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Psalm 7:3
LORD, my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands,
1A meditation by David, which he sang to the LORD, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite. LORD, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.
3LORD, my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands,
4if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me (yes, I have plundered him who without cause was my adversary),
5let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
Notice
The repeated “if” makes David’s plea for safety a searching appeal: he brings the charge against him before the God he calls his own.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What difference does David’s “if” make to how you read his words about his hands?
Write on thisWhat accusation or doubt about your actions would you want to bring before God?
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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
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 …Both passages concern David’s conduct toward an adversary and describe wrongdoing as evil or iniquity in his hand.
Psalm 59:3For, behold, they lie in wait for my soul. The mighty gather themselves together against me, not for my disobedience, nor for my sin, LORD.Both prayers speak to the LORD about guilt amid pursuit; Psalm 59 states innocence where Psalm 7 uses a condition.
1 Samuel 26:18–19He said, “Why does my lord pursue his servant? For what have I done? What evil is in my hand?Both passages examine David’s actions through the image of wrongdoing in his hand.
Job 11:14If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away. Don’t let unrighteousness dwell in your tents.Both use iniquity in the hand to speak of wrongdoing, though Job’s verse adds a command to remove it.
2 Samuel 16:7–8Shimei said when he cursed, “Be gone, be gone, you man of blood, and wicked fellow!Shimei accuses David of wickedness; Psalm 7 brings a charge of wrongdoing before God without naming Shimei.
Joshua 22:22“The Mighty One, God, the LORD, the Mighty One, God, the LORD, he knows; and Israel shall know: if it was in rebellion, or if in trespass against the LORD …Both speakers appeal to God with conditional statements about wrongdoing, accepting grave consequences if the charge is true.
Psalm 18:20The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands, he has recompensed me.Both speak to God about moral conduct through the image of hands, with Psalm 18 asserting their cleanness.
2 Chronicles 6:40“Now, my God, let, I beg you, your eyes be open, and let your ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.Both prayers address “my God”; Chronicles asks for attentive hearing, while David raises the question of his own conduct.
Job 10:7Although you know that I am not wicked, there is no one who can deliver out of your hand.Both address God about personal guilt, though Job states his innocence and David frames his plea with an “if”.
Psalm 66:18If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn’t have listened.Both prayers use a condition about sin, though Psalm 7 concerns hands and Psalm 66 concerns the heart.
1 Samuel 22:13Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread, and a sword, and have inquired of God for …The shared thread is an accusation of wrongdoing; Saul questions another person, while David brings his own case before God.
Job 16:17–19although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure.Both connect hands with moral conduct; Job denies violence, while David speaks of iniquity as a possibility.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. work conflict.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Being accused does not establish guilt. In the following lines, David stakes his life on his denial of wrongdoing, still addressing YHWH as his God.
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).