“False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.”
The psalmist laments that violent witnesses rise against him, asking him of things he does not know. The verse indicates that the psalmist faces false testimony and malicious accusations. The phrase 'things I do not know' suggests that the accusations are fabricated, that the enemies are inventing charges without basis. This verse reveals that the opposition is not merely personal animosity but involves formal accusation and character assassination through false witness.
Church Fathers on Psalms 35:11
1. ...The title of it causes us no delay, for it is both brief, and to be understood not difficult, especially to those nursed in the Church of God. For so it is, “To David himself.” The Psalm then is to David himself: now David is interpreted, Strong in hand, or Desirable. The Psalm then is to the Strong in hand, and Desirable, to Him who for us has overcome death, who unto us has promised life: for in this is He Strong in hand, that He has overcome death for us; in this is…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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