Bible Strands
Psalms 35:11
Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God immediately after praising His deliverance in verse 10 and before describing the unjust retaliation in verse 12. He speaks from a position of personal distress against opponents who have turned against him.
The words — חָמָ֑ס (cha.Mas) translates literally as violence, while יָ֝דַ֗עְתִּי (ya.Da'.ti) means I know. Together they frame the psalmist’s defense against fabricated accusations.
The thread — This pattern of hostile witnesses and baseless charges recurs in Psalms 27:12, Matthew 26:59, and 1 Samuel 24:9. Each text records opponents fabricating charges against a righteous figure.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to acknowledge that false accusations are a documented reality of faithful living, demanding reliance on God rather than self-justification.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
Cross-references
- Psalms 27:12 Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
- Matthew 26:59 Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- 1 Samuel 24:9 and said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’?
- Acts 6:13 where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.
- 1 Samuel 25:10 But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
- Acts 24:5 We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
- Acts 24:12 Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city.