" The gatekeepers are thus attempting to protect the fortress by expressing to those who attempt to tear at it that He who dwells inside will have none of it.)

The purpose of this action, as the next verse tells us, is to bring down a "person of prominence." Prominence is thus granted to that individual from without, through his trust in God. But the word "prominence" is also etymologically linked with "highness, height," which is why translations of this verse refer to the person as being in a "high place." Perhaps that high place that the person belongs to, that gives them prominence, is the fortress of the second verse - the fortress whose walls the perpetrators are attempting to knock down.

Verse four ends with the following characterization of the perpetrators:

They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.

This calls to...
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