· Translation: KJV

Psalms 25:19Consider my enemies, for they are many. They hate me with cruel hatred.

The setting

Judean wilderness, ~1000 BC. David hiding in caves, wrote this while Saul hunted him with 3,000 men. Modern-day West Bank, Israel.

The emotion here: exhausted from running, desperate but still trusting

The original word

sane'u (שָׂנְאוּ) — active, burning hatred that seeks to destroy

Why it matters

David wrote this acrostic psalm while being hunted by both Saul's army and foreign enemies simultaneously

Read with care

What most readers miss in Psalms 25:19

This isn't paranoia — David's enemies literally outnumbered his followers 10 to 1

Common misconceptionPeople think this is about spiritual warfare, but David had real human enemies with swords trying to kill him.

Bible Genome reading

Psalms 25:19 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerDavid
EraUnited Kingdom
Primary emotionanxious
Literary typepsalm
MarkPrayer

Emotional genome

Comfort power40%
Quotability50%
Memorability50%
Crisis relevance80%
Standalone70%
Themes:persecutionenemiessuffering

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Psalms 25

Psalms 25:19 comes from the book of Psalms, written during the United Kingdom period. These words are attributed to David. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 40% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the psalm genre of biblical literature. Key themes include persecution, enemies, suffering. Notable phrases: many enemies; cruel hatred. This verse is a prayer.

Your reflection

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