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Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of drunkards.
Psalms 69:12 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Those who sit in the gate talk about me. I am the song of the drunkards.
  • KJV They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.
  • NKJV Those who sit in the gate speak against me, And I am the song of the drunkards.
  • NASB Those who sit in the gate talk about me, And songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.
  • NLT I am the favorite topic of town gossip, and all the drunks sing about me.

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 is the talk of the town's leaders and the subject of drunkards' songs. It depicts being publicly mocked at every level of society.

Overview

From the city elders sitting in the gate to drunkards in their revelry, David has become an object of gossip and ridicule across society. Both respectable and disreputable people scorn him. This widespread mockery anticipates the universal rejection Christ faced, scorned by rulers and common people alike at his trial and crucifixion.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Acts 4:26–27The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One.’
  • Ps 35:15–16But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
  • Matt 27:41–42In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying,
  • Mark 15:17–19They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.
  • Matt 27:20But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.
  • Deut 16:18You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
  • Dan 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.
  • Gen 19:1Now the two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them, bowed facedown,
  • Luke 23:2And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”
  • Job 30:8–9A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
  • Matt 27:62–63The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled before Pilate.
  • Matt 27:12–13And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.
  • Dan 5:2–4Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 69:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 69:12 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.