Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.
Parallel translations
- WEB You make us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples.
- BSB You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
- NKJV You make us a byword among the nations, A shaking of the head among the peoples.
- NASB You make us a proverb among the nations, A laughingstock among the peoples.
- NLT You have made us the butt of their jokes; they shake their heads at us in scorn.
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
God has made them a byword and a head-shaking spectacle among the nations. It matters because it expresses the sting of being a proverb of misfortune.
Overview
To become a byword is to be cited as a cautionary example of disaster, met with contemptuous head-shaking. The lament underscores how thorough the people's humiliation feels. Yet this shame, borne while still trusting God, anticipates the suffering Servant who was despised and rejected for our salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Jer 24:9And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
- Job 17:6He hath made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret.
- Job 16:4I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.
- Lam 2:15–17All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?
- Deut 28:37And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
- 2 Kgs 19:21This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
- 1 Kgs 9:7Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
- Isa 37:22This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.
- Ps 109:25I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.
- 2 Chr 7:20Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
- Ps 22:7All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
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 44:14 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.