They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.

They draw nigh that follow after wickedness; They are far from thy law.

They that persecute me have drawn nigh to iniquity; but they are gone far off from the law.

They have drawn nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.

Near have been my wicked pursuers, From Thy law they have been far off.

They draw near that follow after mischief: they are far from your law.

Those who have evil designs against me come near; they are far from your law.

The pursuers of malice have drawn near. As the Hebrew word rvdphy rodphee, translated the pursuers of, is put in the construct state, that is to say, as it is so related to the word zmh, zimmah, rendered wickedness, that in Latin the latter would be put in the genitive ease, I expound the clause as denoting that they draw near to do mischief. I wonder what could move interpreters to translate -- The pursuers have approached, or drawn near to wickedness; which the idiom of the language will not admit, to say nothing of the fact that zmh, zimmah, signifies rather perversity or malice, than wickedness. David therefore says, that those who are vehemently bent on malice are pursuing him close behind, and that they rush upon him with such violence in order to do him mischief, as plainly to indicate that they are far off from God's law, since they east far from them all regard to uprightness and equity. It was a most wretched condition for him to be in, to behold his enemies, who had shaken off all fear of God and reverence for his law, ready with uplifted hand to smite him to death, had not God been near to defend him, as he adds in the subsequent verse --

They draw nigh - They follow me; they press hard upon me.
That follow after mischief - That seek to do me wrong.
They are far from thy law - They yield no obedience to it; they are not influenced by it in their conduct toward me.

They draw nigh - They are just at hand who seek to destroy me.
They are far from thy law - They are near to all evil, but far from thee.

They draw nigh that follow after (c) mischief: they are far from thy law.
(c) He shows the nature of the wicked to be to persecute against their conscience.

They draw nigh that follow after mischief,.... Or "evil" (c); that which is sinful in itself, and injurious to others. Some cannot sleep unless they do mischief; they are bent upon it, and proceed from evil to evil: they are eager in their pursuit of it, as the huntsman after his sport, to which the allusion is; though it is to their ruin, even to their death, Proverbs 11:19; These the psalmist says "draw nigh"; not unto God, unless feignedly and with their mouths only; but to him they drew nigh, to David, in an hostile way they pursued after him, in order to take away his life, and they had very nearly overtaken him, and were just ready to seize him; his life drew nigh to those destroyers, and those destroyers drew nigh to that, so that he was in great danger; and the more as these were abandoned creatures, that neither feared God nor regarded man, as follows:
they are far from thy law; from the knowledge of it, of its equity and purity; and especially of its spirituality, and of its power and influence upon their minds; and so far from subjection and obedience to it; so far from it, that they treat it with the utmost contempt, cast it away from them and despise it, Romans 8:7.
(c) "iniquitati", V. L. "scelus", Tigurine version; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.

Though the wicked are near to injure, because far from God's law, He is near to help, and faithful to His word, which abides for ever.

Nigh - To me, they are at hand and ready to seize upon me. Are far - They cast away from them all thoughts of thy law.