Psalm 70:3

Psalm 70:3, in plain English

The enemies who mock David—who sneer at him with taunting 'Aha!' sounds—will themselves become objects of scorn when God intervenes. Their mockery will be turned back on them.

Why it's here

You can picture the scene: people jeering at David, celebrating what they think will be his downfall. Their mockery is personal and cruel. But David knows something they don't—that God hasn't finished the story yet. He's asking God to let them experience the same humiliation they're inflicting on him.

Who's speaking

David, remembering the specific cruelty of his opponents.

Where it sits in the story

This reflects a theme running through all of Scripture: God's people often face ridicule for their faith, but God always has the final word. You see this with Noah being mocked as he built the ark, with Jesus being taunted on the cross, and throughout the experiences of faithful believers.

The scholarly reading

Those who mock the psalmist with contemptuous exclamations ('Aha, aha!') will themselves retreat in shame, their mockery returning upon them as divine judgment.

Language and setting

The interjection הַךְ־הַךְ (hakh-hakh, 'Aha, aha!') represents the derisive laughter of enemies—a form of social humiliation well attested in ancient Near Eastern insult literature and explicitly condemned in biblical wisdom tradition (Proverbs 10:10; cf. Ecclesiastes 7:6). This public mockery would have been especially devastating in honor-based societies where social reputation determined one's standing. The psalmist's invocation of their shame represents not vindictiveness but the restoration of proper social and cosmic order—the mockers will experience the very humiliation they inflict.

Voice

The psalmist continues his petition, now focusing on the specific mechanism of his enemies' humiliation—the reversal of their mockery.

Significance

This motif appears throughout the Psalter as an expression of faith in God's justice (cf. Psalm 22:7-8, where the enemies mock the righteous sufferer; the New Testament applies these verses to Christ's crucifixion in Matthew 27:39-43). The psalmist's confidence that mockery will return upon the mocker presupposes a universe governed by divine justice, not random chance.

1Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Hurry, O LORD, to help me!

2May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.

3May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.

4May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “Let God be magnified!”

5But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.

Read all of Psalm 70 — Five verses of raw urgency. Make haste to help me, O Lord. Sometimes prayer has no time for eloquence.