The Meaning of Psalms 54:3 Explained

Psalms 54:3

KJV: For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.

YLT: For strangers have risen up against me And terrible ones have sought my soul, They have not set God before them. Selah.

Darby: For strangers are risen up against me, and the violent seek after my life: they have not set God before them. Selah.

ASV: For strangers are risen up against me, And violent men have sought after my soul: They have not set God before them. Selah

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For strangers  are risen up  against me, and oppressors  seek  after my soul:  they have not set  God  before them. Selah. 

What does Psalms 54:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Ziphites were strangers to David, and Saul"s soldiers were violent antagonists of David. David could expect divine assistance because their hostility was contrary to God"s will. David was Israel"s anointed king whom God intended to place on Saul"s throne. This verse is almost identical to Psalm 86:14.

Context Summary

Psalms 54:1-7 - Sinners All-God Alone Can Help
That Psalms 53:1-6 should be a repetition of Psalms 14:1-7, with very few variations, suggests, as does the "verily, verily" of Christ, that the truths contained in these words are worthy of special attention. They supply the Apostle, in Romans 3:1-31, with his phraseology for describing the state of the ungodly before the searching eye of Omniscience.
We have here a photograph of the human heart. Jew and Gentile are alike in their innermost texture. There is nothing to choose between the Pharisee and the publican, except when either turns the balance by humble confession, as in Luke 18:9, etc.
Psalms 54:1-7 is probably founded on 1 Samuel 23:19. It is short, as if compressed by the urgency of David's need. Evidently he was in sore straits, though conscious of the rectitude of his cause. Notice how he makes his transition from prayer to praise, Psalms 54:4. He affirms, in spite of everything, that God is still his helper. He hears the approaching footsteps of those who are pledged to uphold Him, and God is with them. As he speaks thus in the confidence of faith, the storm clears away. He is delivered; his eye has seen the defeat of his foes. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 54

1  David, complaining of the Ziphims, prays for salvation
4  Upon his confidence in God's help he promises sacrifice

What do the individual words in Psalms 54:3 mean?

For strangers have risen up against me and oppressors have sought after my life not they have set God before them Selah
כִּ֤י זָרִ֨ים ׀ קָ֤מוּ עָלַ֗י וְֽ֭עָרִיצִים בִּקְשׁ֣וּ נַפְשִׁ֑י לֹ֤א שָׂ֨מוּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים לְנֶגְדָּ֣ם סֶֽלָה

זָרִ֨ים ׀  strangers 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: זוּר 
Sense: to be strange, be a stranger.
קָ֤מוּ  have  risen  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
עָלַ֗י  against  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
וְֽ֭עָרִיצִים  and  oppressors 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: עָרִיץ  
Sense: awe-inspiring, terror-striking, awesome, terrifying, ruthless, mighty.
בִּקְשׁ֣וּ  have  sought  after 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בָּקַשׁ  
Sense: to seek, require, desire, exact, request.
נַפְשִׁ֑י  my  life 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
שָׂ֨מוּ  they  have  set 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
אֱלֹהִ֖ים  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
לְנֶגְדָּ֣ם  before  them 
Parse: Preposition-l, third person masculine plural
Root: נֶגֶד  
Sense: what is conspicuous, what is in front of adv.
סֶֽלָה  Selah 
Parse: Interjection
Root: סֶלָה  
Sense: to lift up, exalt.