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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 69

1 For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”; by David. Deliver me, O God, for the water has reached my neck. 2 I sink into the deep mire where there is no solid ground; I am in deep water, and the current overpowers me. 3 I am exhausted from shouting for help. My throat is sore; my eyes grow tired from looking for my God.⁠ 4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head. Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, outnumber me. They make me repay what I did not steal. 5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins; my guilt is not hidden from you. 6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me, O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me, O God of Israel. 7 For I suffer humiliation for your sake and am thoroughly disgraced. 8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger; they act as if I were a foreigner. 9 Certainly zeal for your house consumes me; I endure the insults of those who insult you. 10 I weep and refrain from eating food, which causes others to insult me. 11 I wear sackcloth and they ridicule me. 12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me; drunkards mock me in their songs. 13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me. O God, because of your great loyal love, answer me with your faithful deliverance. 14 Rescue me from the mud. Don’t let me sink. Deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep water.⁠ 15 Don’t let the current overpower me. Don’t let the deep swallow me up. Don’t let the Pit devour me. 16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good. Because of your great compassion, turn toward me. 17 Do not ignore your servant, for I am in trouble. Answer me right away. 18 Come near me and redeem me. Because of my enemies, rescue me. 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.⁠ 24 Pour out your judgment on them. May your raging anger overtake them. 25 May their camp become desolate, their tents uninhabited. 26 For they harass the one whom you discipline; they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish. 27 Hold them accountable for all their sins. Do not vindicate them. 28 May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living. Do not let their names be listed with the godly.⁠ 29 I am oppressed and suffering. O God, deliver and protect me. 30 I will sing praises to God’s name. I will magnify him as I give him thanks. 31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hooves. 32 The oppressed look on—let them rejoice. You who seek God, may you be encouraged. 33 For the Lord listens to the needy; he does not despise his captive people. 34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him, along with the seas and everything that swims in them. 35 For God will deliver Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah, and his people will again live in them and possess Zion. 36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it, and those who are loyal to him will live in it.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 69:21 and John 19:28

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

John describes Jesus being given vinegar as he dies, using language from Psalm 69. In the psalm, a faithful sufferer is mocked and given sour wine when thirsty. John uses this image to place Jesus’ death within the same pattern of rejection.

Passages

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.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

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.
90–110 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John

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 set 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) ..."
Brian J. Tabb, “Jesus's Thirst at the Cross: Irony and Intertextuality in John 19:28,” EvQ 85.4 (2013): 338–351.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 69:21 and John 19:28

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