Psalms 35:15-16

35:15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;

they gathered together to ambush me. ¹ 

They tore at me without stopping to rest. ² 

35:16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly, ³ 

and tried to bite me. ⁴ 

Psalms 44:13-14

44:13 You made us ⁵  an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. ⁶ 

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

foreigners treat us with contempt. ⁹ 

Matthew 27:29

27:29 and after braiding ¹⁰  a crown of thorns, ¹¹  they put it on his head. They ¹²  put a staff ¹³  in his right hand, and kneeling down before him, they mocked him: ¹⁴  “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹⁵ 

Hebrews 11:36

11:36 And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

[35:15]  ¹ tn Heb “they gathered together against me, stricken [ones], and I did not know.” The Hebrew form נֵכִים (nekhim, “stricken ones” ?) is problematic. Some suggest an emendation to נָכְרִים[כְ] (kÿnokhÿrim, “foreigners”) or “like foreigners,” which would fit with what follows, “[like] foreigners that I do not recognize.” Perhaps the form should be read as a Qal active participle, נֹכִים (nokhim, “ones who strike”) from the verbal root נָכָה (nakhah, “to strike”). The Qal of this verb is unattested in biblical Hebrew, but the peal (basic) stem appears in Old Aramaic (J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire [BibOr], 114; DNWSI 1:730.) In this case one might translate, “attackers gathered together against me though I was not aware of it” (cf. NASB “smiters”; NEB, NRSV “ruffians”; NIV “attackers”).

[35:15]  ² tn Heb “they tore and did not keep quiet.” By using the verb “tear,” the psalmist likens his enemies to a wild animal (see Hos 13:8). In v. 17 he compares them to hungry young lions.

[35:16]  ³ tc The MT reads “as profane [ones] of mockers of food,” which is nonsensical. The present translation assumes (1) an emendation of בְּחַנְפֵי (bÿkhanfey, “as profane men”) to בְּחַנְפִי (bekhanfiy, “when I tripped”; preposition + Qal infinitive construct from II חָנַף [“limp”] + first common singular pronominal suffix) and (2) an emendation of לַעֲגֵי מָעוֹג (la’agey ma’og, “mockers of food”) to עָגוּ[ם]לַעְגָּ (la’gam ’agu, “[with] taunting they taunted”; masculine plural noun with enclitic mem + Qal perfect third common plural from לַּעַג [la’ag, “taunt”]).

[35:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “gnashing at me with their teeth.” The infinitive absolute adds a complementary action – they gnashed with their teeth as they taunted.

[44:13]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.”

[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).

[27:29]  ¹⁰ tn Or “weaving.”

[27:29]  ¹¹ sn The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.

[27:29]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:29]  ¹³ tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.

[27:29]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “they mocked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[27:29]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”