fear God.Both passages describe people acting without fear; Psalm 55 names their lack of fear of God.
1 Peter 2:22–23who didn’t sin, “neither was deceit found in his mouth.”Innocence is the shared thread: the psalm names innocent targets, while Peter describes Jesus as without sin or deceit.
Psalm 11:2For, behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrows on the strings, that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.Both psalms picture arrows aimed at upright people from places where the attackers remain hidden.
Psalm 10:8–9He lies in wait near the villages. From ambushes, he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.Both passages name ambushes against innocent people, stressing the concealment that leaves their targets exposed to harm.
Psalm 35:7For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.Hidden nets and concealed archers depict attacks prepared in secret against people who have given no cause for them.
1 Samuel 19:10Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence; and he stuck the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped …Both texts describe targeted attacks: the psalm uses arrows for deadly words, while Saul uses a spear against David.
1 Samuel 18:11and Saul threw the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” David escaped from his presence twice.A weapon aimed at a person links these texts, though Saul's thrown spear differs from the psalm's concealed verbal attack.
2 Samuel 15:14David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise! Let’s flee, or else none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry to depart, lest he …Both texts describe danger from hostile people; David's warning concerns an approaching attack rather than the psalm's ambush.
John 19:6When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, …The psalm's innocent targets share a thread with Jesus, whose crucifixion is demanded despite Pilate finding no basis for a charge.
Habakkuk 3:14You pierced the heads of his warriors with their own spears. They came as a whirlwind to scatter me, gloating as if to devour the wretched in secret.Both passages portray attackers seeking to harm people in secret; Habakkuk also describes their gloating and the violence turned against them.
Nehemiah 4:11Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see, until we come in among them and kill them, and cause the work to cease.”Both passages describe attackers relying on surprise, intending to strike before their targets can see the danger.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. work conflict. church hurt.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Innocence does not prevent an ambush. If words have been used to harm you, this psalm makes room to name that harm before God and ask for shelter.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 64:4. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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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).