For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
For. In proof of the depth and universality of the corruption in the city, he instances the treacherous conduct of his own professing friend (Jeremiah 9:4).
It was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it - for I could not expect anything better from such, and I might still find consolation from it in the sympathy of friends (Psalms 41:9).
Then I would have hid myself from him. It is generally easy to get out of the way of an avowed enemy; but how can one be on his guard against a treacherous friend?