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For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
Psalms 69:26 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For they persecute him whom you have wounded. They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt.
  • BSB For they persecute the one You struck and recount the pain of those You wounded.
  • NKJV For they persecute the ones You have struck, And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.
  • NASB For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself struck, And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded.
  • NLT To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury; they add to the pain of those you have hurt.

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 enemies persecute the very one God has afflicted and gloat over his pain. It exposes the cruelty of adding to a sufferer's grief.

Overview

David charges his foes with persecuting the one whom God has wounded and reveling in his sorrow. There is a mysterious truth here that God's servant suffers within God's purpose, yet the persecutors are still guilty. This anticipates the cross, where it pleased the Lord to bruise his Servant (Isaiah 53:10), yet those who crucified Christ remained accountable for their wickedness.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Isa 53:4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
  • Mark 15:27–32And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.
  • Zech 1:15And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
  • Isa 53:10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
  • 1 Th 2:15Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
  • Zech 13:7Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
  • 2 Chr 28:9But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.
  • Ps 109:16Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
  • Job 19:21–22Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 69:26YouTube · 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 69:26 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.