Psalms 69:4

Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs of my head; many are those who would destroy me—my enemies for no reason. Though I did not steal, I must repay.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses God while describing his physical exhaustion from weeping and his confrontation with overwhelming hostility.

The words — The Hebrew רַבּ֤וּ (ra.Bu) literally means "they are many," quantifying the sheer scale of the psalmist’s opposition.

The thread — The phrase "without cause" (חִ֫נָּ֥ם, chi.Nam) recurs in Psalms 35:19 and Psalms 109:3, and is explicitly applied to Jesus in John 15:25.

Why it lands — The text records unjust persecution and the paradox of being forced to repay for crimes never committed, directing the reader to acknowledge that God alone perceives the psalmist’s true folly and guilt.

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

רַבּ֤וּ׀ra.Buthey are many מִשַּׂעֲר֣וֹתmi./sa.'a.Rotmore than/ [the] hairs of רֹאשִׁי֮ro.Sh/ihead/ my שֹׂנְאַ֪יso.ne.'A/i[those who] hate/ me חִ֫נָּ֥םchi.Namwithout cause עָצְמ֣וּ'a.tze.Muthey are numerous מַ֭צְמִיתַיMatz.mi.ta/i[those who] destroy/ me אֹיְבַ֣י'o.ye.Va/ienemies/ my שֶׁ֑קֶרShe.kerfalsehood אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sher[that] which לֹא־lo'-not גָ֝זַ֗לְתִּיga.Zal.tiI stole אָ֣ז'azthen אָשִֽׁיב׃'a.ShivI will return

King James Version

They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.

Cross-references

Psalms 35:19 Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.
John 15:25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’
Psalms 109:3 They surround me with hateful words and attack me without cause.
Psalms 35:11 Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
Isaiah 53:4 Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Psalms 38:19 Many are my enemies without cause, and many hate me without reason.
Psalms 40:12 For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed within me.
Psalms 7:3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands,
Psalms 59:3 See how they lie in wait for me. Fierce men conspire against me for no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.