For I have endured scorn for Your sake, and shame has covered my face.
Parallel translations
- WEB Because for your sake, I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face.
- KJV Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
- NKJV Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face.
- NASB Because for Your sake I have endured disgrace; Dishonor has covered my face.
- NLT For I endure insults for your sake; humiliation is written all over my face.
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 bears reproach and shame specifically for God's sake. It shows that faithfulness to God can bring suffering and disgrace.
Overview
David testifies that the scorn he endures comes because of his devotion to God. Suffering for righteousness' sake is a recurring biblical reality. This verse points clearly to Christ, who bore reproach and shame for the Father's glory, and it encourages believers that bearing shame for God's name unites us with our suffering Savior.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Isa 50:6I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
- Jer 15:15You understand, O LORD; remember me and attend to me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In Your patience, do not take me away. Know that I endure reproach for Your honor.
- Ps 44:22Yet for Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
- Heb 12:2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Isa 53:3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
- John 15:21–24But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me.
- Luke 23:11And even Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in a fine robe, they sent Him back to Pilate.
- Matt 27:29–30And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt down before Him to mock Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- Luke 23:35–37The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
- Ps 22:6–8But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
- Ps 44:15All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face,
- Matt 27:38–44Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right hand and the other on His left.
- Matt 26:67–68Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 69:7 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.