Psalms 31:11
I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.
Main message
Psalm 31:11: Enemies, neighbors, and acquaintances respond with reproach, fear, and avoidance; the verse gives language to social isolation without commanding the sufferer to withdraw from safe relationships.
Meaning in context
Psalm 31:9–13 · Grief, rejection and threat — Verses 9–13 name bodily grief, failing strength, social shame, abandonment, slander, fear and plots against the speaker’s life.
Enemies, neighbors, and acquaintances respond with reproach, fear, and avoidance; the verse gives language to social isolation without commanding the sufferer to withdraw from safe relationships.
Further teachings
Grief, rejection and threat
Enemies, neighbors, and acquaintances respond with reproach, fear, and avoidance; the verse gives language to social isolation without commanding the sufferer to withdraw from safe relationships.
Cross References: Psalm 31:11 — Psalm 31:9–13.
Applications in daily life
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Psalm 31:11
Enemies, neighbors, and acquaintances respond with reproach, fear, and avoidance; the verse gives language to social isolation without commanding the sufferer to withdraw from safe relationships.
Social rejection described here does not require isolation; seek safe community and protection where possible.
Related Bible passages and resources
- Psalm 31 (complete chapter)
Psalm 31 moves repeatedly between refuge and distress: the speaker entrusts himself to the LORD, describes grief, rejection, slander, and danger, and continues to call on God for deliverance. The poem does not minimize embodied suffering or social fear, yet it repeatedly returns to trust, God’s steadfast love, and the confession that the speaker’s times are in God’s hand. The closing movement widens from personal testimony to praise, love for the LORD, and courage for all who hope in him. Its language of enemies, Sheol, hidden shelter, and recompense belongs to prayer and divine justice, not private retaliation or withdrawal from practical help.
- Psalm 31:10
Read the previous verse to preserve the movement.
- Psalm 31:12
Continue with the next verse to preserve the movement.
- Study the Book of Psalms
Keep the verse within Psalm 31’s movement from refuge, through grief and threat, to renewed trust, praise, and courageous hope.
Common misreadings
Social rejection described here does not require isolation; seek safe community and protection where possible.
Enemies, neighbors, and acquaintances respond with reproach, fear, and avoidance; the verse gives language to social isolation without commanding the sufferer to withdraw from safe relationships.
How to Apply Psalms 31:11
Meditate on Psalms 31:11 by reading it aloud each morning this week. Ask yourself how its message from Scripture applies to a current challenge you are facing. Write one specific step you will take today in response to its truth — and revisit that commitment at the end of the week.
Sources & Method
Biblical text
Commentary anchored in the public-domain Psalm 31 text used by the site.
- Author:
- The Lord Will Editorial Team
- Reviewed by:
- Ugo Candido
- Last updated:
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