Psalms 35:17

"Like the profane mockers in feasts, they gnashed their teeth at me."

Key Reflection

In Psalm 35:17, the psalmist describes his enemies as "profane mockers," using a vivid image of "gnashing their teeth" to express intense anger and malice. This imagery draws on first-century Jewish culture where such expressions signified deep hostility and a desire for vengeance. The psalm highlights how these opponents not only verbally mocked but also harbored deadly intentions, reflecting the bitter and hostile environment the psalmist faced.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Lord, how long wilt thou look on? -How long wilt thou witness this without interposing to deliver me, and to punish those who treat me thus? God saw it all. He was able to save him that was thus persecuted and opposed. And yet he did not interpose. He seemed to pay no attention to it. He appeared to be indifferent to it. The psalmist, therefore, asks “how long” this was to continue. did not doubt that God would, at some thee, interpose and save him; but what was so mysterious to him was the fact that he looked so calmly on - that he saw it all, and that he did not interpose when he could so easily do it.

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