Bible Strands
Psalms 62:3
How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you throw him down like a leaning wall or a tottering fence?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses a coordinated group of adversaries actively seeking to overthrow him. This declaration follows his immediate affirmation of God as his sole rock and fortress, marking the moment of confrontation with sustained hostility.
The words — The Hebrew phrase אָ֤נָה ('A.nah) combined with עַד־ ('ad-) literally asks "until when?" regarding the duration of the attackers' violence. The verb תְּרָצְּח֪וּ (te.ra.tze.Chu) specifies their concrete intent to murder the targeted individual.
The thread — This temporal question mirrors the prophetic warning in Jeremiah 4:14 and the judicial rebuke in Psalms 82:2. It also parallels the continuous daytime plotting recorded in Psalms 140:2.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge the prolonged nature of coordinated opposition without demanding immediate relief. It frames the situation as a factual record of threat rather than a call for emotional reaction.
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
How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 4:14 Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
- Psalms 82:2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
- Psalms 140:2 who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long.
- Exodus 16:28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and instructions?
- Psalms 21:11 Though they intend You harm, the schemes they devise will not prevail.
- Psalms 38:12 Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.
- Proverbs 1:22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
- Isaiah 30:13 this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse will come suddenly—in an instant!
- Psalms 4:2 How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
- Hosea 7:15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms, they plot evil against Me.