Psalms 39:8

39:8 Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion!

Do not make me the object of fools’ insults!

Psalms 78:66

78:66 He drove his enemies back;

he made them a permanent target for insults. ¹ 

Psalms 22:6

22:6 But I ²  am a worm, ³  not a man; ⁴ 

people insult me and despise me. ⁵ 

Psalms 89:50

89:50 Take note, O Lord, ⁶  of the way your servants are taunted, ⁷ 

and of how I must bear so many insults from people! ⁸ 

[78:66]  ¹ tn Heb “a permanent reproach he made them.”

[22:6]  ¹ tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.

[22:6]  ² tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).

[22:6]  ³ tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.

[22:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”

[89:50]  ¹ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read here יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”).

[89:50]  ² tn Heb “remember, O Lord, the taunt against your servants.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the singular here, “your servant” (that is, the psalmist).

[89:50]  ³ tn Heb “my lifting up in my arms [or “against my chest”] all of the many, peoples.” The term רַבִּים (rabbim, “many”) makes no apparent sense here. For this reason some emend the text to רִבֵי (rivey, “attacks by”), a defectively written plural construct form of רִיב (riv, “dispute; quarrel”).