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Psalm 64:5

ESV They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, "Who can see them?"
NIV They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, "Who will see it ?"
NASB They make firm for themselves an evil purpose; They talk of setting snares secretly; They say, 'Who can see them?'
CSB They adopt an evil plan; they talk about hiding traps and say, "Who will see them?"
NLT They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps in secret. 'Who will ever notice?' they ask.
KJV They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?
NKJV They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who will see them?”

What does Psalm 64:5 mean?

David moves from describing his enemies' evil words (Psalm 64:2–3) to describing their evil intention. Scripture does not give an explicit historical event in connection with this psalm. However, there were times in David's life when enemies planned to ambush him (1 Samuel 19:11). In other cases, he heard about plots before they could be completed (2 Samuel 15:13–14). Here, David notes that these men doggedly pursue their plans, presuming that no one—not even God—will take notice until it is too late (Psalm 10:4, 11).

Such men fail to realize that the Lord knows the intents of the heart. He recognizes every so-called "secret" sin (Hebrews 4:13; Luke 12:2–3). During the conquest of Jericho, a man named Achan thought no one would know that he stole some of what the Lord had forbidden. With the knowledge of his family, he hid away a beautiful cloak from Shinar, as well as gold and silver (Joshua 7:21). But the Lord knew what Achan had done (Joshua 7:10–11) and exposed him (Joshua 7:14–19). This brought severe punishment to Achan and his family (Joshua 7:24–25).
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