Psalm 69:21

Hebrew Bible

19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated, and disgraced; you can see all my enemies. 20 Their insults are painful and make me lose heart; I look for sympathy, but receive none, for comforters, but find none. 21 They put bitter poison into my food, and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink. 22 May their dining table become a trap before them. May it be a snare for that group of friends. 23 May their eyes be blinded. Make them shake violently.

John 19:28

New Testament

26 So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, look, here is your son!” 27 He then said to his disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” From that very time the disciple took her into his own home. 28 After this Jesus, realizing that by this time everything was completed, said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty!” 29 A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and lifted it to his mouth. 30 When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 Notes and References

"... The psalmist repeatedly returns to his 'reproaches' throughout the lament section. He is shamed and dishonored and bears reproach because of his identification with Yahweh (note especially verses 6-9). So, he confesses that Yahweh 'knows' his reproach and his enemies as well as the heartbreak and despair that he consequently finds himself in (verse 20). Verse 21 [68:22 LXX], alluded to in John 19:28-29, illustrates the grievous nature of his shame and persecution at the hands of his enemies. The psalmist's 'throat is parched' from constantly crying out to Yahweh in prayer (verse 3) and his tearful fasting has become his reproach, but his hunger and thirst is met not with pity from friends but with his foes' hostile offer of sour wine to drink and poison for food (verse 21). His enemies have et his table with nothing but bitterness and reproach, and so he prays in verse 22 that their 'table' would be turned on them, such that those offering him bitter food and drink might taste divine indignation in return. However, like Psalm 22, Psalm 69 moves from lament to praise as God's salvation comes into focus (29-36) ..."

Tabb, Brian J. Jesus's Thirst at the Cross: Irony and Intertextuality in John 19:28 (pp. 338-351) Evangelical Quarterly, 85.4, 2013

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