And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads
Parallel translations
- WEB Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads,
- KJV And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
- NKJV And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads
- NASB And those passing by were speaking abusively to Him, shaking their heads,
- NLT The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Passersby hurl insults at Jesus, shaking their heads in scorn. He is mocked even as He dies.
Overview
Those going by revile the crucified Jesus with derision and head-wagging contempt. Their mockery echoes Psalm 22, where the sufferer is scorned by onlookers who shake their heads. The taunts add emotional anguish to physical agony, all of which Jesus bears in obedient love for those who will believe.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 109:25I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.
- Lam 1:12Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of His fierce anger?
- Ps 22:17I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me.
- Ps 69:20Insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found no one.
- Lam 2:15–17All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”
- 1 Pet 2:22–24“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- Ps 22:6–7But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
- Ps 35:15–21But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
- Luke 23:35–39The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
- Ps 109:2For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me; they speak against me with lying tongues.
- Ps 31:11–13Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends—they flee when they see me on the street.
- Mark 15:29–30And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
- Job 16:4I could also speak like you if you were in my place; I could heap up words against you and shake my head at you.
- Ps 69:7–12For I have endured scorn for Your sake, and shame has covered my face.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 27:39 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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