Bible Strands
Psalms 35:16
Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks to God while recounting the sudden, hostile reaction of his enemies after he stumbles. They assemble in glee to slander him, shifting from distant opposition to open mockery.
The words — The text highlights חָרֹק (cha.Rok), meaning "they gnashed," and לַעֲגֵי (la.'a.Gei), meaning "mockers" or "jesters." These terms pair with מָעוֹג (ma.'og, "cake" or "feast") to depict enemies behaving like godless revelers at a banquet.
The thread — This gesture of hostile teeth-gnashing appears in Lamentations 2:16 as enemies celebrating Jerusalem's fall, in Psalms 37:12 as the wicked scheme against the righteous, and in Job 16:9 where God Himself gnashes His teeth at the speaker.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that opposition often masks itself as casual mockery rather than overt violence. It calls the reader to observe how hostility can escalate from slander to open contempt before seeking divine intervention.
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
With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
Cross-references
- Lamentations 2:16 All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”
- Job 16:9 His anger has torn me and opposed me; He gnashes His teeth at me. My adversary pierces me with His eyes.
- Psalms 37:12 The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,
- John 18:28 Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
- Acts 7:54 On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him.
- 1 Samuel 20:24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat.
- Isaiah 1:14 I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.
- 1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.