Bible Strands
Psalms 123:4
We have endured much scorn from the arrogant, much contempt from the proud.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks on behalf of the afflicted community, addressing the LORD directly following a repeated plea for mercy. The moment captures a point of sustained persecution where the speaker acknowledges the weight of opposition.
The words — רַבַּת (rabbat) and שׂבְעָה (sev'ah) translate to "much" and "surfeited," literally indicating that the community's inner life has been saturated with mockery and contempt.
The thread — The pattern of absorbing scorn from the self-confident recurs in Psalms 119:51 and surfaces in Acts 17:32, where crowds respond to a resurrection proclamation with derision.
Why it lands — The text establishes that enduring heavy contempt from the proud is a documented reality for the faithful, requiring the reader to direct their endurance toward divine mercy rather than seeking validation from those who mock.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
Cross-references
- Job 12:5 The one at ease scorns misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
- Psalms 119:51 The arrogant utterly deride me, but I do not turn from Your law.
- Acts 17:32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.”
- Isaiah 32:11 Shudder, you ladies of leisure; tremble, you daughters of complacency. Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.
- 1 Corinthians 4:13 when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
- Nehemiah 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
- Job 16:4 I could also speak like you if you were in my place; I could heap up words against you and shake my head at you.
- Psalms 73:5 They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men.
- Isaiah 32:9 Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters.
- Jeremiah 48:11 Moab has been at ease from youth, settled like wine on its dregs; he has not been poured from vessel to vessel or gone into exile. So his flavor has remained the same, and his aroma is unchanged.