Bible Strands
Psalms 35:20
For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses God, describing enemies who mock him without cause while he seeks quiet stability in the land.
The words — The Hebrew word שָׁלוֹם (shalom) means peace, which the text states the enemies refuse to speak, while רִגְעֵי אֶרֶץ (rig'ei 'ereetz) literally names those dwelling quietly in the land.
The thread — This pattern of covert hostility against the righteous appears in Matthew 26:4, where leaders conspire against Jesus, and Jeremiah 11:19, where enemies plot against the prophet.
Why it lands — The text states that false peace masks active deception, requiring readers to identify calculated malice behind quiet opposition before choosing their response.
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
For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.
Cross-references
- Matthew 26:4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.
- Jeremiah 11:19 For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”
- 1 Peter 2:22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- Psalms 31:13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
- Psalms 36:3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.
- Psalms 38:12 Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.
- Psalms 52:2 Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Psalms 64:4 ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear.
- Psalms 120:5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!
- Psalms 140:2 who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long.