“Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.”
The psalmist calls for the shame and dishonor of those who seek his harm, asking that they be turned back and confused. The verse employs imprecatory language, calling down judgment and reversal on the enemies. The phrase 'turned back and confused' suggests both military defeat and the psychological disorientation of those whose plans are frustrated. The psalmist's prayer is not for mere harm but for reversal: those who pursue justice against him will themselves experience dishonor. The verse reflects the understanding that those who pursue wickedness inevitably face defeat.
Church Fathers on Psalms 35:4
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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