Psalms 69:14-24

14 Deliver me from the 1mire and do not let me sink; May I be 2delivered from my foes and from the 3deep waters.
15 May the 4flood of water not overflow me Nor the deep swallow me up, Nor the 5pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O LORD, for 6Your lovingkindness is good; 7According to the greatness of Your compassion, 8turn to me,
17 And 9do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am 10in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and 11redeem it; 12Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my 13reproach and my shame and my dishonor; All my adversaries are before You.
20 Reproach has 14broken my heart and I am so sick. And 15I looked for sympathy, but there was none, And for 16comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me 17gall for my food And for my thirst they 18gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May 19their table before them become a snare; And 20when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their 21eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, And make their 22loins shake continually.
24 23Pour out Your indignation on them, And may Your burning anger overtake them.

Psalms 69:14-24 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, [A Psalm] of David. Of the word "shoshannim," See Gill on "Ps 45:1," title. The Targum renders it, "concerning the removal of the sanhedrim;" which was about the time of Christ's death. The Talmudists {t} say, that forty years before the destruction of the temple, the sanhedrim removed, they removed from the paved chamber, &c. But it can hardly be thought that David prophesied of this affair; nor of the captivity of the people of Israel, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Arama, and R. Obadiah interpret it: and so Jarchi takes the word "shoshannim" to signify lilies, and applies it to the Israelites, who are as a lily among thorns. But not a body of people, but a single person, is spoken of, and in sorrowful and suffering circumstances; and, if the Jews were not blind, they might see that they are the enemies of the person designed, and the evil men from whom he suffered so much. And indeed what is said of him cannot be said of them, nor of any other person whatever but the Messiah: and that the psalm belongs to Christ, and to the times of the Gospel, is abundantly evident from the citations out of it in the New Testament; as

Psalm 69:4 in John 15:25;
Psalm 69:9 in John 2:17;
Psalm 69:21 in Matthew 27:34;
Psalm 69:22 in Romans 11:9;
Psalm 69:25 in Acts 1:16.

The inscription of the psalm in the Syriac version is, "'a psalm' of David, according to the letter, when Shemuah (Sheba), the son of Bichri, blew a trumpet, and the people ceased from following after him (David); but the prophecy is said concerning those things which the Messiah suffered, and concerning the rejection of the Jews." And Aben Ezra interprets Psalm 69:36 of the days of David, or of the days of the Messiah.

{t} T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 8. 2. & Roshhashanah, fol. 31. 1, 2.

Cross References 23

  • 1. Psalms 69:2
  • 2. Psalms 144:7
  • 3. Psalms 69:2
  • 4. Psalms 124:4, 5
  • 5. Numbers 16:33; Psalms 28:1; Psalms 141:7
  • 6. Psalms 63:3; Psalms 109:21
  • 7. Psalms 51:1; Psalms 106:45
  • 8. Psalms 25:16; Psalms 86:16
  • 9. Psalms 27:9; Psalms 102:2; Psalms 143:7
  • 10. Psalms 31:9; Psalms 66:14
  • 11. 2 Samuel 4:9; Psalms 26:11; Psalms 49:15
  • 12. Psalms 119:134
  • 13. Psalms 22:6; Psalms 31:11
  • 14. Jeremiah 23:9
  • 15. Psalms 142:4; Isaiah 63:5
  • 16. Job 16:2
  • 17. Deuteronomy 29:18
  • 18. Matthew 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23, 36; Luke 23:36; John 19:28-30
  • 19. Romans 11:9, 10
  • 20. 1 Thessalonians 5:3
  • 21. Isaiah 6:10
  • 22. Daniel 5:6
  • 23. Psalms 79:6; Jeremiah 10:25; Ezekiel 20:8; Hosea 5:10

Footnotes 7

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