Psalms 44:13-16

44:13 You made us ¹  an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us. ² 

44:14 You made us ³  an object of ridicule ⁴  among the nations;

foreigners treat us with contempt. ⁵ 

44:15 All day long I feel humiliated ⁶ 

and am overwhelmed with shame, ⁷ 

44:16 before the vindictive enemy

who ridicules and insults me. ⁸ 

Psalms 69:9

69:9 Certainly ⁹  zeal for ¹⁰  your house ¹¹  consumes me;

I endure the insults of those who insult you. ¹² 

Psalms 69:19-20

69:19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated and disgraced;

you can see all my enemies. ¹³ 

69:20 Their insults are painful ¹⁴  and make me lose heart; ¹⁵ 

I look ¹⁶  for sympathy, but receive none, ¹⁷ 

for comforters, but find none.

Psalms 74:18

74:18 Remember how ¹⁸  the enemy hurls insults, O Lord, ¹⁹ 

and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name!

Psalms 74:22

74:22 Rise up, O God! Defend your honor! ²⁰ 

Remember how fools insult you all day long! ²¹ 

Psalms 79:10-12

79:10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants

be avenged among the nations! ²² 

79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! ²³ 

Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! ²⁴ 

79:12 Pay back our neighbors in full! ²⁵ 

May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord! ²⁶ 

Romans 15:3

15:3 For even Christ did not please himself, but just as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” ²⁷ 

[44:13]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:13]  ² tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.”

[44:14]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[44:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “a proverb,” or “[the subject of] a mocking song.”

[44:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “a shaking of the head among the peoples.” Shaking the head was a derisive gesture (see Jer 18:16; Lam 2:15).

[44:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “all the day my humiliation [is] in front of me.”

[44:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the shame of my face covers me.”

[44:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the voice of one who ridicules and insults, from the face of an enemy and an avenger.” See Ps 8:2.

[69:9]  ⁹ tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.

[69:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “devotion to.”

[69:9]  ¹¹ sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.

[69:9]  ¹² tn Heb “the insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”

[69:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “before you [are] all my enemies.”

[69:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.

[69:20]  ¹⁵ tn The verb form appears to be a Qal preterite from an otherwise unattested root נוּשׁ (nush), which some consider an alternate form of אָנַשׁ (’anash, “be weak; be sick”; see BDB 60 s.v. I אָנַשׁ). Perhaps the form should be emended to a Niphal, וָאֵאָנְשָׁה (va’e’onshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.

[69:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “wait.”

[69:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and I wait for sympathy, but there is none.” The form נוּד (nud) is an infinitive functioning as a verbal noun:, “sympathizing.” Some suggest emending the form to a participle נָד (nad, “one who shows sympathy”). The verb נוּד (nud) also has the nuance “show sympathy” in Job 2:11; 42:11 and Isa 51:19.

[74:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “remember this.”

[74:18]  ¹⁹ tn Or “[how] the enemy insults the Lord.”

[74:22]  ²⁰ tn Or “defend your cause.”

[74:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “remember your reproach from a fool all the day.”

[79:10]  ²² tn Heb “may it be known among the nations, to our eyes, the vengeance of the shed blood of your servants.”

[79:11]  ²³ tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”

[79:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[79:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Return to our neighbors sevenfold into their lap.” The number seven is used rhetorically to express the thorough nature of the action. For other rhetorical/figurative uses of the Hebrew phrase שִׁבְעָתַיִם (shiv’atayim, “seven times”) see Gen 4:15, 24; Ps 12:6; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.

[79:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “their reproach with which they reproached you, O Lord.”

[15:3]  ²⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 69:9.