The Meaning of Psalms 27:12 Explained

Psalms 27:12

KJV: Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

YLT: Give me not to the will of my adversaries, For risen against me have false witnesses, And they breathe out violence to me.

Darby: Deliver me not over to the will of mine adversaries; for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out violence.

ASV: Deliver me not over unto the will of mine adversaries: For false witnesses are risen up against me, And such as breathe out cruelty.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Deliver  me not over unto the will  of mine enemies:  for false  witnesses  are risen up  against me, and such as breathe out  cruelty. 

What does Psalms 27:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 27:1-14 - The Song Of Fearless Trust In God
This psalm probably dates from the time when the exiled king, surrounded by unscrupulous foes, looked from his hiding-place beyond the Jordan to the Holy City, where the Ark abode. One thing he desired above all else. The "one thing" people are irresistible, Philippians 3:13-14.
Here we have assurance, Psalms 27:1-6. God's house for us is His presence. We may live day by day in the New Jerusalem, which needs no light of sun or candle. We are in it, though we know it not. Oh, that our eyes might be opened to see where we are! 2 Kings 6:20. How beautiful must God be, who has made the world so fair!
Next we have supplication, Psalms 27:7-14. The triumphant note changes to sadness. Did the writer look from his Redeemer to the winds and waves? But sometimes God seems to hide His face only to draw us to a point of trust and abandonment which otherwise the soul had never dared to adopt, Mark 7:28. The dearest may forsake, but the Lord gathers, Isaiah 40:11. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 27

1  David sustains his faith by prayer

What do the individual words in Psalms 27:12 mean?

Not do deliver me to the will of my adversaries for have risen against me witnesses FALSE and such as breathe out violence
אַֽל־ תִּ֭תְּנֵנִי בְּנֶ֣פֶשׁ צָרָ֑י כִּ֥י קָֽמוּ־ בִ֥י עֵֽדֵי־ שֶׁ֝֗קֶר וִיפֵ֥חַ חָמָֽס

תִּ֭תְּנֵנִי  do  deliver  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
בְּנֶ֣פֶשׁ  to  the  will 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
צָרָ֑י  of  my  adversaries 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: צַר 
Sense: narrow, tight.
קָֽמוּ־  have  risen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
בִ֥י  against  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
עֵֽדֵי־  witnesses 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: עֵד  
Sense: witness.
שֶׁ֝֗קֶר  FALSE 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁקֶר  
Sense: lie, deception, disappointment, falsehood.
וִיפֵ֥חַ  and  such  as  breathe  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: יָפֵחַ  
Sense: a breathing out, exhaling, puffing out (subst).
חָמָֽס  violence 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָמָס  
Sense: violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice.