2 Kings 19:21

19:21 This is what the Lord says about him: ¹ 

“The virgin daughter Zion ² 

despises you, she makes fun of you;

Daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ³ 

Psalms 22:7

22:7 All who see me taunt ⁴  me;

they mock me ⁵  and shake their heads. ⁶ 

Psalms 44:14

44:14 You made us ⁷  an object of ridicule ⁸  among the nations;

foreigners treat us with contempt. ⁹ 

Psalms 109:25

109:25 I am disdained by them. ¹⁰ 

When they see me, they shake their heads. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 18:16

18:16 So their land will become an object of horror. ¹² 

People will forever hiss out their scorn over it.

All who pass that way will be filled with horror

and will shake their heads in derision. ¹³ 

Lamentations 2:15

ס (Samek)

2:15 All who passed by on the road

clapped their hands to mock you. ¹⁴ 

They sneered and shook their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem.

“Ha! Is this the city they called ¹⁵ 

‘The perfection of beauty, ¹⁶ 

the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ¹⁷ 

Matthew 27:39-40

27:39 Those ¹⁸  who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads 27:40 and saying, “You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ¹⁹  If you are God’s Son, come down ²⁰  from the cross!”

[19:21]  ¹ tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

[19:21]  ² sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.

[19:21]  ³ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.

[22:7]  ⁴ tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”

[22:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.

[22:7]  ⁶ sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.

[44:14]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “a proverb,” or “[the subject of] a mocking song.”

[44:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “a shaking of the head among the peoples.” Shaking the head was a derisive gesture (see Jer 18:16; Lam 2:15).

[109:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “as for me, I am a reproach to them.”

[109:25]  ¹¹ sn They shake their heads. Apparently shaking the head was a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 22:7; Lam 2:15.

[18:16]  ¹² tn There may be a deliberate double meaning involved here. The word translated here “an object of horror” refers both to destruction (cf. 2:15; 4:17) and the horror or dismay that accompanies it (cf. 5:30; 8:21). The fact that there is no conjunction or preposition in front of the noun “hissing” that follows this suggests that the reaction is in view here, not the cause.

[18:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “an object of lasting hissing. All who pass that way will be appalled and shake their head.”

[2:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).

[2:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “of which they said.”

[2:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.

[2:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.

[27:39]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:40]  ¹⁹ sn There is rich irony in the statements of those who were passing by, “save yourself!” and “come down from the cross!” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life.

[27:40]  ²⁰ tc ‡ Many important witnesses (א* A D pc it sy^[s],p) read καί (kai, here with the force of “then”) before κατάβηθι (katabhqi, “come down”). The shorter reading may well be due to homoioarcton, but judging by the diverse external evidence (א² B L W Θ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) it is equally possible that the shorter reading is original (and is so considered for this translation). NA²⁷ puts the καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.