False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.
The second strophe, in which the sufferer complains of the malice of his enemies (Psalms 35:11-16), in order to move the compassion of God to interpose in his behalf; in which event, as before, he vows thanksgiving, with the additional feature that it is in the great congregation (Psalms 35:18).
False witnesses ... they laid to my charge ... The chief and antitypical reference is to the Messiah. The Hebrew ( yish'aaluwniy (H7592)) for "they laid to my charge," etc., is, they ENQUIRED of me about what I know not of; so the enemies of Christ tried by questioning to get from him some ground of accusation: the chief priests (Mark 14:55-61), the Pharisees (12:13; 11:53-54), Herod (Luke 23:9), the high priest (John 18:19), Pilate (John 18:33).