at the voice of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy, bent on revenge.
Parallel translations
- WEB At the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses, because of the enemy and the avenger.
- KJV For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
- NKJV Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, Because of the enemy and the avenger.
- NASB Because of the voice of one who taunts and reviles, Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.
- NLT All we hear are the taunts of our mockers. All we see are our vengeful enemies.
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 shame comes from the taunts of those who reproach and the presence of the enemy and avenger. It matters because hostile mockery intensifies the believer's suffering.
Overview
The cause of the shame is named: the verbal abuse of enemies bent on vengeance. The taunts wound because they seem to call God's faithfulness into question. The faithful sufferer entrusts such reviling to God, as Christ did when He was reviled yet did not retaliate.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 8:2From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.
- Ps 74:18Remember how the enemy has mocked You, O LORD, how a foolish people has spurned Your name.
- Ps 74:22–23Rise up, O God; defend Your cause! Remember how the fool mocks You all day long.
- Ps 74:10How long, O God, will the enemy taunt You? Will the foe revile Your name forever?
- Isa 37:17Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
- Isa 37:3–4to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
- Ps 79:12Pay back into the laps of our neighbors sevenfold the reproach they hurled at You, O Lord.
- Isa 37:23–24Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
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 44:16 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.