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Selected Verse: Psalms 56:5 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ps 56:5	Strong Concordance	Every day [03117] they wrest [06087] my words [01697]: all their thoughts [04284] are against me for evil [07451].
	King James	Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
A vivid picture of the conduct of malicious enemies.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

A vivid picture of the conduct of malicious enemies.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Every day they wrest my words - The word here rendered "wrest," means literally to give pain, to grieve, to afflict; and it is used here in the sense of "wresting," as if force were applied to words; that is, they are "tortured," twisted, perverted. We have the same use of the word "torture" in our language. This they did by affixing a meaning to his words which he never intended, so as to injure him. All their thoughts are against me for evil - All their plans, devices, purposes. They never seek my good, but always seek to do me harm.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
This second strophe describes the adversaries, and ends in imprecation, the fire of anger being kindled against them. Hitzig's rendering is: "All the time they are injuring my concerns," i.e., injuring my interests. This also sounds unpoetical. Just as we say חמס תורה, to do violence to the Tפra (Zep 3:4; Eze 22:26), so we can also say: to torture any one's words, i.e., his utterances concerning himself, viz., by misconstruing and twisting them. It is no good to David that he asseverates his innocence, that he asserts his filial faithfulness to Saul, God's anointed; they stretch his testimony concerning himself upon the rack, forcing upon it a false meaning and wrong inferences. They band themselves together, they place men in ambush. The verb גּוּר signifies sometimes to turn aside, turn in, dwell (= Arab. jâr); sometimes, to be afraid (= יגר, Arab. wjr); sometimes, to stir up, excite, Psa 140:3 (= גּרה); and sometimes, as here, and in Psa 59:4, Isa 54:15 : to gather together (= אגר). The Ker reads יצפּונוּ (as in Psa 10:8; Pro 1:11), but the scriptio plena points to Hiph. (cf. Job 24:6, and also Psa 126:5), and the following המּה leads one to the conclusion that it is the causative יצפּינוּ that is intended: they cause one to keep watch in concealment, they lay an ambush (synon. האריב, Sa1 15:5); so that המה refers to the liers-in-wait told off by them: as to these - they observe my heels or (like the feminine plural in Psa 77:20; Psa 89:52) footprints (Rashi: mes traces), i.e., all my footsteps or movements, because (properly, "in accordance with this, that," as in Mic 3:4) they now as formerly (which is implied in the perfect, cf. Psa 59:4) attempt my life, i.e., strive after, lie in wait for it (קוּה like שׁמר, Psa 71:10, with the accusative = קוּה ל in Psa 119:95). To this circumstantial representation of their hostile proceedings is appended the clause על־עון פּלּט־למו, which is not to be understood otherwise than as a question, and is marked as such by the order of the words (Kg2 5:26; Isa 28:28): In spite of iniquity [is there] escape for them? i.e., shall they, the liers-in-wait, notwithstanding such evil good-for-nothing mode of action, escape? At any rate פּלּט is, as in Psa 32:7, a substantivized finitive, and the "by no means" which belongs as answer to this question passes over forthwith into the prayer for the overthrow of the evil ones. This is the customary interpretation since Kimchi's day. Mendelssohn explains it differently: "In vain be their escape," following Aben-Jachja, who, however, like Saadia, takes פלט to be imperative. Certainly adverbial notions are expressed by means of על, - e.g., על־יתר ,., abundantly, Psa 31:24; על־שׁקר, falsely, Lev. 5:22 (vid., Gesenius, Thesaurus, p. 1028), - but one does not say על־הבל, and consequently also would hardly have said על־און (by no means, for nothing, in vain); moreover the connection here demands the prevailing ethical notion for און. Hupfeld alters פלט to פּלּס, and renders it: "recompense to them for wickedness," which is not only critically improbable, but even contrary to the usage of the language, since פלס signifies to weigh out, but not to requite, and requires the accusative of the object. The widening of the circle of vision to the whole of the hostile world is rightly explained by Hengstenberg by the fact that the special execution of judgment on the part of God is only an outflow of His more general and comprehensive execution of judgment, and the belief in the former has its root in a belief in the latter. The meaning of הורד becomes manifest from the preceding Psalm (Ps 55:24), to which the Psalm before us is appended by reason of manifold and closely allied relation.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

This second strophe describes the adversaries, and ends in imprecation, the fire of anger being kindled against them. Hitzig's rendering is: "All the time they are injuring my concerns," i.e., injuring my interests. This also sounds unpoetical. Just as we say חמס תורה, to do violence to the Tפra (Zep 3:4; Eze 22:26), so we can also say: to torture any one's words, i.e., his utterances concerning himself, viz., by misconstruing and twisting them. It is no good to David that he asseverates his innocence, that he asserts his filial faithfulness to Saul, God's anointed; they stretch his testimony concerning himself upon the rack, forcing upon it a false meaning and wrong inferences. They band themselves together, they place men in ambush. The verb גּוּר signifies sometimes to turn aside, turn in, dwell (= Arab. jâr); sometimes, to be afraid (= יגר, Arab. wjr); sometimes, to stir up, excite, Psa 140:3 (= גּרה); and sometimes, as here, and in Psa 59:4, Isa 54:15 : to gather together (= אגר). The Ker reads יצפּונוּ (as in Psa 10:8; Pro 1:11), but the scriptio plena points to Hiph. (cf. Job 24:6, and also Psa 126:5), and the following המּה leads one to the conclusion that it is the causative יצפּינוּ that is intended: they cause one to keep watch in concealment, they lay an ambush (synon. האריב, Sa1 15:5); so that המה refers to the liers-in-wait told off by them: as to these - they observe my heels or (like the feminine plural in Psa 77:20; Psa 89:52) footprints (Rashi: mes traces), i.e., all my footsteps or movements, because (properly, "in accordance with this, that," as in Mic 3:4) they now as formerly (which is implied in the perfect, cf. Psa 59:4) attempt my life, i.e., strive after, lie in wait for it (קוּה like שׁמר, Psa 71:10, with the accusative = קוּה ל in Psa 119:95). To this circumstantial representation of their hostile proceedings is appended the clause על־עון פּלּט־למו, which is not to be understood otherwise than as a question, and is marked as such by the order of the words (Kg2 5:26; Isa 28:28): In spite of iniquity [is there] escape for them? i.e., shall they, the liers-in-wait, notwithstanding such evil good-for-nothing mode of action, escape? At any rate פּלּט is, as in Psa 32:7, a substantivized finitive, and the "by no means" which belongs as answer to this question passes over forthwith into the prayer for the overthrow of the evil ones. This is the customary interpretation since Kimchi's day. Mendelssohn explains it differently: "In vain be their escape," following Aben-Jachja, who, however, like Saadia, takes פלט to be imperative. Certainly adverbial notions are expressed by means of על, - e.g., על־יתר ,., abundantly, Psa 31:24; על־שׁקר, falsely, Lev. 5:22 (vid., Gesenius, Thesaurus, p. 1028), - but one does not say על־הבל, and consequently also would hardly have said על־און (by no means, for nothing, in vain); moreover the connection here demands the prevailing ethical notion for און. Hupfeld alters פלט to פּלּס, and renders it: "recompense to them for wickedness," which is not only critically improbable, but even contrary to the usage of the language, since פלס signifies to weigh out, but not to requite, and requires the accusative of the object. The widening of the circle of vision to the whole of the hostile world is rightly explained by Hengstenberg by the fact that the special execution of judgment on the part of God is only an outflow of His more general and comprehensive execution of judgment, and the belief in the former has its root in a belief in the latter. The meaning of הורד becomes manifest from the preceding Psalm (Ps 55:24), to which the Psalm before us is appended by reason of manifold and closely allied relation.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Every day they wrest my words - They have been spies on my conduct continually; they collected all my sayings, and wrested my words out of their proper sense and meaning, to make them, by inuendos, speak treason against Saul. They are full of evil purposes against me.

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²⁴ Be of good courage [02388], and he shall strengthen [0553] your heart [03824], all ye that hope [03176] in the LORD [03068].

⁷ Thou art my hiding place [05643]; thou shalt preserve [05341] me from trouble [06862]; thou shalt compass [05437] me about with songs [07438] of deliverance [06405]. Selah [05542].

²⁸ Bread [03899] corn is bruised [01854]; because he will not ever [05331] be threshing [0156] [01758] it, nor break [02000] it with the wheel [01536] of his cart [05699], nor bruise [01854] it with his horsemen [06571].

²⁶ And he said [0559] unto him, Went [01980] not mine heart [03820] with thee, when the man [0376] turned [02015] again from his chariot [04818] to meet [07125] thee? Is it a time [06256] to receive [03947] money [03701], and to receive [03947] garments [0899], and oliveyards [02132], and vineyards [03754], and sheep [06629], and oxen [01241], and menservants [05650], and maidservants [08198]?

⁹⁵ The wicked [07563] have waited [06960] for me to destroy [06] me: but I will consider [0995] thy testimonies [05713].

¹⁰ For mine enemies [0341] speak [0559] against me; and they that lay wait [08104] for my soul [05315] take counsel [03289] together [03162],

⁴ They run [07323] and prepare [03559] themselves without my fault [05771]: awake [05782] to help [07125] me, and behold [07200].

⁴ Then shall they cry [02199] unto the LORD [03068], but he will not hear [06030] them: he will even hide [05641] his face [06440] from them at that time [06256], as they have behaved themselves ill [07489] in their doings [04611].

⁵² Blessed [01288] be the LORD [03068] for evermore [05769]. Amen [0543], and Amen [0543].

²⁰ Thou leddest [05148] thy people [05971] like a flock [06629] by the hand [03027] of Moses [04872] and Aaron [0175].

⁵ And Saul [07586] came [0935] to a city [05892] of Amalek [06002], and laid wait [07378] [0693] in the valley [05158].

⁵ They that sow [02232] in tears [01832] shall reap [07114] in joy [07440].

⁶ They reap [07114] [07114] every one his corn [01098] in the field [07704]: and they gather [03953] the vintage [03754] of the wicked [07563].

¹¹ If they say [0559], Come [03212] with us, let us lay wait [0693] for blood [01818], let us lurk [06845] privily for the innocent [05355] without cause [02600]:

⁸ He sitteth [03427] in the lurking places [03993] of the villages [02691]: in the secret places [04565] doth he murder [02026] the innocent [05355]: his eyes [05869] are privily set [06845] against the poor [02489].

¹⁵ Behold, they shall surely [01481] gather together [01481], but not [0657] by me: whosoever [04310] shall gather together [01481] against thee shall fall [05307] for thy sake.

⁴ They run [07323] and prepare [03559] themselves without my fault [05771]: awake [05782] to help [07125] me, and behold [07200].

³ They have sharpened [08150] their tongues [03956] like a serpent [05175]; adders [05919]' poison [02534] is under their lips [08193]. Selah [05542].

²⁶ Her priests [03548] have violated [02554] my law [08451], and have profaned [02490] mine holy things [06944]: they have put no difference [0914] between the holy [06944] and profane [02455], neither have they shewed [03045] difference between the unclean [02931] and the clean [02889], and have hid [05956] their eyes [05869] from my sabbaths [07676], and I am profaned [02490] among [08432] them.

⁴ Her prophets [05030] are light [06348] and treacherous [0900] persons [0582]: her priests [03548] have polluted [02490] the sanctuary [06944], they have done violence [02554] to the law [08451].