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May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.
Psalms 70:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Let them be turned because of their shame Who say, “Aha! Aha!”
  • KJV Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.
  • NKJV Let them be turned back because of their shame, Who say, “Aha, aha!”
  • NASB May those who say, “Aha, aha!” be turned back Because of their shame.
  • NLT Let them be horrified by their shame, for they said, “Aha! We’ve got him now!”

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 prays that those who mock him with Aha be turned back in shame. It asks God to silence and shame his scornful enemies.

Overview

David requests that his mockers, who gloat over his troubles with cries of derision, be turned back in their own shame. He longs for God to overturn their scorn. The mockery David endured foreshadows the taunts Christ faced at the cross, and the assurance that God will reverse such scorn upholds all who suffer ridicule for righteousness.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Ps 40:15May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be appalled at their own shame.
  • Prov 24:17–18Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
  • Acts 1:18(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out.
  • Ezek 25:3Tell the Ammonites to hear the word of the Lord GOD, for this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you exclaimed, “Aha!” when My sanctuary was profaned, when the land of Israel was laid waste, and when the house of Judah went into exile,
  • Ps 35:21They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
  • Ezek 26:2“Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken; it has swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will be filled,’
  • Ps 35:25Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
  • Ezek 36:2This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,’

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 70:3YouTube · 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 70:3 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.