Psalm 69:10

Psalm 69:10, in plain English

Even David's acts of spiritual discipline—fasting and mourning—have been turned against him. Instead of respect, he's gotten mocking.

Why it's here

David tried to address his situation the right way spiritually, but his humility and grief have been weaponized against him. His enemies saw his sorrow and fasting and used them as ammunition for ridicule.

Who's speaking

David, showing how even his spiritual responses have been twisted and used against him.

Where it sits in the story

There's a principle here: doing the right thing doesn't automatically protect you from others' cruelty. Sometimes faithfulness leads to more opposition, not less.

The scholarly reading

The psalmist's practices of mourning and self-deprivation—weeping and fasting, the traditional means of expressing repentance and seeking God's favor—have backfired, earning him ridicule rather than divine response.

Language and setting

Fasting (tsum) and weeping were recognized liturgical practices signifying genuine penitence and lamentation (compare 1 Samuel 7:6, Joel 2:12). These were not merely private acts but public demonstrations of one's standing before God. The psalmist's complaint is that these outward practices, which should signal authenticity and earn divine favor, have instead become grounds for contempt. This suggests either that his community misinterprets his motivations or that God appears to withhold the expected response.

Voice

The psalmist, describing the paradox of his religious practice becoming a liability.

Significance

This verse resonates with Jesus's critique of Pharisaic fasting (Matthew 6:16-18), though with a different valence: Jesus warns against seeking human approval, while the psalmist complains that even genuine piety earns scorn. The tension between authentic religious practice and its social reception becomes a New Testament concern. Christ's own prayer in Gethsemane involves weeping (Hebrews 5:7) that is similarly misunderstood by his disciples.

8I have become a stranger to my brothers and a foreigner to my mother’s sons,

9because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.

10I wept and fasted, but it brought me reproach.

11I made sackcloth my clothing, and I was sport to them.

12Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of drunkards.

Read all of Psalm 69 — David is drowning — literally and figuratively. The waters have come up to my neck. A psalm of desperation that Jesus made His own.