Psalms 38:12

"They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long."

Key Reflection

In Psalms 38:12, the psalmist describes his experience of being pursued by enemies who actively seek to harm him. The original audience would have recognized this as a common scenario in ancient Israel, where personal and political rivalries often escalated into intense conflicts. Enemies would lay traps and craft deceptions to undermine their perceived foes, illustrating the pervasive nature of malicious intent surrounding the psalmist’s life.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

They also that seek after my life -This was a new aggravation of his affliction, that those who were his enemies now sought to accomplish their purposes against him with better hopes of success, by taking advantage of his sickness. Lay snares for me -On the meaning of this phrase, see the notes atPsalms 9:15. The idea here is that they sought this opportunity of ensnaring or entrapping him so as to ruin him. They took advantage of the fact that he was weak and helpless, and of the fact that he was forsaken or abandoned by his friends, to accomplish his ruin. how this was done is not stated.

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