Psalms 31:11

Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends—they flee when they see me on the street.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The psalmist speaks from a state of severe physical and emotional decline, positioned between declarations of wasting strength and total social oblivion. The voice addresses God while cataloging the immediate social isolation surrounding the speaker.

The words — חֶרְפָּ֡ה (cherpah) denotes a reproach or disgrace, and מְאֹד֮ (me'od) intensifies the condition as exceedingly. These terms anchor the psalmist's declaration that social standing has collapsed into shame and fear.

The thread — This pattern of abandoned companionship appears in Psalms 38:11, where friends shun the speaker's disease, and Psalms 88:8, where the psalmist states God has made him repulsive and confined. Psalms 88:18 similarly notes the removal of beloved friends, leaving darkness as the closest companion.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that profound suffering often severs human ties before divine restoration occurs. It requires the reader to acknowledge isolation as a concrete reality rather than a metaphor for spiritual distance.

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

מִכָּל־mi./kolfrom/ all צֹרְרַ֨יtzo.re.Ra/iopposers/ my הָיִ֪יתִיha.Yi.tiI have become חֶרְפָּ֡הcher.Paha reproach וְלִשֲׁכֵנַ֨י׀ve./li./sha.khe.Na/iand/ to/ neighbors/ my מְאֹד֮me.'Odexceedingly וּפַ֪חַדu./Fa.chadand/ a dread לִֽמְיֻדָּ֫עָ֥יli/m.yu.Da.'A/ito/ acquaintances/ my רֹאַ֥יro.'A/i[those who] see/ me בַּח֑וּץba./Chutzin the/ street נָדְד֥וּna.de.Duthey flee מִמֶּֽנִּי׃mi.Me./nifrom/ me

King James Version

I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.

Cross-references

Psalms 38:11 My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.
Psalms 88:8 You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.
Psalms 88:18 You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.
Matthew 26:56 But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.
Job 19:13 He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
Psalms 41:8 “A vile disease has been poured into him; he will never get up from where he lies!”
Psalms 64:8 They will be made to stumble, their own tongues turned against them. All who see will shake their heads.
Psalms 69:19 You know my reproach, my shame and disgrace. All my adversaries are before You.
Isaiah 49:7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”
Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.