Outline of Chapter 64:

         Introduction         An Introduction to Psalm 64

         Inscription            Psalm 64 Inscription

         vv.     1–2           David Calls Upon God to Hide Him from the Revolutionaries

         vv.     3–6           What the Revolutionaries Are Doing

         vv.     7–9           What God will Do to the Revolutionaries

         v.       10           The Righteous Taking Refuge in the Lord

         Addendum          Psalm 64 Addendum

Charts, Short Doctrines and Maps:

         Introduction         Psalm 64 as a Chiasmos

         Introduction         The Principals of Psalm 64

         Introduction         The Historical Context of Psalm 64

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Psalm 64

         Inscription 

         v.       1              The Abbreviated Doctrine of Fear

         v.       1              Links to the Doctrine of Fear

         v.       2              Map of David’s Retreat

         v.       2              Hacker’s Typology of Terrorists

         v.       3              Links to Sins of the Tongue

         v.       5              Links to the Doctrine of Scar Tissue of the Soul

         v.      10              The Upright of Heart

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Psalm 64

         Addendum          Psalm 64 Applied to Jesus, David’s Greater Son

         Addendum          Psalm 64 as a Chiasmos Part II

         Addendum          Psalm 64 as a Chiasmos Part III

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An Introduction to Psalm 64

I ntroduction: Psalm 64 is clearly a psalm about revolution or political intrigue. We find this covered once in the history of David, and so have applied it to that period of time (2Sam. 15–19). However, this psalm certainly could be from a different period of time (also during a revolution) and it should contain doctrinal principles which can be applied throughout human history. As we will see, there are even applications to contemporary politics and spiritual things.

Most of this psalm sets up a problem (vv. 1–6) with God’s solution being provided in the final 4 verses. Although this psalm is brought to a satisfactory conclusion, we do not know if this is David looking into the future, believing that all will be resolved, or if David wrote this after he had been delivered by God, successfully putting down Absalom’s revolution. Although David clearly has a period of time when he doubts his own future as king (2Sam. 15:13–14, 19–20), before he leaves the Jerusalem vicinity—when he has ascended the Mount of Olives—David is assured of success by God when God answers his prayer in the person of Hushai the Archite (see 2Sam. 15:31–37). Many of these references will go over your head unless you understand 2Samuel 15 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Like many of David’s psalms, this gives us a look into David’s psyche, so that we get an idea as to what he is thinking and feeling, which information is limited in the Samuel narratives.

However, a psalm is not confined to an historical context. That is just from where it comes. J. Vernon McGee suggests that this will be a psalm that man in the Tribulation will hold to. When we complete the psalm, I suggest that you think about all it says and believers in the Tribulation.

Barnes outlines this chapter fairly simply: it contains first, a prayer for deliverance from enemies, with a description of their character (Psalm 64:1–6); and second, a confident expectation of deliverance and that his prayer would be answered, and that God would interpose in his behalf (Psalm 64:7–10).

Spurgeon divides up the psalm the same way, writing: From Psalm 64:1–6 he describes the cruelty and craftiness of his foes, and from Psalm 64:7–10 he prophesies their overthrow.

To speak in generalities, we, as believers, all have enemies, and these enemies will slander us behind our backs. Now, of course some believers just seem to cultivate these enemies; but if you are a growing believer, then enemies will seek you out. This psalm assures us that God is able to withstand these enemies and that He has made provision for them as far back as eternity past.

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Psalm 64 Inscription

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

Aramaic text not represented in some way in the Hebrew original is signaled by italics. The absence of italics should not be construed to mean that the targum translates literally. Aramaic verbs are translated literally; that is, perfects are generally translated as past tense, imperfects as future or jussive, participles as general present.

Latin Vulgate                          Unto the end, a psalm for David.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        To the preeminent one; a psalm to David.

Syriac (according to Clarke )   Composed by David when warned by Gad the prophet, who said, Stay not in Masrob, because Saul seeks your life.

Septuagint (Greek)                For the end, A Psalm of David.

Significant differences:           It seems like, for this beginning, the Latin and Greek always have for the end, unto the end instead. The Syriac is filled with extra stuff (which does not come from my normal source for the Syriac, but according to Clarke, as noted above).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       (A psalm by David for the music leader.)

Easy English                          (This is) for the music leader.

(It is) a psalm of David.

The Message                         A David psalm.

New Berkeley Version           Divine Judgment on the Wicked

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David

New Century Version             A Prayer Against Enemies

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

New Life Bible                        Prayer For A Safe Place.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

Beck’s American Translation Men’s Arrows and God’s

For the choir leader; a psalm by David.

God’s Word™                         For the choir director; a psalm by David.

New American Bible              For the leader. A psalm of David. A lament of a person overwhelmed by the malice of the wicked who are depicted in the Psalms as the enemies of the righteous (Ps 64:2-7). When people see God bringing upon the wicked the evil they intended against others, they will know who is the true ruler of the world (Ps 64:8-10). The final verse is a vow of praise (Ps 64:11).

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      To the conductor, a psalm from David.

Bible in Basic English             To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 To his Bandmaster

A Psalm by David.

JPS (Tanakh—1917)               For the Leader. A Psalm of David.

Judaica Press Complete T.    For the conductor, a song of David.

New Advent Bible                  Unto the end, a psalm for David.

NET Bible®                             For the music director; a psalm of David. The psalmist asks God to protect him from his dangerous enemies and then confidently affirms that God will destroy his enemies and demonstrate his justice in the sight of all observers.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    A Davidic Psalm.

English Standard Version      Hide Me from the Wicked

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

exeGeses companion Bible   To His Eminence: A Psalm by David.

LTHB                                     To the chief musician. A Psalm of David.

NASB                                     Prayer for Deliverance from Secret Enemies.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

New King James Version       Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

Syndein                                  {David's Detailed Counter-Insurgency Prayer (from II Samuel 15:30 and following)}

{Verses 1-6: 'Prayer under pressure'/'Motus Operendi of Conspiracy'}

{Subscript - Title} To the chief Musician {of the musical division - the band and choir - 4000 people} . . . a Psalm of David.

Young's Literal Translation     To the Overseer. --A Psalm of David.

The gist of this verse:          This is one of David’s many psalms designed for the chief musician.

Translation: To the Preeminent One;... As we have seen with the numerous translations above, no one is clear as to who this person is. This psalm could be dedicated to God, which is essentially how I have translated it; however, it could be designed to be conducted by the chief musician, which is how Rotherham understands it. Most translators assume that this is given over to the choir director or the conductor or the one in charge of those who sang.

We find this word as a Piel infinitive in 1Chron. 15:21 23:4 2Chron. 34:12 Ezra 3:8–9. 1Chron. 23:4 indicates that this does not have to be a supervisory position, as it reads: Of these [38,000 Levites], 24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of Yahweh; and 6000 were officers and judges. Quite obviously, you cannot have 24,000 chiefs and no Indians, these were all of the Levites assigned to work on the Temple (Ezra 3:8–9 finds this word used in this same way). However, the supervisory nature of this word seems to be clear in 1Chron. 15:21 2Chron. 34:12.

Unfortunately, the exact meaning of the lâmed preposition is also hard to determine. We find several psalms which are ascribed to David written to David; but the idea is, the psalm belongs to David. The lâmed preposition is used more often when something is given to someone else or something is for someone else, the chief meanings of the lâmed preposition. Despite the use of the lâmed preposition with David throughout the book of Psalms, I have taken this to me that this psalm is written for whomever this Preeminent person is.

Barnes comments on this portion of the inscription: This phrase in the title, “To the chief Musician,” occurs at the beginning of 53 psalms, and at the close of the hymn in Habak. 3:19. It is uniformly rendered “to the chief Musician,” and means that the psalm was intended for him, or was to be given to him, probably to regulate the manner of performing it. In no one instance does the title imply that he was the author. The word rendered “Chief Musician” is derived from [ a Hebrew word] properly meaning “to shine,” but not used in the Qal. In the Piel form it means to be conspicuous; to be over anything; to be chief; to be superintendent (2Chron. 2:2, 18 34:12) and then it means to lead in music. The meaning of the form used here, and in the other places where it occurs as a title to a psalm, is “Chief Musician,” or precentor; and the idea is, that the psalm is to be performed under his direction; or that the music is to be directed and adapted by him.

Even though we have the same preposition used here as we find used with David, when he is the author, the many times that this phrase is found in combination with the author’s name suggests more that there is a musical organization and that this song was delivered over to the Choirmaster (or conductor) of that organization to be sung and performed at various functions.

When the Ark was moved successfully into Jerusalem, specific psalms were sung. I would think that these psalms that David wrote were performed or sung with groups of attendants not unlike songs are sung today in church services.

The NIV Study Bible has its opinion on this matter: [For the director of music is] probably a liturgical notation, indicating either that the psalm was to be added to he collection of works to be used by the director of music in Israel’s worship services, or that when the psalm was used in the temple worship, it was to be spoke [or, sung?] by the leader of the Levitical choir—or by the choir itself (see 1Chron. 23:4–5, 30 [Of the overseers over the works of the house of the Lord there were twenty-four thousand, and there were six thousand scribes and judges; and four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand to praise the Lord with instruments which he made to praise the Lord...to stand in the morning to praise and give thanks to the Lord, and so in the evening] 25 [assignments are given to the sons of Korah, among others]). In this liturgical activity the Levites functioned as representatives of the worshiping congregation. Following their lead the people probably responded with “Amen” and “Praise the Lord” (Hallelujah); see 1Chron. 16:36 Neh. 5:13; compare 1Cor. 14:16 Rev. 5:14 7:12 19:4.

Translation: ...a psalm by David. David is listed as the human author; God the Holy Spirit is the Divine Author of this psalm. From time to time, there will be a verse or a passage where David seems to be thinking about one thing when he writes; and God the Holy Spirit appears to have something else in mind (that is, the same set of words can mean more than two things).

What these psalms often do is, give us a view into David’s thinking and motivation, something which is sometimes lacking in the narrative of Samuel.

This is exactly the same inscription as is found in Psalm 19 20 41. Although some of the words in the inscriptions have been explained semi-reasonably, I have not yet found a satisfying explanation for most of these words and how they might tie various psalms together.

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David Calls Upon God to Hide Him from the Revolutionaries

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

Aramaic text not represented in some way in the Hebrew original is signaled by italics. The absence of italics should not be construed to mean that the targum translates literally. Aramaic verbs are translated literally; that is, perfects are generally translated as past tense, imperfects as future or jussive, participles as general present.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   This is one of the psalms not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Targum (trans. By Cook)        Hear my voice, O God, in the time of my prayer; guard my life from the fear of the enemy.

Latin Vulgate                          Hear O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to You: deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Hear, O Elohim, my voice in my complaint;

from a fear of an enemy, You will guard my lives.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    HEAR my voice, O God, as I pray to You; preserve my life from fear of my enemy.

Septuagint (Greek)                Hear my prayer, O God, when I make my petition to You; deliver my soul from fear of the enemy.

Significant differences:           The English translation for the Latin, Syriac and Greek all appear to insert a second phrase with a verb; however, in the Hebrew there is no verb in that phrase. In all fairness, the Hebrew is moderately difficult at that point. However, what the Greek actually has at this point is: in/among/by the to-be-being-NEED/REQUIRE-ed of me; which is essentially the same as the Hebrew. It is somewhat disconcerting to me, to see the English translation of the Latin and Greek line up so well together in opposition to the Hebrew; but find out that the actual Greek agrees with the Hebrew.

In the final phrase, both the Greek and the Latin have the verb deliver; but the Hebrew has protect, guard. The Hebrew has my lives; the Latin and Greek both have my soul. The Syriac inserts the 1^st person masculine singular suffix to enemy, which is found nowhere else.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Listen to me when I complain, God!

Protect my life from the enemy's terror!

Contemporary English V.       Listen to my concerns, God, and protect me from my terrible enemies.

Easy English                          God, hear my voice as I tell you my troubles. (Then):

· you will make me safe from the enemy that I am afraid of.

Easy-to-Read Version            God, listen to me.

My enemy threatened me.

Protect my life from him!

Good News Bible (TEV)         I am in trouble, God---listen to my prayer! I am afraid of my enemies---save my life!

The Message                         Listen and help, O God. I'm reduced to a whine And a whimper, obsessed with feelings of doomsday.

New Century Version             God, listen to my complaint.

I am afraid of my enemies;

protect my life from them.

New Living Translation           O God, listen to my complaint.

Protect my life from my enemies' threats.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          O God; please hear my voice, for I am begging before You. Of my enemies I am afraid, so please come save my life!

Beck’s American Translation Hear my voice, O God, when I complain

Protect my life agaist an enemy who frightens me.

Christian Community Bible     Hear, O God, my voice as I plead, protect my life from the enemy’s threat.

God’s Word™                         Hear my voice, O God, when I complain. Protect my life from a terrifying enemy.

New American Bible              O God, hear my anguished voice;

from a dreadful foe protect my life.

NIRV                                      God, hear me as I tell you my problem.

Don't let my enemies kill me.

New Jerusalem Bible             Listen, God, to my voice as I plead, protect my life from fear of the enemy;...

New Simplified Bible              Listen to my concerns, O God, and protect me from my terrible enemies..

Today’s NIV                          Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;

protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      God, hear my voice and my meditation. Guard my life from the terror of the enemy.

Bible in Basic English             O God, let the voice of my grief come to your ear: keep my life from the fear of those who are against me.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                                             Listen, God, to the sound of my plaint,

Guard my life from the rage of my foes;...

HCSB                                     God, hear my voice when I complain. Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Hear my voice, O God, when I plead;

guard my life from the enemy’s terror.

New Advent Bible                  Hear O God, my prayer, when I make supplication to you: deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy.

NET Bible®                             Listen to me [Heb "my voice."], O God, as I offer my lament!

Protect [The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist's request.] my life from the enemy's terrifying attacks [Heb "from the terror of [the] enemy." "Terror" is used here metonymically for the enemy's attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist's life.].

The Scriptures 1998              Hear my voice, O Elohim, in my meditation; Guard my life from the threats of the enemy.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

American KJV                        Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

Concordant Literal Version    Hear, O Elohim, my voice in my concern; From alarm of the enemy preserve my life.

exeGeses companion Bible   Hear my voice, O Elohim, in my meditation;

guard my life from dread of the enemy:...

LTHB                                     O God, hear my voice in my complaint; guard my life from the terror of the enemy.

Syndein                                  Hear my voice, O 'Elohiym/Godhead . . . in my prayer . . . guard my life from the terror {pressure} of the enemy.

A Voice in the Wilderness      Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

World English Bible                Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

Young’s Updated LT             Hear, O God, my voice, in my meditation, From the fear of an enemy You keep my life.

The gist of this verse:          David asks God to hear him and to preserve him from his enemy.

Translation: Hear my voice, O Elohim, within my concern:... Many of David’s psalms begin this way (although these words are not formulaic). David has a serious matter before him and he is in a difficult spot, so he does not simply ask, but he orders God to listen to him. We have a God Who is actively involved in our lives. We are told to come to Him in prayer, and David does this quite often; and frequently takes his requests and puts them in writing.

David has a fascinating relationship with God because there seems to be very little which occurs which can be clearly seen as miraculous in David’s life. In the Bible, he consults the Ephod of God once; but, apart from that, there does not appear to be a direct communication between David and God (God will speak to David through prophet intermediaries). So David knows God through the Word, through prophets and he speaks to God in prayer. In other words, David’s relationship to God is not much different than ours.

We tend to overemphasize some of the miraculous things which occur in Scripture, but, given 6000 years of human history, miracles are relatively rare, and much less powerful than we would think. Moses led the children of Abraham out of Egypt, and many mighty signs were done in the process. However, rather than being strong in faith, the older generation to leave Exodus (whom I have dubbed Gen X), nearly all died the sin unto death out in the desert, most of them never setting one foot in the Land of Promise. They saw the sea parted, they saw the various plagues, the water turned to blood—and yet they died the sin unto death. Jesus and the disciples performed many miracles, and yet, most of Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah. We tend to think of these miracles as being all that is needed to seal the deal; but the Bible narrative tells us something very different. The power is to be found in the Word of God rather than in a set of miracles.

Given that, you may ask, “Well, then, what’s with all the miracles by Jesus?” These miracles were His credit card; they gave him an audience; they got the attention of the people of Palestine. However, these miracles did not insure that people would believe in Him. Secondly, our Lord had a very short earthly ministry. He could not simply come and die for our sins and leave. People needed to know Him; people needed to recognize Who He was. People needed to be with Him, and then realize that He went to the cross and was raised again.

Even though His earthly ministry was quite short and very limited geographically, what Jesus did was leave enough of an impression, through His miracles, but mostly through His teaching, that He was Who He claimed to be.

So far, this verse reads: Listen to my voice O God, and hear my concern:... Interestingly enough, even though there are bits and pieces of the inscription which are found over and over again, the same is not true of these psalms, even though many of David’s psalms appear to begin in a similar way. That is, David calling for God’s help—for God to hear him—has parallels in other psalms, but we do not tend to find one entire first verse repeated in several psalms.

David has a serious concern which he wants to raise with God.

By the way that this is phrased, it is possible that David wants God to understand and to hear his emotions, which have been stirred up due to the situation he is in (where his own son is leading a revolution against him). So, there is more than simply a concern here; this is a very difficult situation that David finds himself in.

So far, this verse reads: Listen to my voice O God, and hear my concern:... Barnes writes: The use of the word voice here would seem to imply that this was audible prayer, or that, though alone, he gave utterance to his petitions aloud. We have this same use of the word often in the Psalms, making it probable that even private prayers were uttered in an audible manner. David’s prayers like this, which he turned into psalms, would become public—they would become psalms that Jews would sing for many generations.

As an aside, if God hears us, whether we speak audibly or think prayers to Him, why would we ever speak our prayers aloud? Because angels cannot read our thoughts and we are in the midst of the Angelic Conflict. Therefore, prayer which is given audibly (and correctly) becomes a part of the Angelic Conflict.

Translation: ...You will protect my life [or, happiness, prosperity] from the fear of [my] enemy. David, as a soldier quickly coming up through the ranks; and later as king over Israel, faced a great deal of opposition throughout his life. Furthermore, as a believer in Jesus Christ, he faces a great deal of opposition. Despite the fact that David was honest and fair, he was also human and he also made mistakes. He faced many people who desired his job—many from his own household in fact.

Application: No matter what a great guy you are, if you have a position of authority, you will be opposed and denigrated. If you are a believer, you will have enemies in your life, even if you do nothing intentionally to gain them.

I also want you to remember the sort of father that David was—he was, for all intents and purposes, an absentee father. He clearly spent time raising Solomon, but he did not give this same time to his other sons. He had 10 wives and 10 mistresses, and children by many of them, so how could he be a father to all of these and still be king? It was impossible. Essentially, these were welfare wives and welfare children. They were supported by the state (David, as king, was in a unique position to do this). So, these young men grew up without David’s consistent strong hand (we have seen over and over again how indulgent David was as a father); just as if they are welfare children. What sort of an attitude does a welfare child learn to have? He learns to think that he is entitled to much in his life. And what attitude does a king’s son have? He learns to consider himself entitled. As a result, once these boys become teens and young adults, in their minds, unless their mother was great, they considered themselves entitled to a life of ease and to eventually become king. With this attitude, they become David’s worst enemies.

In the narrative of David’s life, this is explored with two of his sons: Absalom and Adonijah. However, no doubt, David’s first set of sons were, on the whole, probably a very miserable lot (compare Micah 7:6 Matt. 10:35–36). However, when it comes to David’s sons, their arrogance and entitlement attitudes were his fault.

Application: If you are a welfare mother or you are a absentee father, your children are going to be substandard; they are going to be more likely to feel entitled, they will be less likely to value education, they will be more likely to be criminals and more likely to use drugs than their contemporaries in two-parent homes. Female children are more likely to get pregnant at an early age without being married.

Our verse reads: Hear my voice, O Elohim, within my concern: You will protect my life [or, happiness, prosperity] from the fear of [my] enemy. David is not telling God that He will protect his life from the fear of his enemy, but that God will protect all that his life is about from the fear of his enemy. Life is in the plural. Literally, this reads: You will protect my lives from fear of the enemy. So, David is not actually concerned for his own life. If that was what he wanted, he would have written: You will protect my life from my enemy. He is not asking God for protection, per se. He is asking for his well-being, his welfare, his happiness to be free of the fear of his enemy (who is Absalom in this context; but this certainly applies to the enemy of anyone who has authority).

Application: You will have enemies in your life. You do not want to spend all of your life sleepless, in fear of what they might do, of the vicious things that they say or the ways that they attack you (these can be verbal attacks). You do not want your happiness and your well-being destroyed because you are constantly thinking about your enemies and all that they are doing to you.

v. 1 reads: Hear my voice, O Elohim, within my concern: You will protect my life [or, happiness, prosperity] from the fear of [my] enemy. Despite David’s changing circumstances and his exit from Jerusalem, he can have perfect stability and happiness. He knows that God will protect his inner peace and stability from inordinate fear of his enemy.

Application: Because of your enemies, the circumstances of your life will change, and many times, dramatically. You have to realize that, you have a limited number of years, and that you will go through many different stages of your life. If God allows your enemies to, for instance, be forced out of a job, remember that God means this for good, even if your enemies are looking to ruin your life (Gen. 50:20). Where you have to be careful is in your mental attitude. Let’s say you are forced out of your job (as David was by Absalom). You cannot spent the next 5 years of your life being bitter toward your enemies, the ones who forced you out of a job (or, say, kept you from moving up in your company, or kept you from moving up in rank). You put their future in God’s hands and move on. Gen. 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” The big changes wrought in your life—even if they came at the hands of your enemy—are changes which God means for good.

Application: Let’s take this to a different realm entirely: I write this in 2012 and Barack Obama, the worst president of my lifetime, has been reelected. In his partisan ideology, he believes that government can do everything better and that government ought to be in control of everything. He also has no problem with buying votes. So, do I, as a conservative, join a secession movement? Do I spend the next four years in sadness and fear of what this man can do (and how feckless conservative Republicans appear to be)? Do I join an underground militia and plot a revolution? No, no and no. Obama’s reelection is a part of God’s plan. Of course President Obama is going to pull us in a far left direction; of course he believes that we ought to look to government rather than to God, family or friends. But this is all a part of God’s great plan, for our individual lives and for corporate America. And, whatever you do, you do not become a part of a revolution against our government, no matter how crazy they get.

Listen to my voice O God, and hear my concern: I ask that You protect my life (and my happiness and prosperity) from the fear of my enemy. Do not allow me to become consumed in my life with the fear of my enemy. This is achieved with Bible doctrine in our souls.

Application: It is clear by David’s psalms that he had very difficult times in his life (which is not quite as clearly taught in the narrative of his life). We are in the devil’s world. We are going to face difficult circumstances, intransigent enemies, and unreasonable groups of people. There are some times that, in the difficulties that we face, that we are forced to go to God in prayer. This difficulties are for our benefit and these difficulties move along the plan of God. The analogy that comes to mind is, having a root canal. This is not a pleasant experience and it can be expensive, if you pay for your own dental. Most people, during a root canal, can think of a million places that they would rather be. However, the end result is, after the crown has been attached, that you have a tooth that is better than new. You cannot be bitter about your life or about the circumstances of your life. If you are upset, then you join with David and you make your concerns known to God. God will deal with those things which we cannot. This is all done to His glory and it is all a part of His plan.

Look at Paul for a moment, when he was defending his apostleship to the Corinthians: Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. (2Cor. 11:23–31; NIV). Most of us have not had a life like that. We have had difficulties, but few of us have faced the problems that Paul faced. What do we get from Paul’s life? The epistles, which guide us in the spiritual life. We understand our day-to-day existence based upon what Paul writes, and he wrote those things under pressures that most of us cannot fathom. He does not mention until later the physical malady which was a part of his life for decades (1Cor. 12:5–10). When I read passages like this, my life is a cakewalk existence by comparison. I have had a few problems and a few enemies, but God has blessed me far more than I deserve. So I try not to complain too much when a difficulty is thrown my way. Heck, most of them are somewhat of my own making anyway.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        You will hide me from the secret [council] of those who do evil, from the turmoil of those who practice deceit.

Latin Vulgate                          You have protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from the multitude of the workers of iniquity.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        You will hide me from an assembly of those doing evil;

[You will hide me] from those making trouble.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    Hide me from the wickedness of the evil one; from the corruption of the workers of iniquity,...

Septuagint (Greek)                You have sheltered me from the conspiracy of them that do wickedly; from the multitude of them that work iniquity;...

Significant differences:           We cannot necessarily call the group of evil men secret of a conspiracy. However, this participle is a masculine plural, so it cannot mean the evil one (Syriac).

In the English translations above, when dealing with a conspiracy (in the Greek) or corruption (in the Syriac), that may come out of the exegesis, but it does not match the Hebrew exactly.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       Keep me safe from secret plots of corrupt and evil gangs.

Easy English                          ...you will hide me from the secret ideas of bad people

· you will keep me from *noisy crowds of *evil people.

Easy-to-Read Version            Protect me from the secret plans of my enemies.

Hide me from those wicked people.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Protect me from the plots of the wicked, from mobs of evil people.

The Message                         Don't let them find me-- the conspirators out to get me,...

New Century Version             Hide me from the conspiracy of wicked men,

from the noisy gangs of the evil-doers [Like a few frogs in a pond, so those on the wrong side manage to seem many.],....

New Life Bible                        Hide me from the secret plans of the sinful and from the noise of those who do bad things.

New Living Translation           Hide me from the plots of this evil mob,

from this gang of wrongdoers.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          From the conspiracy of the wicked give me shelter. from the crowd of all the unrighteous.

Beck’s American Translation Hide me from men secretly talking about doing evil,

from the mob of wicked men.

Christian Community Bible     Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the designs of the evil-plotters,...

God’s Word™                         Hide me from the secret plots of criminals, from the mob of troublemakers.

New American Bible              Hide me from the malicious crowd,

the mob of evildoers.

NIRV                                      Hide me from those who make evil plans against me.

Hide me from that crowd of people who are doing evil.

New Jerusalem Bible             ...hide me from the league of the wicked, from the gang of evil-doers.

New Simplified Bible              Keep me safe from secret plots of corrupt evildoers.

Revised English Bible            Protect me from the intrigues of the wicked,

from the mob of evildoers.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Hide me from the secrets of the evildoers, and from the mob crafting vice.

Bible in Basic English             Keep me safe from the secret purpose of wrongdoers; from the band of the workers of evil;...

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Hide me from the plots of the bad,

From the mob, who would do me a wrong;...

HCSB                                     Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of evildoers,...

Judaica Press Complete T.    You shall hide me from the counsel of evildoers, from the gathering of workers of iniquity,...

New Advent Bible                  You have protected me from the assembly of the malignant; from the multitude of the workers of iniquity.

NET Bible®                             Hide me from the plots of evil men,

from the crowd of evildoers [Heb "workers of wickedness."].

New Heart English Bible        Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;...

The Scriptures 1998              Hide me from the secret plans of the evil-doers, From the tumult of the workers of wickedness,...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    Conceal me from the deliberation of evildoers, From the foregathering of the contrivers of lawlessness,...

Darby Translation                  Hide me from the secret counsel of evil-doers, from the tumultuous crowd of the workers of iniquity.

Updated Emphasized Bible    Will you hide me, From the conclave of evil-doers, From the crowd of workers of iniquity.

English Standard Version      Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers,...

exeGeses companion Bible   ...hide me from the private counsel of vilifiers

- from the conspiracy of doers of mischief ...

The Geneva Bible                  Hide me from the [That is, from their secret malice] secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection [That is, their outward violence. ] of the workers of iniquity: ...

LTHB                                     Hide me from the counsel of those who injure, from the tumult of evildoers,...

Modern KJV                           Hide me from the council of those who injure, from the rebelling of the workers of iniquity,...

New King James Version       Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,...

New RSV                               Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

from the scheming of evildoers,...

Syndein                                  Cause me to be hid from the conspiracy of the wicked/'evil ones' . . . {Ahithophel, Absalom and David's nephew Amasa (commander of revolutionary army} from the revolt/insurrection/mob of the workers of iniquity. {primarily believers out of fellowship} {Note: This is the revolt of David's son Absalom. These 'wicked' are those who reject David's authority.}.

A Voice in the Wilderness      Hide me from the counsel of the wicked, from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity,...

World English Bible                Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, From the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;...

Young's Updated LT              Hide me from the secret counsel of evil doers, From the tumult of workers of iniquity.

The gist of this verse:          David asks to be protected from the evil conspiracies of his enemies and the mobs of people who are against him.

From JesusWalk.com

Translation: You will hide me from an assembly of those who do evil;... David is concerned about an organized group here that does evil. When dealing with a group, it is reasonable to assume that this is an organized conspiracy or revolution. This suggests that this psalm is correctly placed with the Absalom revolution. It is the revolution against David which is covered in the most detail. What we find recorded here seems to be very close to what David had to deal with.

We need to consider David’s words. You will hide me from an assembly of those who do evil;... David is on the run, and there are conspirators throughout all of Israel. David is asking God to keep him hidden from those who are working against him; from those who would kill him.

If you studied 2Sam. 15 (which helps here to understand this psalm) (HTML) (PDF) (WPD), then you know that Absalom has plotted to become king over all Israel, and that David is leading a small army out of Jerusalem by way of the Mount of Olives. At this point, he does not know how powerful Absalom’s support is. David does not know if Absalom will be leading an army of thousands or tens of thousands against him. So David is asking God to keep him hidden as he moves in a northeasterly direction, along the mountains outside of Jerusalem, along the Dead Sea and across the Jordan River. David does not know exactly what Absalom is going to do. The normal approach would be to figure out where David is, and then cut him off with a large army before he crosses over the Jordan. It would be ideal to pin David’s army with the Jordan River and the Dead Sea at their backs, so David wants God to keep him hidden from Absalom until he can figure out what to do next.

Barnes writes: Here the reference is to the consultations of his enemies for the purpose of doing him wrong. Of course, as they took this counsel together, he could not know it, and the word secret is not improperly applied to it. The idea here is, that although he did not know what that counsel or purpose was, or what was the result of their consultations, yet God knew, and he could guard him against it.

So far, this verse reads: You will hide me from an assembly of those who do evil;... David is leading several military groups, including his own bodyguards. He cannot really hide. He is not really asking God to find him a cave where he can go and not be seen. David with this army is going to be quite visible to anyone nearby. So what David is really asking for is to be protected from his enemies. Bullinger correctly suggests that the verb to hide is a metonym for what David is actually asking God for: protection.

Translation:...[and You will hide me] from a crowd those who make trouble;... We repeat the min preposition here, which suggests that the verb at the beginning of this verse should also be repeated. David expects God to hid him from a crowd, company or throng of those who are doers of iniquity and makers of trouble (troublemakers).

When there is a revolution, there are two primary groups of people. There are those who want the power, and they use revolution as the means to grab power. They may or may not personally subscribe to the political ideology that they use to gain power. These are the criminal revolutionaries. They are generally charismatic with the ability to put up a great facade.

The Geneva Bible suggests a twofold opposition in this way: those who act from secret malice (who gather and plot surreptitiously); and those who act in outward violence against David. The former do not want to be known as in clear opposition to David, even though they are (Absalom meeting with his cohorts in Hebron—2Sam. 15:6–12); and there are those who just dislike David and will harass him whenever given the opportunity (2Sam. 16:5–8).

The first group are the criminal element who want the power; the second group are the crusaders, who have been convinced that removing David from being king is a good thing. The first group are secretive and organized; the second group is incohesive and emotional.

The latter group are the idealistic types, who recognize that things are not good right now, and if they could just replace those in power with someone else, things would be much better (to their own way of thinking). And they may associate this with a myriad of reasons and slogans (equality, fairness, justice, etc.). This is the larger group, and there need to be enough of these crusader types to overthrow the existing power structure. These are the ones who must be manipulated, both to enter into the revolution and then to accept the new leaders after the revolution has come to a close.

This second group of people do not know that they are participating in evil (although most of them will clearly see evil acts done by those on their own side); and they often have an idealized view of who the criminal revolutionaries are. These are the kids who would wear a Mao or a Che Guevara shirt. When they see evil acts done against those they oppose, they generally will accept it, believing that this will serve the greater good in the end; believing that the ends justify the means.

This gives us: You will hide me from an assembly of those who do evil; [and You will hide me] from a crowd those who make trouble. The first group are those who work behind the scenes and they do everything that they can to put the revolution into motion; but it is the second group, who are the patsies—the useful idiots, the crusaders—who are propagandized into doing the will of the criminals. They are the ones who are thinking that they are doing good.

Application: We had a good example of this in the revolution in Egypt (circa 2010). People began to gather in Tahrir Square, and they tweeted each other and facebooked each other and they made plans to demonstrate and they developed talking points. However, as soon as they overthrew the former ruler, the Muslim Brotherhood stepped in and were organized to win the elections. Prior to this, the Muslim brotherhood played a very small part, which outside observers expected would be the part that they played after the revolution. Such pundits were completely wrong. This is not difficult; all you have to do is understand that revolution is evil; and then you understand when a revolution like this goes bad.

See the Doctrine of Revolution (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) for more details on this (this doctrine was updated as of December 7, 2012).

This is true, to a lesser extent, of allegiance to a political party—they will justify whatever members of their party do. We saw this when liberals railed against George W. Bush for his deficit spending; but then saw no problem with Barack Obama, his successor, was running up deficits 3x and 4x as much (which is nearly unprecedented). The exact same people who said, over and over and over again, “Clinton gave us a surplus, but Bush took us into deficits” voted for Obama a second time, even after he ran unheard of deficits 4 years in a row. My point in this example is, there are people out there who can be guided and molded into supporting a revolution. They will riot in the streets, they will throw rocks, and they can even been persuaded to carry firearms and to kill those who are preserving the status quo.

Application/tangent: It is certainly well worth contemplating, what ought the United States government do when another country is in revolution? This is an important question for citizens and leaders alike, as we witness, in any given year, several (and sometimes many) revolutions. We as individual believers actually have little say in such matters, and our actions are to pray for the wise decisions of our leaders. However, we need to understand that a revolution is evil, despite the fact that the people are rebelling against vicious dictators. We have to recognize that there is an undercurrent of criminals who desire power who may not be quite as apparent from the beginning. At the same time, we have to realistically understand that you cannot stop a train and that some dictators are brutal beyond imagination (like Saddam Hussain). There are times when we ought to be involved (Korea, Vietnam, Iraq) and times when we ought not be involved directly. However, no matter what the situation, we support our own nation and our military. Once we have committed troops, then we need to support those troops and the direction our government is going in. And the stronger and more righteous that America is, the greater chance that our influence might be for good. However, as believers, what is always key is evangelization and the teaching of the Bible. If this is not going on, then the best we are doing is accomplishing human good. Although George W. Bush was a good president, the military policy of keeping Bibles out of Iraq and Afghanistan was a misguided one. A lack of emphasis upon religious freedom, when we held all the cards, what a great mistake. If we do not allow the gospel to permeate their darkness, then we have no business being there.

Application/tangent: We have the misguided impression that, what is key in these Muslim countries is establishing a Jeffersonian democracy. These are Muslims, many of whom are so indoctrinated with evil, that they behave quite irrationally. The key is not democracy; the key is Christianity. No matter what government is established, if Christianity is permitted and the Word of God is taught, we have a greater chance for a long-term positive relationship with that government.

Application/tangent: This may help you to see how evil the movement is to downplay any religious talk or symbols in relation to government. Our nation and our government was founded by Christian believers—our founders were not a bunch of deists, as many of our high school history books lie about. They believed in an active involvement by our Creator, and many at the constitutional convention saw the Constitution as being, to some degree, sacred, and as an act of God’s influence upon them. Since these things are a part of our American heritage, it is wrong to remove all vestiges of the Christian influence in the creation of the United States. Because the more politically correct we become, the less that our government will support evangelism overseas. And if missionary activity from the United States dries up, we will be replaced as a client nation.

Application/tangent: Now, to bring this to a full circle, if you want an explanation as to why Barack Obama got reelected as president, this is your answer: In Korea and Japan, we sent in missionaries and Bibles. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we did not. We failed as a client nation by being politically correct; and God has given us the government that we deserve.

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What the Revolutionaries Are Doing

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        Who have sharpened their tongue as a sword, bent their bows, smeared their arrows with deadly and bitter poison.

Latin Vulgate                          For they have whetted their tongues like a sword; they have bent their bow a bitter thing,...

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Who they have sharpened as the sword their tongue;

they have bent [the bow to shoot] their arrow word bitter.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    ...Who whet their tongues like a sword, and charge their words with poison like an arrow,...

Septuagint (Greek)                ...who have sharpened their tongues as a sword; they have bent their bow maliciously;...

Significant differences:           There do appear to be missing words provided possibly by the targum; or these words would be understood by someone who knows the language. The English translation from the Latin uses the word for rather than the word who. Tongues appears to be in the plural in the Latin, Greek and Syriac; but it is singular in the Hebrew.

We have the verb to bend which is usually applied to a bow, which word is not found here. The targum supplies this word. The Latin and Greek also supply the word bow (I confirmed this for the Greek). The targum and the Syriac appear to add in the word poison (which would refer to the tips of the arrows). However, the Hebrew is clear that a bitter word is what is being spoken of.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Hide me from the secret plots of wicked people;

hide me from the schemes of evildoers

                                               ³               who sharpen their tongues like swords.

They aim their arrow-a cruel word-

                                               ⁴     from their hiding places

so as to shoot an innocent person. Several verses are given to provide full context.

Contemporary English V.       Their words cut like swords, and their cruel remarks sting like sharp arrows.

Easy English                          (These *evil people):

· make their *tongues sharp *like *swords

· shoot words that hurt *like *arrows...

Easy-to-Read Version            They have told many bad lies about me.

Their tongues are like sharp swords,

their bitter words like arrows.

Good News Bible (TEV)         They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like arrows.

The Message                         Using their tongues as weapons, flinging poison words, poison-tipped arrow-words.

New Berkeley Version           ...who sharpen their tongues like a sword,

who aim poisoned words like arrows [Poisoned arrows are usually fatal if they hit.].

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          For, they've sharpened their tongues just like broadswords, and in bitterness stretched tight their bows,...

God’s Word™                         They sharpen their tongues like swords. They aim bitter words like arrows...

New American Bible              They sharpen their tongues like swords,

bend their bows of poison words. Ps 11:2; 37:14; 55:22; 57:5.

NIRV                                      They make their tongues like sharp swords.

They aim their words like deadly arrows.

New Jerusalem Bible             They sharpen their tongues like a sword, aim their arrows of poisonous abuse,...

New Simplified Bible              Their words cut like swords, and their cruel remarks sting like sharp arrows.

Revised English Bible            They sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim venomous words like arrows...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             Who make their tongues sharp like a sword, and whose arrows are pointed, even bitter words;...

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Whose teeth are as sharp as a sword,

Whose tongue shoots, like darts, bitter words,...

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               ...who whet their tongues like swords;

they aim their arrows—cruel words—...

NET Bible®                             They [Heb "who." A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.] sharpen their tongues like a sword;

they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge [Heb "a bitter word."],...

NIV, ©2011                             They sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

American KJV                        Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:...

The Amplified Bible                ...Who whet their tongues like a sword, who aim venomous words like arrows,...

Concordant Literal Version    Who whet their tongue like a sword; They position their arrow--a bitter word--...

English Standard Version      ...who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,...

The Geneva Bible                  Who whet their tongue like a sword, [and] bend [their bows to shoot] their arrows, [even] bitter words [False reports and slanders].

LTHB                                     ...who sharpen their tongue like a sword; they tread their arrows, a bitter word,...

Syndein                                   {Description of the Pressure}

Who sharpen their tongue like a sword and bend their bows to shoot their arrows . . . even bitter words. {maligning, slander, judging, gossip, etc.}.

World English Bible                Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And aim their arrows, deadly words,...

Young's Literal Translation     Who sharpened as a sword their tongue, They directed their arrow--a bitter word.

The gist of this verse:          David’s enemies have first used words against him; they sharpened their arguments against him to inflict the greatest damage.

Translation: Who have sharpened their tongue as a sword;... Who refers back to the conspirators of the previous verse. They have used their tongues like swords; they have sharpened their tongues as swords. This means, the things that they have said cut into David. These things have undermined his authority as king. It is because of these things that were said that so many people were convinced to revolt against David.

Essentially what happened was, maligning, judging and gossiping were used to destroy David as a king, and this worked. Some of the things which were said were probably true; some were exaggerated. Such things were not simply spread by Absalom, but many people because of David’s adultery and then his killing of Bathsheba’s husband were noised about. This, along with his inability to properly judge his own sons were some of the true things that were spoken of.

Spurgeon describes it in this way: Fresh faults discovered, evil motives imputed, exaggerations invented, lies forged, innuendoes suggested, old slanders furbished, and ancient hatreds rekindled.

The sharpening of these tongues indicate that the people who spoke against him did not just willy nilly say bad things about David. They thought about these things and planned them out and determined what would have the greatest negative affect upon David.

Application: In the previous 2012 presidential election, we saw such poisonous ads used during the republican primary and during the general election. In the general election, candidate Romney was presented as someone who like to fire people; whose actions sometimes resulted in people dying; and who hated dogs. These approaches for many conservatives seems both vicious and silly. However, these things worked. The Obama campaign and their allies knew how to sharpen their words to have the maximum negative impact on candidate Romney. As a result, many people who would have voted against Obama stayed away from the polls simply because they did not like either candidate.

Application: We have seen all kinds of language used against the TEA party faction. They are called extreme, racist, tea-baggers (which is actually a gay slur), tea people, incestuous xenophobes, etc. Now, this is a loosely organized group of people who are dissatisfied with Washington D.C. who oppose government overreach, government overspending, government over-regulation, and government limiting of freedoms. In other words, this is a very reasonable movement with very reasonable and realistic goals. People of all ages and races belong to the TEA party (many Black politicians are favorites of the TEA party, like Herman Cain, Tim Scott and Allen West). The point being is, these are not extreme racist tea-baggers. The problem with the TEA party is, their goals do not coincide with political goals in Washington, which is to drain the treasury dry and then some. This is not just a Democrat problem, although that is, for all intents and purposes, their party platform. It is also true of Republicans, who pretend to be concerned about government over-regulation and overspending, but who have participated in overspending which is as bad as Democrats (they have signed off on all of the Obama spending). Throw in those from the TEA party who are not looking to go to Washington just to get along, and that is problematic for both parties.

So, just as a respectable group of people are slandered mercilessly, so it was true for David in his time. My point is not that David was a perfect man and his detractors were not; David was a flawed king, whose flaws are studied in great detail between 2Sam. 11–15. However, David believed strongly in the Revealed Member of the Godhead and loved the Word of God. His detractors, not so much.

Bear in mind that this entire revolution against David is based upon sins of the tongue. No verbal sins and there is no revolution.

Application: Let’s bring this up to date: there is no election of Barack Obama without sins of the tongue directed against George W. Bush. Many of these are ingrained in our thinking, such as, “Bush lied; people died”; “Bush inherited a surplus of turned it into a deficit”; “cowboy diplomacy”; etc. Anyone who reads this up until 2025, perhaps, knows these sayings.

Because of the sin nature in all of us, politicians exploit sins of the tongue.

Application: Sins of the tongue were used by the Republican challengers in 2012 against one another, each trying to brand others with a label which might stick. However, the greatest attack of sins of the tongue were the women making accusations against Herman Cain. Now, I have no idea which accusations were true, if any. No proof or substantiation was ever provided. However, one thing was certain: nothing that Cain did was even close to what President Bill Clinton did, which ought to be clear when he paid off Paula Jones $850,000 in a court settlement (insofar as I know, no woman has sued Herman Cain). It was also quite suspicious that one of Cain’s most vocal accusers lived in the same apartment building as David Axelrod.

Translation:...[and who] have bent [the bow to shoot] their arrow [as if poisoned with] a bitter word;... Here is a verse which is fairly easy to understand, although there appear to be some missing words. Now, it is not clear whether these words dropped out of the text or whether they could be left out, and the reader of the Hebrew language would have the wherewithal to figure out what was missing. The word to bend is applied to a bow (not found in the Hebrew, but it is found in the Greek). Something about arrow is found here; whether it is to be shot from the bow or whether it is to be covered with a poison on its tip, we do not know. However, it is closely associated with bitter word. So, what these conspirators say—their bitter words—these are like arrows which poison the people against King David. They are even more effective than a small army attacking David; these bitter words turn the people of Israel against David.

Barnes comments: That is, they prepare for this - as they make ready to shoot who bend their bows, and fix their arrows on the string. The idea here is, that this was deliberate, or was the result of counsel and purpose. It was not an outbreak of mere passion and excitement; it was by fixed design and careful preparation.

Part of the conspiracy against David was, people knew about his affair with Bathsheba, that he may have had something to do with the killing of her husband, and that he ordered his daughter Tamar to go to his son Amnon’s home, where he raped her—and David did nothing about that. Those are the things which are true, and there would have been reasons for people to know about these things (as has been discussed in the narrative). As is true with all interesting gossip, likely people put their own spin on these incidents, added in a few details, and spread the rumors. These rumors were poisonous to David. The people of Israel had develop a thoroughly self-righteous attitude toward David (which would explain why Absalom was able to cause Israel to rebel against David). These words combined with the self-righteousness of some people made it as if they were shooting poisoned arrows about, poisoning the public about David. So, although many commentators speak of David as being innocent, that is not the case. However, his position as king was a matter of divine authority. God put David in charge and God could remove him at any time.

The psalms speak of verbal sins on several occasions: Like a sharpened razor, your tongue devises destruction, working treachery (Psalm 52:2). I am in the midst of lions; I lie down with those who devour men. Their teeth are spears and arrows; their tongues are sharp swords (Psalm 57:4). Look, they spew from their mouths--sharp words from their lips. "For who," they say, "will hear?" (Psalm 59:7). And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies; it pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell. For every creature--animal or bird, reptile or fish--is tamed and has been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison (James 3:6–8). See also Prov. 12:18 30:14 Isa. 54:17.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        To shoot in secret, without blame; [or, at the one without blame.] suddenly they will shoot him and they will not fear.

Latin Vulgate                          To shoot in secret the undefiled. They will shoot at him on a sudden, and will not fear. The second two phrases are actually a portion of the following verse.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        To shoot [arrows] in a secret place;

a blameless one—suddenly they shoot him,

and they are not afraid.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    ...That they may shoot in secret at the innocent; suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

Septuagint (Greek)                ...to shoot in secret at the blameless; they will shoot him suddenly, and will not fear.

Significant differences:           The chief different in the first phrase is the addition of a preposition at in the English translation of the Syriac and Greek. I place blameless one with the second phrase, which is a matter of interpretation. Given the lack of a preposition, I believe it fits there.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           ...so as to shoot an innocent person.

They shoot without warning and without fear.

Contemporary English V.       They fearlessly ambush and shoot innocent people.

Easy English                          ...shoot from secret places at good people

· shoot when people do not think it will happen

· are not afraid (when they have done it)... V. 5a included for context.

Easy-to-Read Version            Then suddenly, without fear [Or, "without honor" or "without respect."],

they shoot from their hiding places,

at a simple, honest man.

The Message                         They shoot from ambush, shoot without warning, not caring who they hit.

New Berkeley Version           To shoot from ambush at the innocent

they shoot unexpectedly and without self-reproach.

New Century Version             From their hiding places they shoot at innocent people;

they shoot suddenly and are not afraid.

New Life Bible                        They shoot at the man without blame from their hiding place. They are quick to shoot at him and are not afraid.

New Living Translation           They shoot from ambush at the innocent,

attacking suddenly and fearlessly.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          ...to shoot from hiding at the unblemished. they'll shoot at him and not fear.

Beck’s American Translation ...to shoot at the innocent from their hiding-places.

They shoot suddenly, without warning.

Christian Community Bible     ³ Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the designs of the evil-plotters, ⁴ who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows, ⁵ shooting at the innocent from cover, shooting suddenly without fear. Vv. 3–5 included for context.

God’s Word™                         ...to shoot at innocent people from their hiding places. They shoot at them suddenly, without any fear.

New American Bible              They shoot at the innocent from ambush,

they shoot him in a moment and do not fear.

NIRV                                      They shoot from their hiding places at people who aren't guilty of doing anything wrong.

They shoot quickly. They aren't afraid of being caught.

New Jerusalem Bible             ...shoot at the innocent from cover, shoot suddenly, with nothing to fear.

New Simplified Bible              They fearlessly ambush and shoot innocent people.

Revised English Bible            ...to shoot down the innocent from cover,

shooting suddenly, themselves unseen.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      They whet their tongues as a sword, and tread their bitter words as an arrow

directed to the faultless from the covert. Suddenly they direct to him, and fear nothing. Vv. 3–4 are placed together for context.

Bible in Basic English             So that in secret they may let loose their arrows at the upright, suddenly and unseen.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 ...Which they cast from their dens on the good!

HCSB                                     ...shooting from concealed places at the innocent. They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.

New Advent Bible                  ...to shoot in secret the undefiled. Because this is a Catholic Bible, the rest of this verse is found with the following verse.

NET Bible®                             ...in order to shoot down the innocent [The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.] in secluded places.

They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation [Heb "and are unafraid." The words "of retaliation" are supplied in the translation for clarification.].

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                Who shoot from ambush at the blameless man; suddenly do they shoot at him, without self-reproach or fear.

Concordant Literal Version    To shoot at the flawless from concealment. Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

A Conservative Version         Hide me from the secret counsel of evil-doers, from the tumult of the workers of iniquity, who have whet their tongue like a sword, and have aimed their arrows, even bitter words, that they may shoot in secret places at a blameless man. Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. Vv. 2–4 given for context.

Context Group Version          That they may shoot in secret places at the whole { or fully-developed }: Suddenly they shoot at him, and aren't afraid.

English Standard Version      ...shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...to shoot the integrious from the coverts;

shoot suddenly, and not awe.

The Geneva Bible                  That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not [To be without fear of God and reverence of man, is a sign of reprobation.].

Green’s Literal Translation    ² Hide me from the counsel of those who injure, from the tumult of evildoers, ³ who sharpen their tongue like a sword; they tread their arrows, a bitter word, ⁴ so that they may shoot at the innocent from a lurking place; suddenly they shoot at him, and fear not. Vv. 2–4 included for context.

Hebrew Names Version         ...to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.

LTHB                                     ...so that they may shoot at the innocent from a lurking place; suddenly they shoot at him, and fear not.

Modern KJV                           ...so that they may shoot at the blameless one from a lurking place; suddenly they shoot at him, and fear not.

NASB                                     ...To shoot from [Lit in] concealment at the blameless;

Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.

Syndein                                  They who shoot 'from ambush'/'in secret' at the equipped/complete/honorable {doctrine in the soul - mature and in some form of authority} . . . suddenly . . . do they shoot at him . . . and fear not.

Updated Bible Version 2.11   That they may shoot in secret places at the perfect: Suddenly they shoot at him, and aren't afraid.

World English Bible                To shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.

Young's Updated LT              To shoot in secret places the perfect, Suddenly they shoot him, and fear not.

The gist of this verse:          They ambush David, shooting him without any fear of recrimination.

Translation: To shoot [arrows] from [lit., in] a secret place. This appears to be a continuation of what has gone before. Many of the psalms have been broken up into verses at unfortunate places. David has been shot at from all over, and he did not necessarily know that it was going on. For years, all of this gossiping and maligning had been occurring, and it damaged him as a ruler. Death by a thousand cuts, you might say.

This is a metaphorical statement. People did not hide and pull others aside and tell them about David. The picture is or an archer shooting arrows from a hidden place. That simply means that the person who is shot does not see it coming. This is what happened to David when he lost the respect of half of Israel.

Or as Barnes phrase it: [This] was not an open and manly fight, where he could see his enemy, but it was a warfare with a concealed foe. Spurgeon writes: Observe the meanness of malicious men; they will not accept fair combat, they shun the open field, and skulk in the bushes, lying in ambush against those who are not so acquainted with deceit as to suspect their treachery, and are too manly to imitate their despicable modes of warfare.

These arrows are sins of the tongue directed at King David: gossip, maligning, backbiting, bitterness. They are expressed, passed along, and the nation Israel was filled with these sins, turning the people against David.

Application: Despite David’s weaknesses, he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, king of all time. However, in these few chapters of 2Samuel, he is brought down by sins of the tongue.

Translation: Suddenly, they shoot him—an innocent—... Again, this is metaphorical. This person hidden in a blind suddenly shoots out, but who he hits is an innocent. And that is what happened to his country when it went into revolution. Many innocents would be harmed.

As Spurgeon says: They give their unsuspecting victim no chance of defending himself; they pounce on him like a wild beast leaping on its prey.

This could certainly be looked at as David being the innocent—and he was of much of what was said about him. This does not mean that David was innocent; and he was certainly not perfect. But before God, he should stand, as God made him king.

Translation: ...and they are not afraid. You may recall that David had a great deal of respect for God’s anointed (King Saul). So even when given the chance to kill Saul, David chose not to. But, these people rebelling against him—they are not even afraid. The people shooting the arrows of gossip and maligning? They are not afraid.

We have another parallel here to Psalm 55: God, the One enthroned from long ago, will hear, and will humiliate them Selah because they do not change and do not fear God (Psalm 55:19; HCSB).

Together, the previous 3 verses read: You will hide me from an assembly of those who do evil; [and You will hide me] from a crowd those who make trouble; Who have sharpened their tongue as a sword; [and who] have bent [the bow to shoot] their arrow [as if poisoned with] a bitter word; To shoot [arrows] from [lit., in] a secret place. Suddenly, they shoot him—an innocent—and they are not afraid. The two groups of people who are against David are in view here: the conspirators and the crusaders. They begin by sharpening their tongues as if a sword, and then firing poisoned arrows, which are their words, designed to destroy David. They are in a secret place when firing these arrows, meaning that these rumors come from all over. David does not see where they come from; and they cause his harm by a thousand cuts. Many of these rumors, David is innocent of; but they fire out these vicious words, without fear of reprisal.

We seem to have a very similar passage in Psalm 10: His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, He has hidden His face, He will never see it." (Psalm 10:7–11). In the final phrase, the man who mouth is filled with cursing, believes that God has turned away; that God does not see what it is that he is doing.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        They will strengthen themselves with an evil word; they will talk of hiding traps, saying, "Who sees them?"

Latin Vulgate                          They are resolute in wickedness. They have talked of hiding snares; they have said: Who shall see them?

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        They bind to themselves a word evil;

they recall [or, celebrate] to lay a traps.

They have said, “Who sees to them?

Peshitta (Syriac)                    They encourage themselves with evil speech; they plan to hide snares; they say, Who shall see us?

Septuagint (Greek)                They have set up for themselves an evil matter, they have given counsel to hide snares; they have said, Who shall see them?

Significant differences:           In the second phrase, the Hebrew verb seems to look back and speak of something which they have already done. Most English translations treat this verb of speaking of activity they will participate in.

The final phrase ends with them in the Hebrew, and not with us (as in the English translation of the Syriac).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           They encourage themselves with evil words.

They plan on laying traps in secret.

"Who will be able to see them?" they ask.

Contemporary English V.       They are determined to do evil, and they tell themselves, "Let's set traps! No one can see us."

Easy English                          ...are not afraid (when they have done it)

· will not change their *evil ideas

· talk about hiding *traps and say, "Who will see them?" They included a portion of v. 4 in v. 5.

Easy-to-Read Version            They encourage each other to do wrong.

They talk about setting their traps.

They tell each other,

“No one will see the traps!”

Good News Bible (TEV)         They encourage each other in their evil plots; they talk about where they will place their traps. "No one can see them," they say.

The Message                         They keep fit doing calisthenics of evil purpose, They keep lists of the traps they've secretly set. They say to each other, "No one can catch us,...

New Berkeley Version           They confirm for themselves an evil agreement;

they talk of laying snares secretly;

they say, “Who shall detect them?”

New Century Version             They encourage each other to do wrong.

They talk about setting traps,

thinking no one will see them.

New Life Bible                        They talk each other into doing sinful things. They talk about setting hidden traps. They say, "Who will see them?"

New Living Translation           They encourage each other to do evil

and plan how to set their traps in secret.

"Who will ever notice?" they ask.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          They've decided to do something evil; they've described how to hide all their snares; and then they asked, 'Who will see them?'

Beck’s American Translation They encourage one another by checking their evil plan

to secretly lay snares.

They think: Who will see us?

Christian Community Bible     They invite each other to evildoing, they conspire to lay snares, saying, “No one will see us, ⁷ who will uncover our scheme?” A portion of v. 7 was added for context.

New American Bible              They resolve on their wicked plan;

they conspire to set snares;

they say: "Who will see us?"

NIRV                                      They help each other make evil plans.

They talk about hiding their traps.

They say, "Who can see what we are doing?"

New Jerusalem Bible             They support each other in their evil designs, they discuss how to lay their snares. 'Who will see us?' they say.

New Simplified Bible              They are determined to do evil, and they tell themselves: Let us set traps! No one can see us.

Revised English Bible            They confirm their wicked resolves;

they talk of hiding snares

and say, ‘Who will see us?’

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      They fortify themselves by evil words. They account for camouflaging the snares, saying, "Who will see them?"

Bible in Basic English             They make themselves strong in an evil purpose; they make holes for secret nets; they say, Who will see it,...

Complete Jewish Bible           They support each other's evil plans; they talk of hiding snares and ask, "Who would see them?

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 They encourage themselves in vile things,

And lay down their well-contrived traps,

And say to themselves, “Who can see?”

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               They arm themselves with an evil word,

when they speak, it is to conceal traps [meaning of Hebrew uncertain];

they think, “Who will see them?”

Judaica Press Complete T.    They strengthen the evil word for themselves; they tell to hide snares. They say, "Who will see us?"

New Advent Bible                  They will shoot at him on a sudden, and will not fear: they are resolute in wickedness. They have talked of hiding snares; they have said: Who shall see them?

NET Bible®                             They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed [Heb "they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or "word"]."].

They plan how to hide [Heb "they report about hiding."] snares,

and boast [Heb "they say."], "Who will see them [If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun "them" refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to "us," referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).]?"

The Scriptures 1998              They arm themselves with an evil word; They talk of hiding snares; They have said, “Who sees them?”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                They encourage themselves in an evil purpose, they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, Who will discover us?

Concordant Literal Version    They are encouraging themselves in an evil matter; They are recounting plans to bury traps; They say, Who shall see us?

A Conservative Version         They encourage themselves in an evil purpose. They converse of laying snares secretly. They say, Who will see them?

Darby Translation                  They encourage themselves in an evil matter, they concert to hide snares; they say, Who will see them?

English Standard Version      They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, "Who can see them?"

The Geneva Bible                  They encourage themselves [The more the wicked set Gods children in misery, the more bold and impudent are they in oppressing them. ] [in] an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?

NASB                                     They hold fast [Lit make firm] to themselves an evil purpose;

They talk of [Lit tell of] laying snares secretly;

They say, "Who can see them?"

Syndein                                  They encourage themselves in an evil matter. They decide to lay snares privately. They say/think, 'Who shall see them?' {Conspiring in secret}.

Updated Bible Version 2.11   They encourage themselves in an evil purpose; They commune of laying snares secretly; They say, Who will see them?

World English Bible                They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, "Who will see them?"

Young's Updated LT              They strengthen for themselves an evil thing, They recount of the hiding of snares, They have said, `Who looks at it?'

The gist of this verse:          The conspirators encourage one another in their evil plans. They have hidden snares and believe that no one realizes what they have done.

Translation: They strengthen themselves [or, make themselves obstinate] [with] an evil word;... The word used here could be understood to willingly fill their own souls with scar tissue. They are working one another up; they are strengthening their own resolve with one another to be revolutionaries.

In order to be a revolutionary, a person must be worked up to some degree. David says that they are doing this among one another. We may wonder how David knows this. There are 3 possibilities: (1) David may simply understand the mind of the revolutionary; (2) this is revealed to him by God the Holy Spirit; or (3) David has counterinsurgency forces all over Jerusalem, including a man in the most upper echelon of Absalom’s cabinet (Hushai the Archite). It is likely that Hushai communicated this information to a runner who got it then to David.

Revolutionaries cannot be propped up with divine viewpoint thinking. It requires evil words for them to work one another up. They have to work together in order to develop scar tissue on their souls. The verb here suggests that they are affecting the souls of one another. Speaking these evil things to one another, which things they then choose to believe, builds scar tissue on their souls.

From Bible doctrine resources: Scar tissue of the soul is also called hardness of the heart, the uncircumcised heart, and stubbornness of heart. It is a divine judgment of the soul that restricts capacity for life and love. Unlike divine discipline that produces temporary suffering with no lasting side effects, scar tissue of the soul leaves a debilitating loss of capacity for life or love. However, since it is part of the soul's immaterial essence like emotion, it has no known physical properties. However, it does restrict the capacity of the soul. It blocks Spiritual light, which leads to affinity to the Cosmic System as well as soulish and physical ailments. Psychosis and psychopathic personality are examples of scar tissue of the soul. Although behavior can be altered by psychotherapy and psychiatric drugs, the only cure for such problems is the divine solution, which requires Rebound and application of Bible Doctrine.

These revolutionaries are working one another up, and it is being done with evil words. Their souls, a vacuum for lack of doctrine, sucks in these false words, and they cover the soul with darkness.

Matthew Henry seemed to have some limited understanding of this concept of scar tissue: It is bad to do a wrong thing, but worse to encourage ourselves and one another in doing it; this is doing the devil's work for him. It is a sign that the heart is hardened to the highest degree when it is thus fully set to do evil and fears [no one].

Barnes: They take counsel; they encourage each other; they urge one another forward; they suggest to each other methods by which what they purpose may be done, and by which difficulties may be overcome. This was a part of their “secret counsel” or their consultation...they tell each other how it may be done, or suggest different methods by which it may be successfully accomplishled. They compare views, that they may select that which will be most likely to be successful. All this indicates plan, consultation, design. Or, as the Geneva Bible says: The more the wicked set God's children in misery, the more bold and impudent are they in oppressing them.

Translation: ...they recount of concealing snares;... Although almost every translation speaks of this occurring in the future—as if one of them has a brilliant idea of setting traps for David and they agree to try it—the verb actually suggests looking backward. Remember, this revolution was years in the making. Absalom did not wake up one day and decide to revolt and against his father, and, two days later, he is down in Hebron working out his alliances and his next moves. Absalom, as we have seen in the historical narrative, spent 4 years on the set up for this (2Sam. 15:7).

Barnes: The reference here is to some secret plan by which they intended that the author of the psalm should be entrapped and ruined. It was not a plan of open and manly warfare, but a purpose to destroy him when he would have no opportunity of defense.

Psalm 140 appears to be a parallel psalm. Psalm 140:5 reads: The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

Application: I recall the Katie Couric interview with Sarah Palin, when it appeared as if the choice of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate would completely turn his presidential bid around. Not only were the questions poking a searching for weakness, but then the interview was then edited in such a way that it made Palin look worse than she really did (she was not prepared for the interview or what the media would do to her in general). They were far different that the first few Steve Kroft interviews with Barack Obama (or the dearth of tough interviews with Joe Biden). The media laid snares for Obama’s opponents.