Psalms 35:16

"But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it. They tore at me, and didn’t cease."

Key Reflection

In Psalms 35:16, the psalmist describes a poignant moment of personal suffering and betrayal. The verse reveals that during times of adversity, adversaries took pleasure in the psalmist's misfortune and united against him, showing no mercy as they inflicted harm without respite. This vivid portrayal highlights the cruel nature of human cruelty and the unexpectedness of such treachery, reminding us of the painful realities faced by those who stand for justice or righteousness in a world often filled with enmity and deceit.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

With hypocritical mockers in feasts -The word rendered hypocritical here -חנףchânêph- properly means people “profane, impious, abandoned.” It refers to such persons as are commonly found in scenes of revelry. The words rendered “mockers at feasts,” it is scarcely possible to render literally. The word translated, “mockers,” -לעגlâ‛êg- means properly one who stammers, or who speaks a foreign language; then, a jester, mocker, buffoon. The word rendered “feasts” -מעוגmâ‛ôg- means “a cake of bread;” and the whole phrase would denote “cake-jesters;” “table-buffoons” - those, perhaps, who act the part of jesters at the tables of the rich for the sake of good eating.

More from Psalms 35

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