They compassed me about also with words of hatred - They attacked me on every side; they assailed me, not merely in one form and direction, but in every form, and in every direction. I could turn no way - I could go nowhere - where I did not encounter these slanderous reports.
And fought against me without a cause - Contended against me, or fought against me, with “words.” They sought to do me all the harm they could. The phrase “without a cause “means that he had given them no occasion for this conduct; he had not wronged them; it was mere malignity. See Psalms 35:7; Psalms 69:4. Compare John 15:25.