Bible Strands
Psalms 35:25
Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David addresses God, asking Him to intervene before his adversaries can celebrate his defeat in their minds and mouths.
The words — The Hebrew יֹאמְרוּ (yo.me.ru) means "they say," paired with בִּלְעֲנוּהוּ (bi.la.'a.nu.hu), literally "we have swallowed him," which denotes a claim of total consumption.
The thread — The same boast of devouring an opponent appears in Lamentations 2:16 and Psalm 124:3, while Matthew 27:43 records a conditional taunt about deliverance that differs in context.
Why it lands — The text commands God to silence the arrogant assumption of victory by opposing forces, requiring readers to reject self-sufficient triumphalism and depend on divine vindication.
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
Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
Cross-references
- Lamentations 2:16 All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”
- Psalms 124:3 when their anger flared against us, then they would have swallowed us alive,
- Matthew 27:43 He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
- Exodus 15:9 The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
- 2 Samuel 20:19 I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel, but you are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”
- Job 1:5 And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.
- Psalms 27:12 Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
- Psalms 28:3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
- Psalms 56:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be merciful to me, O God, for men are hounding me; all day they press their attack.
- Psalms 57:3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.