They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!”
- KJV Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
- NKJV They also opened their mouth wide against me, And said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it.”
- NASB They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”
- NLT They shout, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we saw him do it!”
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
David's enemies mock him openly, gloating that they have caught him in some fault. It shows how slander delights in another's downfall.
Overview
In this lament David describes foes who 'open their mouth wide' with cries of 'Aha!', claiming their own eyes have witnessed his ruin. Their malice is gleeful and public, a picture of the hostility the righteous face. Christ Himself endured such taunts at the cross (Matthew 27:39-43), the innocent Sufferer surrounded by mockers, so David's experience foreshadows his greater Son.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 22:13They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
- Ps 40:15May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be appalled at their own shame.
- Luke 11:53–54As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,
- Ps 70:3May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.
- Ps 54:7For He has delivered me from every trouble, and my eyes have stared down my foes.
- Isa 9:12Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have devoured Israel with open mouths. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 35:21 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.