“But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:”
The psalmist laments that when he stumbled, the enemies gathered with malicious glee, striking him while he was on the ground. The image of gathering upon witnessing stumbling suggests predatory behavior: the enemies seize on the moment of weakness to attack. The phrase 'struck me... I did not know why' emphasizes the unexpected and unprovoked nature of the assault. This verse portrays the psalmist as genuinely wounded and vulnerable, subject to opportunistic attack from those he had treated with kindness.
Church Fathers on Psalms 35:15
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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