Remove my scorn and contempt, for I have kept Your testimonies.
Parallel translations
- WEB Take reproach and contempt away from me, for I have kept your statutes.
- KJV Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.
- NKJV Remove from me reproach and contempt, For I have kept Your testimonies.
- NASB Take disgrace and contempt away from me, For I comply with Your testimonies.
- NLT Don’t let them scorn and insult me, for I have obeyed your laws.
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
The psalmist asks God to remove reproach and contempt because he has kept His testimonies. It matters because faithfulness to God's word can invite scorn yet rests its case before God.
Overview
Suffering reproach for his obedience, the psalmist appeals to God to take away the contempt of others. He does not abandon God's testimonies under pressure but appeals to his fidelity. This pattern of bearing reproach for righteousness is fulfilled in Christ, who endured shame for our sake, and in His followers who suffer for His name.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ps 39:8Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of fools.
- Ps 119:39Turn away the disgrace I dread, for Your judgments are good.
- 1 Pet 2:20How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
- 1 Pet 4:14–16If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
- 1 Pet 3:16–17keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ.
- Ps 119:42Then I can answer him who taunts, for I trust in Your word.
- 2 Sam 16:7–8And as he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you worthless man of bloodshed!
- Ps 37:3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- 1 Sam 25:39On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking for her in marriage.
- Ps 123:3–4Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.
- Job 16:20My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God.
- Ps 68:19–20Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. Selah
- Ps 68:9–11You sent abundant rain, O God; You refreshed Your weary inheritance.
- Ps 37:6He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.
- 1 Sam 25:10But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
- Ps 42:10Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Heb 13:13Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore.
- Job 19:2–3“How long will you torment me and crush me with your words?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 119:22 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.