They rewarded me evil for good
For the good David did in killing Goliath, and slaying his ten thousands of the Philistines, and thereby saving his king and country, Saul and his courtiers envied him, and sought to slay him: so our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the good he did to the Jews, by healing their bodies of diseases, and preaching the Gospel to them for the benefit of their souls, was rewarded with reproaches and persecutions, and at last with the shameful death of the cross; and in like manner are his people used; but this is an evil that shall not go unpunished; see ( Proverbs 17:13 ) . It is added,

[to] the spoiling of my soul;
or "to the bereaving of it" ^F20; causing it to be fatherless; that is, to the bereaving it of its joy, peace, and comfort; so fatherless is put for comfortless, ( John 14:18 ) ; or to the taking away of his soul, which being separated from the body, its companion is left alone, as one that is fatherless.

FOOTNOTES:

F20 (lwkv) "orbitatem", Montanus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Psalms 35:12 In-Context

10 My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

11 Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about.

12 They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved.

13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered,

14 I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother.

Cross References 1

1. Psalms 38:20; Psalms 109:5; Proverbs 17:13; Jeremiah 18:20; John 10:32

Psalms 35:12

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Psalms 35:12 in Other Translations

Psalms 35:12 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 35:12 In-Context

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