Bible Strands
Psalms 35:6
May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist petitions God to reverse the secret traps and pits his enemies prepared for him.
The words — חֹשֶׁךְ (cho.shekh) translates as darkness, and וַ/חֲלַקְלַקּוֹת (va./cha.lak.la.Kot) denotes slippery places or slick ground.
The thread — Jeremiah 23:12 describes a path becoming slick and leading into darkness, while Psalm 73:18 places the wicked on slick ground before casting them down. Proverbs 4:19 notes their way is dark gloom and they do not know what makes them stumble.
Why it lands — The text records a curse that the enemy's path will be dark and slick while the angel of the LORD pursues them. It asks readers to observe how divine pursuit turns human ambushes into their own undoing.
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 their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 23:12 “Therefore their path will become slick; they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it. For I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 73:18 Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- Proverbs 4:19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
- Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.