Psalm 69:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.

NIV: Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.

NASB: Disgrace has broken my heart, and I am so sick. And I waited for sympathy, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.

CSB: Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I waited for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, but found no one.

NLT: Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.

KJV: Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

NKJV: Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.

Psalm 69:1–21 is a cry over David's troubles and a call for God's rescue from them. Enemies lie and conspire, including even family members. The sheer volume of opposition is overwhelming. These attacks come because David has enthusiastically defended the Lord; he takes attacks against God as harms to his own self. David calls on God to provide relief from such persecution.

David opens with a passionate plea for God's rescue. He feels as if he is drowning among enemies and liars. These opponents hate David for his loyalty to the Lord. They even hate him for faithfully continuing to practice his faith. David wants more than to be rescued, however. He calls on God to bring brutal justice to these enemies, including seeing them die with no hope of eternity. David closes the psalm on a more positive note: planning to worship God. This means he fully expects God's long-awaited answer to come in the form of rescue.

David gives no explicit event as the inspiration for his writing. This psalm has messianic overtones, and it is frequently quoted in the New Testament (John 2:17; 15:25; Romans 11:9–10; Acts 1:20). It is also an imprecatory psalm: a call for God to severely punish His enemies. The words of this psalm may have been set to the same musical tune as psalm 45. Similar psalms include 35, 40, and 109.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.

Accessed 11/22/2024 4:18:42 PM